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Should you have a button on your website that says ‘translate’?
The short answer is no. People who need them use their own translation tools. But, you can write the content in a way that those tools will translate well. Where we know we need one or two specific languages for …
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Interactive Insights: Essex Residents' Survey Dashboard 2023
Embarking on the creation of the Essex Residents' Survey Dashboard was not just a task; it was a collaborative journey for the Research and Citizen Insight and Data and Analytics teams, driven by a shared commitment to harnessing data for actionable insights and community impact.
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Bethany Musgrove: my year in Service Transformation
Bethany Musgrove, Content Advisor at the Communications and Marketing department (C&M), completed a one-year secondment as a Content Designer in Service Transformation (ST) in December 2023. After re-joining our team for a brief period before her maternity leave, she generously …
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Big Team Challenge 2024 – The Caribbean
Another day, another challenge! Kudos to everyone who participated in February’s challenge. Our fantastic Active Essex team periodically provides us with new physical activity challenges. This time, it was a walk/run to the “Islands of the Caribbean,” with approximately 1,390 km to be covered by up to 5 team members. The goal of these challenges is to encourage physical activity, which has numerous health benefits, and to make exercise fun. The first step in the challenge is to form a team and come up with a creative name.
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Unlocking the Power of Collaboration
In recent years, the landscape of governance and public service delivery has been reshaped by the transformative potential of data analytics. Data is a pivotal asset, offering profound opportunities for collaboration and innovation across public sector organisations. From driving efficiency …
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The end of third-party cookies: how digital marketers can adapt and thrive
Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar? Well, Safari, Firefox, and now Google… Google has announced plans to phase out third-party cookies by the end of this year. Safari and Firefox browsers have been blocking them by default. Other …
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Technology – not just for the techies…
Our lives are influenced by technology, sometimes without our awareness. We want to share what we are doing to transform the way we work and help our colleagues.
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There’s a place for everyone in the world of data and analytics.
Embracing the power of data in today's world is non-negotiable! From healthcare to transportation, education to urban planning, data and analytics are revolutionising how we shape public services. But here's the catch: it's not just for the data-savvy – to …
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A problem solved was a problem shared!
When Sir Robert Peel set up the first state funded police service in London in 1829, its safe to say that he would have expected his ‘peelers’ to use gut instinct and experience to tackle the large volume of pick …
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£12 million boost for Essex’s roads, pavements and potholes
Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport talks about the announcement of an additional £12 million in funding for Essex Highways as part of Essex County Council's 2024/25 budget.
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Mapping the Digital Divide in Essex - A Digital Exclusion Analysis
As an increasing number of services and day-to-day activities are carried out or delivered online, residents with limited or no access to the internet may find themselves both socially and economically vulnerable. What’s more, research finds that digitally excluded populations …
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You're invited to Data Talks
Data Talks is a new virtual showcase for Essex taking place 4 to 6 March 2024. Data Talks brings together a diverse array of public and private sector expertise all with a shared passion for transforming data into actionable insights …
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An evidence-driven journey to understanding equality
Hold onto your data hats my fellow analysts in arms! As I’m about to tell you how statistics has played a crucial part in our mission to provide the best care for Essex citizens. Essex County Council is committed to …
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Breaking the Code
Essex is a county of diversity, from diverse people to diverse environments. And, in our experience as members of the Data and Analytics, and Research and Citizen Insight teams, Essex County Council is an employer that celebrates diversity and promotes …
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Starting at Essex County Council: My first six months as a Junior User Researcher
Emma Chisholm shares with us her experience of joining ECC as a Junior Researcher.
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Goodbye 2023, hello 2024.
I’m not a fan of heralding in the New Year, nor committing to new resolutions! However, I do use the occasion as an opportunity to reflect on what we have delivered over the year and start planning key activities for …
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Data Talks: Save the dates
4 to 6 March 2024 – Save the dates! Data Talks is a new virtual conference for the public sector, bringing together a diverse array of expertise all with a shared passion for turning data into insight to achieve real …
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Makings of a Researcher
Leaving University and entering the world of work can be a pretty daunting experience for many graduates. All of a sudden, you’re thrust from worrying about grades, assignments and making your 9am lectures to worrying about what you will be doing for the rest of your life.
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Unveiling our budget proposals for 2024/25
Councillor Chris Whitbread, Chancellor for Essex, talks about Essex County Council's budget proposals for 2024/25, which have been published today (Monday 8 January).
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Sharing our learning from SDinGov 2023
Claire, Dani and May tell us how they and others have been sharing what they learned at this year’s SDinGov conference.
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Our cloud has many silver linings
As we move closer to wrapping up 2023, I find myself in a reflective mood! If you read last week’s blog you’ll have heard from my colleague Lee Burton that we have recently concluded the migration of 800GB of ECC …
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Visit Essex: unveiling the team's journey to LVEP accreditation
In the world of tourism and destination management, few milestones stand as tall as the prestigious Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) accreditation from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and VisitEngland. Visit Essex accomplished this feat in 2023, joining …
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The winning formula: a look at team Active Essex in action!
In this feature, we take a deep dive into Active Essex's year of action. We highlight the team’s outstanding performance, and the keen strategies and ways of working that led to their success. We also spoke to the team about …
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SENDing success together: SEND and C&M's unmatched collaboration
In this feature, we discover how the Communications and Marketing (C&M) and SEND teams' six-month collaboration led to a successful and long-term communications strategy, while equipping SEND with C&M expertise for the future. The teams Team SEND The SEND …
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Leading the way in MDT success: the Essex Waste Strategy Consultation
The Waste Strategy for Essex consultation project Step aside, Avengers. We have a new superhero squad in town. The Waste Strategy for Essex multidisciplinary team (MDT) is an astounding example of a successful multi-team collaboration. We spoke to Cathryn Wood, …
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Migration to the cloud: A painful journey to a better place.
In what feels like a long time ago now I wrote a blog around how excited I was about the planned migration of our on-premise data environment to the cloud. I was full of hope and dreams, and then we …
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Newsletter resends: is second time a charm?
There are different reasons to resend a newsletter - squeezing the last few drops of engagement from your audience, giving your content another chance, or just maximising the value of all the effort you put into it. But, should you …
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From a trickle to a flood
The exponential growth of data in the world, from a few spots of datum to a deep, expansive ocean of 1s and 0s, shows no sign of slowing and is expected to shape the world in ways we are still …
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Exciting focus on skills for the future set out in Autumn Statement
Councillor Tony Ball, Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability, welcomes government’s commitment to apprenticeships and key growth sectors as set out by the Chancellor.
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Changes to our JSNA interactive dashboards!
It has been some time since we launched our Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) reports and interactive dashboards, but as the time goes by, things change. Read on to find out what’s new! This includes a new ICBs filter to our dashboards, new measures added, and data updates.
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Robotic Process Automation partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers
Shaurya Rajwar explores our relationship with PricewaterhouseCoopers and how we want Robotic Process Automation to drive efficiency in processes and applications across our digital assets
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NLP promoting a proactive approach to Open Data
The situation The volume of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests the Council receives is huge. In the 43 months from December 2019 to July 2023, Essex County Council (ECC) received more than 6,000 FOI requests. This meant that on average, …
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What am I missing through my straw?!
Until recently my understanding of separated migrant children was largely shaped by ongoing media coverage, which has powerfully portrayed the treacherous and traumatic journeys that many children experience to reach the UK. Having now worked alongside childrens services commissioners and …
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Thinking about starting a newsletter? Here is step zero
It is that time of the year when everyone is popping the big question – “should we start a newsletter?” Well, there are a few strategic factors to consider before putting a ring on it. A newsletter should not be …
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Every day is a school day
What happens when the one person who has all the knowledge on a certain process leaves your team? Panic? That “this is fine” meme (you all know the one)? Or take a breath and look for any opportunities to review …
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United we brand
We have lived through a period of great political, economic and social upheaval over the past few years, on a national and global level. There is no sign of it abating. But whatever the level of turmoil, our responsibilities in …
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A guide to our brand for all employees: why you should read it (often)
We know what you’re thinking - another document? Really? You’ll appreciate this one. We made it just for you. A guide to our brand for all employees was sent to your inboxes this week. If you haven't read it yet, …
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Steering a course for open data
Essex County Council is massive. There are around 12,000 employees. It’s the second biggest local authority in the country, geographically, and it’s the second largest spending authority (which makes sense, given the size thing I just mentioned). There are hundreds …
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Who is a brand custodian?
If you, in a big or small way, are involved in creating communications for the council, you are a brand custodian. You are responsible for guarding and building Essex County Council’s brand identity. The work each of us puts out …
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Getting to really know our brand
This month we’re spending some quality time with our brand. We’re taking a deep dive into our values, actions, design elements, voice and more. Please join us! What is a brand? A brand is much more than a logo. The …