Local Waste Service Standards Project
Piloting a method for local government to co-create digital assets and standards
This project will help a group of local authorities co-design & implement common data standards for their waste services – standards that could be adopted nationally to:
- enable local authorities (LAs) to develop high quality citizen-facing waste services efficiently (with the knock-on benefit of reducing call volumes and failure demand)
- enable LAs to work more effectively together (e.g. neighbouring boroughs collecting bins from 2 sides of the same road)
- increase transparency around the performance of services, and of suppliers
- enable LAs to move between suppliers more easily
- enable ‘government as platform’ services so strongly advocated by the Service Transformation Challenge Panel Recommendations of November 2014.
The project aims to apply the Government Digital Service principles of best practice in service design to a local service problem. We hope to learn lots about collaborating and sharing service transformation assets across local authorities. To this end, we will document the process, the lesson learned, and all the assets created openly on this project page.
* Check out our progress log tab above to see what’s done and what’s left to do on our trello board
* We will publish our code, standards, findings and implementation toolkits as we develop them here on this page
This project was co-conceived with local authority delegates at Local Gov Camp in June 2014 at a break-out group on linked data standards. After the event, the LocalGov Digital Localo project was born to take the agenda forward, and the DCLG Local Digital Programme soon joined to support the effort.
Everyone involved decided to take on the challenge collaboratively and we began to survey the key stakeholders and research the best way to agree standards and incentivise take-up.
After some early API outlining work with Guildford BC and the Hampshire Hub, the DCLG Local Digital Programme, supported by LocalGov Digital and the London Borough of Merton, convened a Waste Service Standards Discovery Day with over 60 LA waste service delegates in early November 2014. The event aimed to sense check our approach and gauge the stages of development of suppliers and LAs in the UK.
After this, the DCLG Local Digital Programme decided to formally commission a waste service standards design project, providing the coordination and administrative overheads required to co-design, test and implement a common standard.
Local authority (LA) need: LAs need to be able to deliver digital services as efficiently as possible. Often, they are blocked by inflexible suppliers, poorly structured or inaccessible data, and legacy approaches to delivering IT. They are often tackling these challenges in isolation (i.e. without benefiting from the work other LAs have done). They therefore need, as per the recommendation 15 of the November 2014 ServiceTransformation Challenge Panel Report (PDF), “…‘local digital’ standards to enable better use of data, compatibility of digital platforms and to drive ‘open source’ digital innovation”.
Supplier need: stop building bespoke application programming interfaces (APIs) for each LA customer. This will enable suppliers to deliver more cost-effective products to local authorities
End User: All private and public sector waste services providers
You can find all our standards and code as they get developed on our GitHub page here.
Read the latest version of our Business Case document here.
Read our waste service procurement suggestions for local authorities here.
You can see the full list of deliverables that we considered developing on our trello board in the ‘project backlog’ tab on this page.
Of these, our project team has prioritised the following products and aims to deliver them by the end of 2015 (in keeping with the project timeline on this page!):
- A taxonomy of reasons for missed bins
- A waste services Application Programming Interface (API) enabling a seamless connection between in-cab reporting systems, customer and web services, and missed collection schedulers.
- API documentation and associated data model
- Business case for end-to-end waste service design using common data standards and common digital components
- Agreed key performance indicators (KPIs) for driving service improvements in waste services and to support better national reporting
- Some standard clauses to include in waste service supplier contracts to drive the uptake of standards, better services to councils, and more efficient procurement processes
- Clearly documented method for co-designing and implementing local digital service standards – starting with waste services
See the Trello board for this product.
(What is Trello? Trello is a collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards. In one glance, Trello tells you what’s being worked on, who’s working on what, and where something is in a process.)
Related updates
Our approach to service design, and what it could mean for you
Service design consultant Sarah Prag shares some final thoughts on the approaches we’ve taken to delivering the project and how these might be applied more widely in local government. One…
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Tech trends and the future of local waste services
by Paul Mackay, Technical Lead for the DCLG Local Waste Service Standards Project, with contributions from Lead Local Authority Project Advisor, Ben Cheetham While our Local Waste Service Standards Project is a…
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Reflections on developing the business case for the waste services standards project
Sarah Prag shares some reflections on developing the business case for the Local Waste Service Standards Project. Why a business case? The central team involved with the Local Waste Service…
Read moreView all updates about this project
Related resources
Making the case for data standards – Final business case for local waste services | March 2016
About this document This is the final version of the business case for common data standards (especially data protocols) in local authority waste management services. It is a primary output…
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Improving procurement for waste and other local public services – Use of data standards and other recommendations | March 2016
Background The following observations and recommendations came out of the Local Waste Service Standards project run by DCLG from February 2015 to March 2016. The project brought together a collaboration…
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The project so far: Waste Standards Beta Showcase (Video) | Linda O’Halloran | February 2016
Product owner Linda O’Halloran updates us on the latest developments in the Local Waste Service Standards project, touching on plans for the next phase, at the Beta Showcase event on…
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Latest business case research: Waste Standards Beta Showcase (Video) | Sarah Prag | February 2016
Sarah Prag shares the latest updates on her business case research for the Local Waste Service Standards project at our Beta Showcase event on Feb 22, 2016.
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The Technical Standards: Waste Standards Beta Showcase (Video) | Paul Mackay | February 2016
Paul Mackay presents his work on the common data standard API and taxonomy for local waste services at the Local Waste Service Standard Project’s Beta Showcase event on Feb 22,…
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Making the case for data standards – A beta business case for local waste services | February 2016
Note: There is an updated and final version of this business case now available. About this document This is the latest iteration of the business case for common data standards…
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Local Authority Partners Panel: Waste Standards Beta Showcase (Video) | February 2016
A panel of our partners share their experiences working on this the Local Waste Service Standards project at the Beta Showcase event on Feb 22, 2016. Panel (from left to…
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Next Steps Closing Panel: Waste Standards Beta Showcase (Video) | February 2016
We closed our waste service standards beta showcase with a panel discussion featuring some of the most knowledgeable people in the sector, who gave their feedback on the work done…
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Local Waste Services Standards Beta Showcase Slides | February 2016
The following presentations were delivered at the the Local Waste Services Standards Beta Showcase on 22 February 2016: Linda O’Halloran, Product Owner, gave an overview of the project objectives and…
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Local Waste Service Standards Pilot Project: Phase 2 Planning Workshop | Linda O’Halloran | January 2016
Presentation on the Local Waste Service Standards Project – objectives, the project roadmap, deliverables, building the case for business standards, and next steps. Presented by Linda O’Halloran, Product Owner for…
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Local Waste Service Standards Front End Integration Workshop | Linda O’Halloran and Paul Mackay | January 2016
Presentations on the project roadmap and the objectives for the day, as well as the The Waste API and how it can power web services. Presented by Linda O’Halloran, Product Owner…
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Data Modelling and APIs for the Waste Services Standards Project | Paul Mackay | January 2016
Presentation on data modelling and APIs for the Waste Services Standards Project. Presented by Paul Mackay, Technical Lead for the Waste Service Standards Project. Presented at the Local Waste Service Standards…
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Making the business case – Alpha | Sarah Prag | October 2015
Presentation on making the business case for the Waste Service Standards Project – costs, savings and what next. Presented by Sarah Prag, Consultant for the Local Waste Service Standards Project,…
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Panel Discussion: Local Waste Service Standards Alpha Showcase | October 2015
The panel discussion closed our local waste service standards alpha showcase by summarising reasons for optimism and reason for frustration, looking to the months ahead. Sarah Prag, the DCLG Local…
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Storify: #LocalDigital Waste Service Standards Project: Alpha Showcase and Workshop | October 2015
A slideshow view of our Local Waste Service Standards Project: Alpha Showcase and Workshop held in London on 23 October 2015.
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Integration in action | Liam Hawkes | October 2015
Presentation on missed bin collections and an API to help reduce missed bin collections by Liam Hawkes, from Luton Borough Council, at the Local Waste Service Standards Project: Alpha Showcase and…
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Project Objectives and Plan: Local Waste Service Standards Project Alpha Showcase | Linda O’Halloran | October 2015
Welcome and overview of the Local Waste Service Standards Project – project objectives, the plan, priorities, where we’re at, and where we’re headed. Presented by Linda O’Halloran, Head of Products – Local…
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Technical update: Local Waste Service Standards Project | Paul MacKay | October 2015
Presentation on the Waste Service Standards Project – what the outcomes of the ‘alpha’ stage of work were and what we’re hoping to integrate as part of the beta. Presented by…
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Surrey Waste Partnership – Waste Data | Tom Beagan | October 2015
Presentation on the Surrey Waste Partnership which is made up of the county council and the 11 district and borough councils in Surrey. The partnership aims to manage Surrey’s waste in…
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Why common data standards are so important for local services: Introductory video
Common Standards for Common Services: Local Waste Service Standards Project This video explains what our local waste service standards is about and why it needs to be done. It explains what a data…
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Timeline and progress: #LocalDigital Waste Service Standards Project – Co-designing standards for waste services
Have a look through our storify to see the progress our #LocalDigital team has made on the Waste Service Standards Project. We are running this pilot project to help a…
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Local Waste Service Standards Project – Final Waste Discovery Day | Linda O’ Halloran and and Sarah Prag | July 2015
Presentation on the waste service standards project – objectives, possible deliverables, project roadmap and criteria for prioritisation. It also covered going forward and what the focus would be including measuring…
Read moreLocal Waste Service Standards Project Brief and Plan
This document summarises the Local Waste Service Standards Project, run by the DCLG Local Digital Programme. It summarises the project’s aims and anticipated deliverables, and it details the agile delivery…
Read moreLocal Waste Service Standards Project Individual Discovery Workshop Introduction Slides
These slides present the Local Service Standards Project to participant local authority teams as part of the Local Waste Service Standards Project, run by the DCLG Local Digital Programme. (Having problems…
Read moreUseful waste services standards links
Links to information related to waste services standards which may be useful: LocalGov Digital Bristol Council github- courtesy of Dan Hilton https://github.com/BristolCityCouncil There are two repositories here – one for…
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