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 has helped lead a turnaround in the approach and delivery of medication management across the East Midlands. This has resulted in a changed approach from top management through to care staff, driven by the establishment of the East Midlands Medicines and Social Care Management Group, and a new medicines management policy.

Transport teams from Nottinghamshire Councils have been working in partnership since 2005 to generate savings and gain value for money in their procurement of new vehicles and training, devising a ‘single tender process'. Thus far, nine authorities have together made savings of over £1.75 million. Building on the initial procurement strategy for Refuse Collection Vehicles, the consortium has now extended this single tender process to panel vans, training and tyre maintenance.

In taking steps to challenge itself and effect change, Lincolnshire Transport Services Group has achieved significant savings in the past two years. The trial and subsequent introduction of e-auctions as a new model for awarding Public Service Vehicle contracts for school travel has already driven savings of more than £270,000 per academic year. This will total more than £1.3 million over a five-year period, across only 10 e-auctions.