All local authorities are seeking to deliver improvements in business practices, customer satisfaction, and staff morale against a backdrop of reduced financial resources and increasing customer demands. Nottingham City Council is carrying out a three-year trial of Systems Thinking to see whether this approach delivers such improvement.

Derby City Council will deliver an impressive £19.2 million in net savings over the next three years as part of their Delivering Efficient Corporate And Transactional Services (DECATS) project. Following a three-year implementation stage the project should then deliver a further £21.4 million per annum from 2014/2015.

East Lindsey and South Holland District Councils have forecast £19.5 million in savings over the next ten years with a 42% return on investment, by developing a unique Merged Services project that, so far, outlines the re-design of five identified service areas; HR, IT, Finance, Customer Services, Revenues and Benefits.

The strategic alliance of High Peak Borough Council and Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and the sharing of its services, including an Equality & Diversity Policy Officer, has already begun to generate savings and increase efficiency in just under a year.