Somerset Council: Using Microsoft Copilot to improve productivity

In November 2023, Somerset Council took a pioneering step by launching a discovery project to explore Microsoft Copilot. The pilot aimed to gain early insights into the potential of AI to transform the council, focusing on improving workforce efficiency, aligning with overall council goals.

The council established a lean project team and adopted an organic approach to identifying use cases. Somerset offered 300 Copilot licenses to volunteers across the organisation eager to trial the technology in their day-to-day work. They quickly distributed all 300 licences, allowing them to gather real-world data and explore safe implementation strategies for AI within the organisation.

Somerset Council are part of the Microsoft Copilot Early Access Programme (EAP) alongside 11 other councils. This innovative programme grants them access to cutting-edge Copilot updates and dedicated Microsoft support.

Ensuring AI's safe and ethical use was paramount to the council’s discovery project. Somerset placed data protection, ethics, acceptable use policies, controls, and user education at the heart of their rigorous AI governance strategy. They developed data protection impact assessments (DPIAs), ethical guidance, and a clear acceptable use policy.

The council developed their governance framework alongside the pilot, incorporating valuable feedback from volunteers. This iterative approach ensured the framework addressed real-world use cases and remained relevant and up to date.

The core project team acts as the first point of contact for escalations and is actively developing governance and compliance policies. This team collaborates with the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Digital Transformation Board, keeping them informed and ensuring alignment on AI principles across the council and with health partners. An additional sub-group specifically focuses on AI ethics and information governance.

The council actively strengthens its governance approach through the local government collaboration and innovation copilot subgroup, a monthly council-led forum that Somerset co-leads. Convening over 300 knowledgeable council representatives, this forum fosters a collaborative environment for knowledge sharing on copilot. Through open discussions, councils leverage each other's experiences to tackle challenges collectively and develop unified governance practices.

Looking ahead, the council plans to establish a cross organisation AI board to provide strategic direction beyond the discovery project. This board will comprise senior management, service area representatives, information governance experts, technical architects, and external partners. Additionally, Somerset is developing comprehensive staff training to promote the responsible use of AI.

Somerset Council provided comprehensive support to staff throughout the AI discovery project, fostering a collaborative learning environment. Participants received ongoing support through a self-sustaining "pioneer community" on Microsoft Teams. This tech-savvy group, facilitated by the project team, shared questions, answers, and experiences, fostering a spirit of experimentation and support. 

Complementing the pioneer community, the project team hosted weekly contact meetings. Sessions initially focused on updates, demonstrations, and addressing user feedback. As the group's expertise have grown, the meetings have evolved into more community-driven discussions with specific themes. The change in these meetings, reflects the council’s advancement with Copilot utilisation. 

Looking ahead, Somerset plans to establish dedicated forums tailored to departmental or user group needs. These structured forums will cater to specific goals and facilitate focused discussion on specific applications of Copilot. Additionally, the council is exploring the potential of a future "Copilot Champion" scheme to further empower and support staff.

Somerset Council's commitment to monitoring the value of Copilot has yielded positive results. From the outset, they have continually engaged with staff using Copilot, gathering detailed feedback through surveys, interviews and usage data. The council established a system for measuring benefits through regular three-month reviews, capturing both qualitative and quantitative data. 

Their February checkpoint review, three months into the discovery, highlighted significant improvements in staff productivity: 

While a small number of the initial 300 Copilot licenses were returned due to unmet expectations, this is offset by a waiting list exceeding 70 staff, indicating strong overall enthusiasm for AI adoption within the council. However, monitoring usage remains a challenge. Current Microsoft dashboards are acknowledged to be inaccurate, requiring Somerset to develop several workarounds such as user surveys, adding to the project team's workload.

Despite these hurdles, Somerset leverages its early adopter status by fostering a critical partnership with Microsoft. They've identified and communicated multiple functionality gaps between real-world use cases and advertised capabilities. This valuable feedback will be instrumental in shaping Copilot's future development, not only for Somerset but for all councils looking to adopt Copilot in the future.

Leveraging their growing expertise in Copilot's capabilities, Somerset Council plans to explore how the technology can benefit specific service areas and different staff groups. This targeted approach will inform a strategic rollout, expanding Copilot licenses across the council for maximum impact. 

Somerset Council's initial explorations identified specific staff groups that could benefit from AI tools, such as neurodiverse users. Additionally, the council has assessed high-pressure areas like social care and identified tasks that could be automated. 

Somerset recognises that Microsoft 365 Copilot is a valuable springboard, but for complex tasks, they envisage leveraging a wider AI toolkit. This could include Azure AI and Copilot Studio as they advance on their AI journey. To maximise the value of their licences, the council intends to establish tiered access structures tailored to specific user or departmental needs. They're particularly excited about the potential for AI to unlock automation and generate advanced data insights that can transform the organisation.