BD Notes is a simple, AI-powered web app developed in-house to help staff turn unstructured meeting transcripts, documents and reports into structured content, reducing administrative time and improving consistency.
Background
BD Notes is a simple AI-powered web app developed in-house by the Continuous Innovation Team. It helps staff turn unstructured meeting transcripts, documents and reports into structured notes and formal plans in minutes, reducing administrative time and improving consistency. For example, Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), which previously took four to five hours to draft, can now be produced in under five minutes. Staff retain full control to review and edit outputs. The tool enables officers to spend more time on high-value work with residents and less time on paperwork.
The challenge
Council officers across services spend significant time transforming unstructured information from meetings, reports and correspondence into structured formats. Tasks such as EHCPs, Permanence Planning Meetings and specialist service interventions can each take several hours, often delaying case progression by weeks. This creates inconsistent quality between officers, reduces capacity, and diverts attention away from supporting residents. Staff also report frustration at being tied up in administrative processes rather than focusing on direct value for people in the borough.
The solution
BD Notes allows staff to upload unstructured information - from transcripts, Word or PDF files, even audio recordings - and select from a set of service-specific templates. The AI system processes the material and generates structured notes or formal plans, ready for officers to review, edit, and export.
- Developed fully in-house with one developer and a product owner
- Co-designed with frontline teams in Children’s and Adults’ Services
- Templates tailored to statutory processes (e.g. EHCP, Child in Need plans, Permanence Planning Meetings)
This simple, secure approach ensures officers stay in control while removing the bulk of repetitive drafting work.
The impact
BD Notes is currently being explored with 13 identified service areas, with EHCP and Permanence Planning Meetings as first adopters. Feedback shows AI-generated outputs are comparable in quality to human-written notes but delivered in minutes rather than hours. Early analysis indicates significant time savings per case, with a potential to release thousands of hours of officer time annually. This not only improves efficiency but also enhances consistency and compliance across services. Staff can progress cases more quickly and dedicate more time to supporting residents.
How is the new approach being sustained?
The Continuous Innovation Team is building the capability to create new templates in hours rather than days, allowing rapid scaling across services. Training and support are planned to build staff confidence and embed use of the tool in everyday practice. Leadership buy-in and alignment with wider AI and digital programmes will ensure BD Notes becomes a standard part of the Council’s approach to reducing bureaucracy and modernising frontline services.
Lessons learned
- Co-design with frontline staff is critical: technology alone will not drive adoption.
- Change management is essential: some staff fear AI could replace their roles, so communication must emphasise augmentation, not replacement.
- Building confidence and trust in outputs is as important as technical development.
- Quick, visible wins - such as reducing a five-hour EHCP write-up to minutes - help secure buy-in and shift perceptions positively.
Contact
Contact: [email protected]