Few organisations have had to grapple with the multitude of challenges that local government has faced over the past decade. From austerity and devolution to outsourcing and channel shift, the operational and financial challenges have been immense. And all the time with service demand and funding in frontline services seemingly following diametric paths.

Of course the majority of councils have taken steps to protect critical frontline services. In all cases, though, the key requirement has been to do more with less, which has prompted increased online interaction and a flurry of self-serve initiatives. Such moves offer obvious and immediate benefits in terms of demand management.