To be crowned The MJ's Local Authority of the Year in 2023 was a fantastic accolade. You spend a considerable amount of time showcasing your place to the judges in the hope that they, too, agree with how bold, ambitious and forward-thinking you are. At that point, you don't really dare think: ‘What happens if we win?' But we did!
Being the Local Authority of the Year has been a career highlight. The deep sense of pride that comes with it is unmeasurable.
Was it all worth the application process? Without a doubt, absolutely yes. It's been a game-changer for Barnsley. It has raised our profile and reputation nationally and internationally. We've welcomed numerous visits during the year, all coming to look at how Barnsley is thriving and leading the way.
Most important is the boost it has brought to our staff. You can feel the buzz across the organisation and through our partners when we talk about it. I joined the leader on a trophy tour of all our services, and it was great to talk to people, especially our frontline staff, about what this means to them. We know people come into the public sector to make a real difference in our communities, and this win solidified their work and gave them the recognition that is very much needed in these challenging times of local government.
I guess it would be easy to rest on our laurels – but that's not Barnsley. We choose to do things differently and not what people expect.
We have a clear vision for Barnsley to be a place of possibilities, and we are determined to achieve it. We want to be a leading council in the digital age, harnessing the power of technology and data to improve the lives and opportunities of our residents and businesses. We want to be at the forefront of the next digital revolution, not at the wrong end of technological change as we were at the end of the last century.
That is why we are investing in our digital infrastructure, skills and innovation. We need to bridge the gap in knowledge and skills. In Barnsley, we are in a prime position to do this with our growing regional tech and innovation ecosystem, dedicated programmes, and facilities.
Our vision is to establish a national centre of excellence for digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in Barnsley as part of the South Yorkshire Investment Zone. Our town centre, SEAM Digital Campus, has the potential to become a hub for research, development, and collaboration between businesses, academia, and government.
A big part of this is bringing our workforce along on this journey and making sure they have the right skills for the next digital revolution. Barnsley's name has been placed alongside some vast global companies as a leader in trialling Microsoft's AI, Co-pilot.
Our journey with AI is grounded in our commitment to transform our services and enhance productivity across the board. Nearly half of our workforce is harnessing Copilot's power to automate routine processes, freeing up valuable time and resources.
Embracing Copilot places our staff at the forefront of technological innovation, equipping them with cutting-edge tools. This proactive approach to adopting AI fosters a culture of continuous learning and skill development. The tangible benefits of Copilot are that it not only bolsters productivity but also enhances job satisfaction. People can free up time to balance their workloads and create a healthier work-life dynamic, which is crucial for their wellbeing.
As our year comes to an end, the initial excitement and pride haven't diminished. We want to keep sharing our learning and best practices from our exciting plans to transform our town, communities and economy. We're building on our Health on the High Street ambition with a new health and wellbeing hub with Barnsley Hospital and other partners, creating space for outpatients in our old town centre shopping mall. We're working on our borough-wide goal to make work more accessible for everyone through our Pathways to Work Commission. Their report will come out next month, and we hope it will influence the national discussion on how to bring more people into the labour market.
This connects to our effort to help children and young people get ready for adult life. Our Great Childhoods Made Possible project will help more children, young people, and families develop skills, qualifications, abilities, and behaviours that help them to work and live well for future generations.
Barnsley has had a great year, but we will never stand still in our determination and ambition to make Barnsley the place of possibilities.
Sarah Norman is chief executive of Barnsley MBC
X – @BarnsleyCouncil
