In 2022 West Oxfordshire and Cotswold District Councils were awarded continuous funding from the PropTech Engagement Fund.
Background
In 2022 West Oxfordshire and Cotswold District Councils were awarded continuous funding from the PropTech Engagement Fund. They were awarded the funding to explore improvement to the back office functionality to enhance the submitting, processing and analysing of representations gathered through consultation.
The PropTech Innovation Fund aims to accelerate the adoption of digital planning tools to fast track the plan-making process. Insights and learning gained from funded projects directly inform government’s work to modernise the planning system, centralised guidance and wider policy reform.
West Oxfordshire and Cotswold District Councils have a longstanding history of partnership working, with several services shared across both councils. Working together, utilising PropTech funding, the councils introduced digital engagement platforms to make planning consultations more accessible to residents. The successful implementation of the platform significantly increased the volume of responses to planning consultations. Building on this work, the councils explored AI solutions to support the management and analysis of responses to consultations.
The solution
The councils worked with two vendors, Konveio and Go Vocal, to develop a suite of tools to address the service specific challenges across the two councils. Their work initially began with Konveio, and included a:
- comment auto-tagging feature where comments can be auto-tagged based on a specific list of keywords per document using machine learning. Keywords can be added by the client or suggested by the system.
- summary tool that generates a list of short bullet points for longer comments using generative AI.
- user interface to produce summaries of groups of comments based on shared tags or chapters within the document also using generative AI.
Leveraging remaining funds from their PropTech grant, the council decided to use a digital engagement platform, provided by Go Vocal. Together, the companies developed a systems-integrated analysis tool which was able to auto-tag key words through machine learning and use generative AI to summarise qualitative feedback.
The pilot has been highly successful, with an estimated 85% reduction in time spent on repetitive administrative tasks for planning officers.
Challenge led approach
A key success to West Oxfordshire’s and Cotswolds’ pilot has been taking a challenge led approach.
The two councils approached the opportunity with an open mind, focusing and defining the challenges faced at service level. This helped the technology vendors understand which solutions would work effectively to improve service delivery.
This collaborative approach benefited both councils and vendors, allowing each to contribute their unique perspectives and expertise. Recognising the strengths of each supplier, combined with the councils' understanding of service delivery and challenges, resulted in well informed and effective solutions.
Collaboration and stakeholder engagement
Collaboration and engagement have been key to the pilot's success. Diverse expertise enriched the project, while the councils' positive approach fostered trust in the technology and accelerated its adoption.
Planning officers
Show and tell sessions, with strong end-user representation facilitated by a core team of officers, were crucial in informing the iterative development of solutions effective for daily service delivery. Although initial staff hesitancy existed regarding AI integration, a flexible introduction and hands-on piloting of the tools proved successful in building trust and demonstrating their usability and potential.
As officers experienced the tangible benefits, AI adoption increased steadily. The pilot's demonstrated efficiencies and workload reductions, coupled with positive word-of-mouth, further encouraged adoption, and the council's "give it a go" approach effectively addressed remaining concerns.
MHCLG
Due to the nature of the funding, which was from MHCLG’s PropTech scheme, this empowered the team to undertake a true pilot and safely experiment with AI tools, so maximising the potential to learn.
PropTech network
West Oxfordshire and Cotswold District Councils have participated in the MHCLG's PropTech programme since its inception. They valued the programme's supportive network, which proved particularly beneficial during this project, enabling them to share ideas and seek advice from fellow councils exploring challenges in planning.
Governance
The councils benefited from a pre-existing working group that streamlined the process of meeting governance requirements. This group included key stakeholders from various departments, such as the project sponsor, council monitoring officers, heads of governance and audit, the data protection officer, the chief technology officer, and representatives from procurement and legal.
This established network provided valuable advice and guidance, enabling efficient responses to project needs, including the timely completion of the DPIA. An AI policy, shaped by the pilot's insights, is being drafted and will undergo review by the governance group and relevant council committees before formal adoption in 2025. Currently, AI use is permitted on a case-by-case basis, with a clear prohibition on its application to personal data.
Lessons learnt
Recognising and addressing staff perspectives on AI has been essential to successful tool adoption. This open and inclusive approach has not only fostered engagement but also inspired other council teams to explore AI's potential within their service areas. The councils have learned valuable lessons about change management, which will inform their collaborative approach to future AI deployments.
Next steps
The pilot's success represents a significant milestone in the councils' ongoing AI adoption strategy. Teams across the councils are actively using the systems, and while full integration into business-as-usual may take time, the team continues to innovate and learn about the potential of AI.
Current efforts focus on leveraging AI to analyse email and letter responses, further enhancing its positive impact on service delivery.