A new digital and AI leadership initiative is being launched to upskill senior local government officers and enhance digital service delivery.

The ‘Learn, Adapt. Lead: Digital fluency for local government leaders’ programme is to be rolled out by the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), with the aim of boosting collaboration between local and central government.

According to the LGA, the pilot programme will equip senior officers in non-digital roles to use AI responsibly and adapt to the modernisation of services, enabling them to ‘drive forward transformation in their councils and communities’.

As part of its commitment to improving services for residents, the programme seeks to establish digital confidence and leadership skills, create a ‘shared language and understanding of digital’ across the sector, and strengthen place-based outcomes and strategic alignment.

The move follows data from the LGA’s ‘State of Digital Local Government’ report which revealed 48% of councils have skills gaps in digitisation and technology management teams.

The two-phase pilot programme will be rolled out between now and April, with involvement from local authorities such as Somerset Council and East Sussex County Council, as well as the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Included in the first phase of the pilot will be curriculum development, rooted in the ‘realities of local and regional government’, while the second phase will involve communicating learning material to a small group.

Cllr Dan Swords, Chair of the LGA’s Public Service Reform and Innovation Committee, said: ‘This latest collaboration between councils and central government marks a pivotal moment in harnessing the transformative power of digital technology across local government.

‘It reflects a shared recognition of the urgent need to build digital skills and capabilities to improve public service delivery and meet the evolving needs of communities.’

For more on this topic, check out LocalGov and Multiverse's new report: Digital Transformation, AI and Local Government: The Case for Workforce Upskilling.