SocietyWorks launches dedicated installation of FixMyStreet Pro for South Kesteven District Council
South Kesteven District Council is the latest local authority to adopt SocietyWorks’ FixMyStreet Pro solution as its online street and environment reporting service.
Taking advantage of FixMyStreet Pro’s dedicated offering for district councils, which ensures districts only pay for the elements of the software they need, South Kesteven has invested in a fully branded, hosted and managed installation of FixMyStreet Pro.
“This platform not only streamlines reporting but also gives residents the chance to directly participate in the care and enhancement of their community.”
— Councillor Ashley Baxter, Leader of South Kesteven District Council
South Kesteven’s FixMyStreet Pro handles reports from members of the public about local street and environment issues, such as broken street lighting, fly-tipping and overflowing bins.
Categories for issues that are the responsibility of Lincolnshire County Council are also available for report-makers to select via the service. Reports within these categories will be automatically diverted to Lincolnshire, which also uses FixMyStreet Pro.
Should a user attempt to make a report of a problem outside of South Kesteven or Lincolnshire’s boundary, the service will redirect them to the FixMyStreet site.
As a map-based reporting solution, FixMyStreet Pro displays individual assets such as public bins and street lights to increase the accuracy of reports.
In instances of crossover, where some assets are managed by South Kesteven and others are managed by Lincolnshire County Council, such as street lights, FixMyStreet Pro ensures that reports always go to the correct authority.
Assets for South Kesteven are shared with FixMyStreet Pro directly from the Council’s map server.
Members of the public are able to view existing reports on the map and can subscribe to updates on any which are of interest. Updates on the progress of reports are sent via email to the report-maker and to any other subscribers.
South Kesteven can make use of FixMyStreet Pro’s comprehensive case management tools, including response templates and site-wide messaging to help manage expectations and divert emergencies.
Additionally, FixMyStreet Pro suggests potential duplicates to users at the point of making a report and encourages them to subscribe to the existing report to help reduce unnecessary contact.
Leader of South Kesteven District Council, Councillor Ashley Baxter, said: “Many of our residents are already familiar with using FixMyStreet to report county council issues such as potholes and flooding.
“They can now use the same platform to report issues to South Kesteven District Council including fly-tipping, graffiti and dead wildlife.
“We are delighted to introduce FixMyStreet technology to residents of South Kesteven. This platform not only streamlines reporting but also gives residents the chance to directly participate in the care and enhancement of their community.
“By making it easier to report concerns, we are ensuring that every voice is heard, and that every contribution helps keep the district safe, clean and well maintained.
“I would personally encourage anyone who spots any issues to explore FixMyStreet and take an active role in shaping their local environment.”
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “It is wonderful to welcome South Kesteven District Council into our community of FixMyStreet Pro users, which already includes Lincolnshire County Council.
“Our vision for FixMyStreet Pro has always been to enable councils to provide a truly united reporting service that meets each authority’s different needs. We are excited to see the impact the technology will have for South Kesteven.”
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New email alerts and RSS feed for parishes on FixMyStreet
Parish and town councils wanting to keep track of reports made via FixMyStreet within their ward boundary can make use of FixMyStreet’s new parish-level email alerts and RSS feed.
The FixMyStreet email alerts and RSS feed functionality enables users to subscribe to alerts for reports made within a certain area or that go to a certain destination, the latter of which only included upper tier authorities until recently.
The new parish level alerts give local people and councillors the ability to stay informed of what’s happening in the community, subscribing to be notified of issues reported within their parish.
To set up an email or RSS alert feed, users can go to the ‘Local alerts’ page from the main menu, or click ‘Get updates of problems in this council’ from any ‘All reports’ page.
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “Creating a snapshot of communities is among the things FixMyStreet does best, and I am delighted that we are able to offer parishes better access to data on what’s happening within their boundary.
“The new email alerts and RSS feed for parishes is only the start of a drive to make more of FixMyStreet’s functionality available to all levels of local authority.”
There are more developments underway to further extend the functionality of FixMyStreet to parish councils, building upon the existing functionality created for our unitary FixMyStreet Pro users to provide better shared reporting for devolved services.
For more information about FixMyStreet or FixMyStreet Pro, please get in touch.
FixMyStreet Pro integration with Alloy for Bristol City Council
A new integration has been completed between Bristol City Council’s installation of FixMyStreet Pro and their Alloy asset management system.
The integration enables reports relating to street cleansing issues made via Bristol’s FixMyStreet Pro service and those made via the national FixMyStreet site to be sent directly into Alloy, along with accurate map location data and supporting information.
With both systems connected via an API, any updates or status changes made by authorised council staff or contractors to street cleansing reports in Alloy can be sent back to report-makers, as well as to anyone subscribed to the report, helping to close the feedback loop and manage expectations.
Likewise, any updates made to reports by users on FixMyStreet or Bristol’s FixMyStreet Pro are shared back to Alloy.
Councillor Martin Fodor, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee at Bristol City Council, said: “We’re delighted that this new integration will enable Bristol City Council to deliver a more comprehensive service for residents via FixMyStreet.
“Securing greater communication between FixMyStreet and council services will allow people to report street scene issues directly into our systems, meaning jobs are sent to the appropriate team quickly with a higher degree of accuracy, and with jobs not for the council making their way to the right organisation.
“These improvements to the council’s FixMyStreet integration and processes should result in residents seeing a difference made to the cleanliness of Bristol’s streets.”
In control of integrations
For non-street cleansing issues, there is an existing integration in place for Bristol, historically set-up and run by the council using an open standard endpoint which provides a two-way flow of such reports into and out of their Confirm highways asset management system.
The addition of the Alloy integration for street cleansing issues is a great example of how councils can connect with FixMyStreet in different ways to best suit their needs and service areas – either by having us manage an integration for them, setting it up themselves, or, like Bristol, doing a bit of both!
Reports are triaged by FixMyStreet according to their location and category.
In addition to triaging between Bristol’s own systems, the software also recognises when an issue is not the responsibility of the council and diverts reports accordingly, either by sending them directly to another FixMyStreet Pro-using authority (including National Highways) or by redirecting the user to the national FixMyStreet site.
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “Interoperability is a core element of our proposition to the public sector.
“We are really pleased to be supporting Bristol City Council as they take advantage of FixMyStreet Pro’s flexibility and integrate it with another of their systems to make managing street cleansing reports easier and more efficient.”
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Bin maintenance added to the London Borough of Bexley’s WasteWorks service
Residents in the London Borough of Bexley can now use the Council’s dedicated version of our WasteWorks service to request new or replacement rubbish and recycling bins, and to request the removal of an existing bin.
This is the second phase of an ongoing transformation project we are undertaking in partnership with Bexley, the first of which completed earlier this year and included an API integration into Whitespace Work Software, the in-cab system used by the Council.
The addition of rubbish and recycling bin maintenance to Bexley’s WasteWorks service means that residents can now use it to access the following services:
- Check bin days on-demand;
- Add waste collection days to a smartphone or computer online calendar (they update automatically when changes are made);
- Report missed collections;
- Request a new rubbish or recycling bin;
- Request a replacement bin;
- Request the removal of a bin (without needing to request a new one).
Future phases of the project will introduce functionality for bulky and garden waste services, assisted collection requests and clinical waste collections.
Rob Flicker, Project Lead and Digital Manager at London Borough of Bexley, said: “The London Borough of Bexley have been busy working on the new Waste solution to improve our resident journey, providing an easy-to-use reporting tool and full integration with our Waste Management system.
“Bexley’s project team have launched the replacement bins service for Bexley residents as part of the new functionality within WasteWorks.
“The SocietyWorks team have delivered an excellent product that enables Bexley residents to order new bins and request for existing bins to be collected. The system offers an easy-to-use user interface, displays clear real-time status updates and dates for this service.
“I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Society Works Team for getting the replacement bins feature Waste Works solution live on-time and on-budget.”
Reducing avoidable contact with WasteWorks
Through its connection to Whitespace Work Software, Bexley is able to manage resident expectations and reduce avoidable contact by displaying detailed information and service updates to users about the collections associated with their property. See an example below:
Where information surfaced from the in-cab system shows that there was a problem with the way the waste was presented, the ‘missed collection’ report feature is disabled and relevant information will be shared with the resident to explain why.
About WasteWorks
WasteWorks launched in 2021 and was co-designed with the London Borough of Bromley, where its intelligent features have helped the Council to achieve a 40% drop in avoidable customer contacts about waste services.
Shortlisted for the Public/Private Partnership Award at the LGC Awards 2022, WasteWorks is designed as a Progressive Web App (PWA). This means it functions beautifully on any device, and can be downloaded to mobile devices to be used as an app, without the need to maintain a separate app codebase.
FixMyStreet Pro integration with Microsoft Entra ID for National Highways
National Highways’ installation of FixMyStreet Pro is now integrated with Microsoft Entra ID (formally known as Azure Active Directory).
The integration uses an OpenID Connect-compliant endpoint to enable National Highways staff users to sign in to FixMyStreet Pro using their Entra ID credentials.
Chris Livesey, Customer Service Performance Improvement Manager at National Highways said: “Our Single Sign On function with the FixMyStreet Pro platform went live this month as part of a four-year contract renewal earlier this year. This offers us increased security and reduced user-administration. The application now integrates with our Entra application ensuring a seamless exchange of data.”
Easy and secure staff access for larger teams
As well as increasing security by restricting log-ins to Entra ID accounts only, the integration reduces the administration associated with setting up staff user accounts for larger teams like at National Highways.
Existing account roles on National Highways’ Entra ID have been mapped to corresponding roles on FixMyStreet Pro to automate the account creation and permission-setting process.
Staff users on FixMyStreet Pro are able to use features including:
- Viewing all reports
- Editing or updating reports
- Making reports on behalf of members of the public who call or email the contact centre
- Assigning reports to inspectors
- Creating and editing response templates
- Viewing and exporting report data for analysis
Fixing England’s major roads and motorways
Members of the public can use National Highways’ FixMyStreet Pro service to report non-emergency problems on motorways and major A-roads managed by the highways agency.
Relevant reports made via the national FixMyStreet service, run by our parent charity mySociety, and those made via other authorities’ dedicated FixMyStreet Pro services are diverted directly to National Highways.
Conversely, reports made via National Highways’ FixMyStreet Pro service which are actually the responsibility of another authority are also redirected to reduce avoidable contact and failure demand.
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Like all of SocietyWorks’ solutions, FixMyStreet Pro can be integrated via API with any combination of back end systems, from CRM to asset management to single sign on.
Find out about how integrations work or get in touch for more information.
New integration for Camden Council’s FixMyStreet Pro keeps residents updated on tree reports
A new integration has been completed into Camden Council’s FixMyStreet Pro service to enable reports of problems relating to trees to be sent directly into Confirm OnDemand, the asset management system used by Camden to manage its tree assets.
Being able to send reports directly into Confirm OnDemand instead of via email means FixMyStreet Pro can receive automatic updates to be shared with report-makers, helping Camden to manage expectations, improve the user experience and reduce failure demand.
The integration also enables the display of individual trees on the FixMyStreet Pro map via an asset layer, which helps report-makers accurately select the tree they need to report.
Camden Council’s FixMyStreet Pro service launched in 2023 and is already integrated with Symology Insight for the seamless sharing of report data for other street, highway and environment defect categories.
Ilesh Chavda, Head of Applications at Camden Council, said: “We’re really pleased to have integrated FixMyStreet Pro with our Confirm OnDemand back-office solution. This will help to create a more efficient and seamless experience for our citizens, when it comes to reporting Tree-related faults.”
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “Among its many benefits is FixMyStreet Pro’s ability to bridge gaps between different local authority service areas, while at the same time being able to flex around the individual needs of those services. We’re pleased to have been able to support Camden in extending the functionality of their FixMyStreet Pro service and creating consistency for users.”
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Find out more about FixMyStreet Pro or contact us to request a demo with the team.
SocietyWorks provides Surrey County Council with dedicated installation of FixMyStreet Pro
Surrey County Council has switched to using SocietyWorks’ FixMyStreet Pro solution for managing street and highway fault reports from residents.
SocietyWorks is pleased to be working in collaboration with Surrey County Council to provide a dedicated installation of FixMyStreet Pro, which replaces the Council’s existing online reporting system for problems such as potholes, grass cutting and blocked drains.
Surrey’s FixMyStreet Pro is integrated with Boomi, the system used by the Council to link together its various backend management systems, such as Confirm, used for asset management, and Zendesk, the CRM system. Connected via an API, FixMyStreet Pro facilitates a two-way flow of communication between report-makers and the Council, making it easier to keep people informed on report progress.
As a map-based reporting solution, FixMyStreet Pro displays individual assets such as street lights and drains to increase the accuracy of reports. Assets for Surrey are shared with FixMyStreet Pro directly from the Council’s map server.
Members of the public are able to view existing reports on the map and can subscribe to updates on any which are of interest. Jobs raised internally by council staff are also displayed on the map via the API integration with Boomi.
Additionally, FixMyStreet Pro suggests potential duplicates to users at the point of making a report and encourages them to subscribe to the existing report to help reduce unnecessary contact.
Through its connection to the national FixMyStreet service, run by SocietyWorks’ parent charity mySociety, Surrey County Council’s FixMyStreet Pro is able to automatically divert reports of issues that are the responsibility of another neighbouring authority.
Matt Furniss, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Economic Growth, said: “We’re very aware that well-maintained roads are highly important to our residents. This is why here in Surrey, we’re investing nearly £300m in repairing and improving Surrey’s roads and pavements by 2028.
Introducing the ‘FixMyStreet’ platform is another example of our continued investment in our vital highways service. This new reporting platform will make it easier for people to report potholes and other defects, and to check the progress of all repairs in their local area.
Keeping Surrey’s busy road network moving and investing in improving our roads continue to be top priorities for Surrey County Council.”
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “It’s great to welcome Surrey County Council into our lively community of FixMyStreet Pro users. This solution is, and always has been developed in partnership with the councils using it, and we look forward to including Surrey’s voice when shaping its future.”
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The technology behind FixMyStreet Pro has been helping councils and other public bodies to transform fault reporting and rebuild trust with citizens for over 17 years now. Find out more about how it could work for you.
Merton Council switches to WasteWorks to manage online access to residential waste
Merton Council is the latest in a growing number of local authorities to use WasteWorks for providing self-service online access to residential waste services.
SocietyWorks has launched a brand new installation of WasteWorks for Merton Council, including integration into three of the Council’s systems to enable a seamless flow of data and ensure residents can access up-to-date information on-demand.
Branded to complement Merton Council’s existing online environment, WasteWorks enables residents to self-serve information about the waste services associated with their property, including checking their bin days, monitoring the status of their collections and reporting problems such as missed collections or damage once the collection round is completed.
Users can also request new or extra containers, request assisted collections and book, subscribe to and pay for green and bulky waste collections using the service.
Data on collections is surfaced for users via integration with the Selected Interventions Echo in-cab system, used by the Council’s waste services provider Veolia. The service is also integrated into the Council’s own CRM system, powered by Microsoft Dynamics 365, to enable council staff to manage all reports and requests from a central system. Meanwhile, payments for one-off or subscription services are handled through integration with Adelante SmartPay.
WasteWorks was launched in 2021 and designed in collaboration with Bromley Council, where it produced a 40% drop in unnecessary contact within the first few months of launching and a continual rise in subscriptions to waste services. Shortlisted for the Public/Private Partnership award at the LGC Awards 2022, the solution aims to reduce avoidable contact and simplify access to waste services.
SocietyWorks is already partnered with Merton Council for the provision of its street, highway and environment reporting service, which has been powered by FixMyStreet Pro since 2021.
Maureen McKean, Customer Access Point Team Leader at Merton Council, said: “The transition to WasteWorks was pretty much seamless and the level of support during the go live period superb. Any issues were rapidly dealt with. Users have been able to adapt to the new process well.”
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “The implementation of WasteWorks marks a new chapter in our partnership with Merton, and as a small, not-for-profit supplier we are delighted to have Merton’s trust in supporting them with another service area transition. We look forward to seeing the impact WasteWorks has in the borough.”
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SocietyWorks provides London Borough of Bexley with new residential waste portal
We’re delighted to be providing the London Borough of Bexley with a dedicated installation of WasteWorks, our integrated front-end residential waste portal.
We are working in partnership with Bexley using agile methodologies to provide a phased roll out of WasteWorks.
The first phase of this project delivers the initial functionality of the service, including an API integration into the Council’s in-cab system, which is provided by Whitespace Work Software. This enables residents to check their bin days on-demand, and report missed collections within specified timeframes (e.g. only after the waste crew has completed its round).
Following this, future phases of the project will introduce functionality including bulky and green garden waste subscriptions, new container and assisted collection requests, clinical waste collections and more.
WasteWorks is the second SocietyWorks solution chosen by Bexley, where FixMyStreet Pro has been providing an easy way for residents to report local street, highway and environment problems since 2019. The two services will sit alongside each other, sharing the same accessible and user-friendly design.
Rob Flicker, Project Lead and Digital Manager at London Borough of Bexley, said: “Bexley were looking for a new Waste solution to improve our resident journey, providing an easy-to-use reporting tool and full integration with our Waste Management system. We evaluated several different options and selected WasteWorks as the best fit for Bexley.
“The first phase of the project delivered by SocietyWorks was to provide residents with a Bin Collection Day look up together with the ability to report Missed Bins as part of the new functionality. The SocietyWorks team have delivered an excellent product that provides Bexley’s residents with an easy-to-use reporting tool and displays clear real-time status updates for this service.
“I would like to take the opportunity to thank the SocietyWorks Team for getting the WasteWorks solution live on-time and on-budget. I am looking forward to working with them to implement the Garden Waste and Replacement Containers services for the next phase of this project implementation.”
Angela Dixon, Managing Director at SocietyWorks, said: “Providing simple, self-service digital access to residential waste services is essential for local authorities looking to improve service delivery while keeping costs down. We’re so pleased to be working with the team at Bexley on this project, and look forward to seeing the impact WasteWorks makes.”
Mike Nicholls, Chief Commercial Officer at Whitespace Work Software, said: “Whitespace Work Software plays a crucial role in our mission to modernise waste management services for the London Borough of Bexley. Through API integration into the WasteWorks portal, residents will benefit from seamless access to vital information regarding bin days and reporting missed collections.”
About WasteWorks
WasteWorks launched in 2021 and was co-designed with the London Borough of Bromley, where its intelligent features have helped the Council to achieve a 40% drop in avoidable customer contacts about waste services.
Shortlisted for the Public/Private Partnership Award at the LGC Awards 2022, WasteWorks is designed as a Progressive Web App (PWA). This means it functions beautifully on any device, and can be downloaded to mobile devices to be used as an app, without the need to maintain a separate app codebase.
Find out more about WasteWorks here.
SocietyWorks welcomes two new board members
We are delighted to have appointed two new members to our board of directors: Anna Scott and Alastair Tibbitt.
Both Anna and Alastair join us as non-executive directors, each bringing a wealth of experience and insight that will help us to ensure we are providing the highest level of support to our public sector clients.
Anna and Alastair have also taken seats as trustees on the board of our parent charity mySociety.
Meet Anna
Anna is a content, brand and User Centred Design specialist with a background in data and human rights. She directed content and brand strategy at Open Data Institute, 360Giving and clients across data ethics and civic tech, and cut her teeth as a Guardian journalist.
Anna currently designs digital public services as a Senior Content Designer at Defra. She has a Masters in Human Rights from UCL. Outside work, Anna spends time chasing her toddler around and working on an electronic music project.
Meet Alastair
Alastair is a journalist and digital audience specialist with decades of experience in digital media and developing new models for public interest news.
Alastair currently works at The Conversation, and has previously worked with broadcaster STV, along with a number of other non-profit news projects. He is a founding co-director of Scottish investigative journalism co-operative, The Ferret. He also provides training and mentoring to journalists and campaigners on how to make the most of their information rights.
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As a not-for-profit organisation wholly owned by a charity, our board members give their time and expertise voluntarily. We’re grateful to each of them for their guidance. Get to know the rest of our board or get in touch to ask us a question.