Innovation in local government is about improving the lives of the people in our
communities. Browse through our case studies to see the many innovative programmes councils are involved
in.
During September-December 2018 we conducted a randomised controlled trial
(RCT) with 705 Worcestershire County Council (WCC) domiciliary care users to reduce the number of unpaid service invoices and increase the number of people who sign-up to direct debit. We tested two behaviourally optimised conditions against the control across the Invoice, Reminder 1 and Reminder 2 phases. Relative to the control, our test letters significantly increased: direct debit sign ups by 61% (P<.10), people paying their invoice via the WCC website and automated telephone line by 33% (P<.10), and people calling the helpline by 36% (P<.20).
View all Efficiency and income generation articles
With official figures estimating that there are at least 13,000 victims of modern slavery in the UK, the issue is a national challenge. Katherine Lloyd, Communications Team Leader (Campaigns and Digital) at Reigate & Banstead Borough Council, explains how the council translated this national picture into a local reality and helped residents to understand that nowhere is immune from the problem.