Take-up: why does it matter and who's responsible?
Chair: Vicky Sargent, Marketing Consultant, Socitm and Director, Boilerhouse Communications
Panellists: Carl Welham, Head of Customer Service and Communication, Buckinghamshire County Council and Executive Committee Member, LGcommunications
Nick Jones, Director of Interactive Services, COI
Paul Clarke, Proposition and Strategy, Directgov

Getting service users to 'do it online' should increase efficiency, customer satisfaction and reduce 'avoidable contact'. But council performance in this area, as evidence from Socitm and a range of government and commercial sources shows, varies widely. This session will explore why high take-up matters and what councils might do to make it happen. We'll pay particular attend to where responsibility lies for this within the council. Is it the communications team? Or the web team? Or customer services? Or service managers? If they share this responsibility, how should they work together? And what about Local Direct Gov and the impact of centrally run take up campaigns? This session will address all of these key questions in a lively and interactive way.