Who and what is the site for?
To my mind, there are multiple purposes for the digital service:
- For residents to report problems or request services
- For residents to find out general and niche information relevant to them as people who live here
- For visitors to find out information which will help them with their visit
- For potential visitors to find out information which shows how interesting the place is to woo them from being potential visitors to actual visitors
- For potential inward investors to find out key information to enable them to be satisfied their inward investment will be a wise one
- For the council to communicate to citizens what it actually does across the board so that citizens can be assured their taxpayer's money is being spent wisely
- For the council to communicate to engaged citizens the policy backgound underpinning the whys and hows of its service delivery in addition to the whats
- For the council to foster engagement in citizens who are not yet engaged, by presenting that policy background in an interesting and informative manner
- For the council, without straying into the realm of politics itself, to inform and engage citizens of the difference between the work of the elected councillors and the permanent staff, and why it is important to vote for councillors which will adequately represent citizens' interests at election time
- To facilitate the two way dialogue between council and citizens when it comes to the council informing citizens of its plans and seeking feedback on those plans, and for citizens to make their voices well and truly heard when there are important matters of concern affecting them.
Chingas. That's a lot of purpose, isn't it? I know at least one person reading will fundamentally disagree with at least one listed purpose there, but remember, I'm not talking about the purpose of the website here, I'm talking about the purpose of the online service, which is more than just one website. And I've also written that the received wisdom of having One Site To Rule Them All is perhaps a flawed wisdom - that we should embrace the idea of multiple sites which are focussed on their own purposes and audiences, but with all of those sites maintained by the single team which is tasked with delivering the online service as a whole.
Last reviewed
31-01-2025