Stockport Council wins the iNetwork Outstanding Contribution Award

Picture above: L to R: Shelley Heckman, iNetwork, Councillor Wendy Meikle, Deputy Leader of Stockport Council, Councillor Keith Holloway, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, Stockport Council, Kathryn Rees, Director of Strategy, Stockport Council.

The most anticipated award of the evening, this recognises Stockport Council’s outstanding contribution to promoting public sector learning and sharing of innovation and best practice.

Councillor Mark Hunter, Leader of Stockport Council, says: “We are delighted with the progress we have made as a council, embracing the opportunities presented by new technologies, interested in discovering what people need from the place they live and work in and improving their experience of our services.

"We’re honoured to receive this award. We will continue supporting collaboration with our partners and communities, promoting transformation and digital innovations that benefit our residents, and delivering digital support and skills training through our DigiKnow partnership, so all our residents can thrive in the digital age. Congratulations to all involved.”

The award also reflects that we were finalists in 3 other award categories:
• The iStand Uk Award for innovation and achievement in the effective use of data to improve services, with examples such as our social worker Family Context Tool and the Big Stockport Picture open data portal.
• The Connected Procurement and Commissioning Award, recognising our analysis, transformation and recommissioning of Stockport’s Early Help and Prevention services and the development of the new online referral form and single point of access Stockport Support Hub.
• The Transforming and Innovating Public Services Award for our collaborative DigiKnow alliance and the collective efforts of over 60 community partners to get more people online and improve digital skills.

Stockport Council’s Radical Digital Strategy was launched one year ago this week. It includes a commitment to sharing more data, increasing transparency, and supporting collaboration and innovation. It links together ambitions for digital, including digital working practices, care, infrastructure and economy and at its heart is our commitment to being a 100% digital-inclusive borough.

iNetwork is a public sector partnership that aims to enable local public service organisations, individually and collectively, to deliver more innovative, high quality and cost-effective services to their customers, patients and communities. Since 2014, the iNetwork Innovation Awards have highlighted projects and teams that have delivered transformation and excellence in public service delivery.