We’re Transforming!

Adapting to the Times

The current economic climate continues to impact all of us. At MVDC, high inflation and energy costs, coupled with reductions in central government funding in the past 10 years, means that over the next three years we must save £4.9 million to continue providing and improving much valued services to our residents and businesses. 

To make this happen, we looked at our resources, process and priorities and used this to create a Transformation Strategy. 

MVDC’s Transformation Strategy targets specific areas for increased efficiency, including financial systems, property management, procurement, and making best use of our resources. We are prioritising maintaining high-quality services while finding innovative ways to cut costs. 

Our Projects 2024/2025

Partnerships and Finance Transformation

We’ll approach partnerships more strategically, by reviewing existing collaborations and exploring new opportunities, to ensure better value for money and outcomes for residents. Our two-year Finance Transformation project will result in much closer working with another authority to share costs, upgrade our systems, improve our processes, and increase online service availability. 

Procurement

We will conduct a review against our standing orders, improve the accuracy of the contracts database, create better value for money and look to improve outcomes for social value. A major focus will be a review of our strategic contracts to ensure they are delivering as expected and are still competitive. This will be enhanced by mandatory contract management training across the council’s teams with contracts. 

Making best use of our resources (people and systems)

This will guide our approach to service delivery going forward. We will make sure customer contact is undertaken in the most cost-effective way possible, with a significant move to online transactions (e.g. online forms) so we can offer a 24/7 service. We will look to offer digital solutions that enable us to create online interactions that are valued by our customers and continually looking to improve customer service. Our design of future services will always provide alternative ways for our customers to interact with us if they are unable to use our online offer, including our much-valued customer contact centre, which can be accessed via telephone. 

We’ll invest in our people making sure that they have the right knowledge and tools to deliver their work in the most efficient way while continuously improving the way we work to improve the outcomes delivered to residents and businesses. 

Fees & Charges

We have reviewed all our fees and charges to make sure that MVDC is recovering the cost of providing services, and that our charges are in line with those of other authorities. Our review also covers a transition to ‘paying at the point of sale’ for upfront income collection.  

Strategic Review

We will challenge what we do across the organisation (not just specific services) to ensure that we meet the needs of our service users in the most effective and cost-efficient way. 

Effective use of Assets

We pledge to make the best use of community assets, including parks, open spaces, Dorking Halls, Pippbrook campus, and commercial property investments. 

Enhancing Digital Accessibility

As part of our commitment to improving services, we are expanding digital options, providing residents and businesses with more convenient ways to access essential services. Our goal is to make interactions faster, more efficient and easily accessible for everyone.