Following the Success of Its Dedicated Environmental Crime Web Site Called Lovelewisham

Microsoft Server Product Portfolio Customer Solution Case Study

Council Web Portal Cuts Graffiti and Illegal Dumping of

Overview “Because we now Country or Region: United channel councillors and Kingdom Industry: Government the public to the

Customer Profile LoveLewisham portal Pioneered by the London Borough where possible, the of Lewisham, LoveCleanStreets is a free online tool for people who live LoveCleanStreets is an or work in London to share award winning free online information about their local area and help improve the environment. portal that helps people who live or work in Business Situation The London Borough of Lewisham London to upload needed to extend its Web-based photographs of reporting service for citizens to record “grot spots” and community problems that environmental crimes, and help require action by the local other London councils adopt the same service. authority. The system— pioneered by the London Solution Microsoft Certified Partner bbits Borough of Lewisham— used Bing Maps for Enterprise gives citizens the power to mapping technology with Microsoft Silverlight and the Windows Server improve their immediate 2008 operating system to create environment. An the LoveCleanStreets Web site. interactive map using the Benefits latest Microsoft Silverlight Graffiti complaints fall by 30 per cent browser plug-in and Bing Citizens report “grot spots” Maps for Enterprise shows Clean-up time improves by 87 per cent reports in real time. Council wins awards for innovation Microsoft Certified Partner Situation lovecleanstreets.org Web portal. There Following the success of its dedicated they can see and search for all the “environmental crime” Web site called reports in their area and share them LoveLewisham, London Borough of through social networking sites, review Lewisham has worked with bbits and progress, or subscribe to updates. The LoveCleanStreets CIC—a new system can be fully integrated into local organisation set up to manage the authority systems, ensuring that issues national roll out of the service—to can be dealt with smoothly and allowing launch LoveCleanStreets. The portal developers to create their own helps Londoners report “grot spots”— applications to submit and retrieve areas affected by graffiti or litter—or reports. highlight good qualities in their local environment. Photos of areas are Phil Barton, Chief Executive of Keep displayed on high-tech maps where Britain Tidy, says: “We are delighted that anyone can view them. In addition, LoveCleanStreets has been rolled out citizens can monitor how local councils across London. Encouraging citizens to act on reports of areas that are blighted get involved and report the problems by graffiti or the illegal dumping of they see will not only help councils waste—also known as “fly tipping.” provide better street care services, but it will build public support for their work. The Mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve The adoption of smart solutions in this Bullock, says: “This is an excellent way will help keep London tidy and lead development. Improving the physical to cleaner, greener places.” environment of a neighbourhood makes an enormous difference to the quality of Solution life for those living in it. Due to a lot of Microsoft Certified Partner bbits started hard work and advances in IT, work in 1998 on the forerunner to the Lewisham’s new service will make a real LoveLewisham project for citizens to difference to the lives of Londoners.” report environmental crimes on the Web. bbits later upgraded the service so Lewisham—one of the highest residents could post images using performing councils in the country mobile devices. The partner uses the according to the Audit Commission—has Microsoft .NET Framework for the run its own online borough-wide scheme development work and Windows Server called LoveLewisham since 1998. Thanks 2008 for the operating system as well as to funding from the government and a Component Object Model. It has also new partnership with Keep Britain Tidy, deployed Microsoft Content the council has developed the site for all Management Server 2007, Microsoft HPC London’s 33 local authorities—to be Pack 2008, and Excel Services in rolled out across the United Kingdom Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. (U.K.) by the end of 2010—under the LoveCleanStreets brand. For the new London-wide application, bbits used Bing Maps for Enterprise to Users can submit reports using a free produce an interactive map, with the Windows Mobile or iPhone application. latest Microsoft Silverlight technology to They can also send a text or visit the show reports as they appear in real time.

24 complaints about graffiti have dropped The London-wide version went live in the by 30 per cent according to the Audit first quarter of 2010. Visitors can see and Commission, which compared 2007 and search for all the reports in their area, 2009 data. Nigel Tyrell, Head of share them on Twitter or a permalink, Environment Services, London Borough review progress, or subscribe to updates of Lewisham, says: “With the online through Really Simple Syndication (RSS) reporting tool, the amount and feeds. Ian Blackburn, Director at bbits, frequency of graffiti in the borough fell says: “This hosted service can be fully by 8 per cent between 2007 and 2009. integrated into local authority citizen Clean-up times have been cut relationship management technology, dramatically and resident satisfaction thereby ensuring that issues are dealt with our street cleaning services has with smoothly and in a joined up way. A increased.” free application programming interface helps developers create their own tools Citizens and Council Staff Can Easily to submit and retrieve reports.” Report “Grot Spots” People who live in Lewisham or work for Blackburn plans to enhance the online the council—which has more than 5,000 tool by upgrading to the Windows Azure employees—have an easy-to-use online platform where developers can create tool with which to report “grot spots.” cloud applications and services. In Tyrell says: “Within local authorities there Lewisham, the authority is soon to are many reporting tools, but introduce Microsoft Dynamics CRM, LoveLewisham is open and transparent which will help automate reporting from and supports social networking. We’ve LoveLewisham in a seamless manner to realised what an untapped resource our the council’s call centre. own staff were since thousands of them also live in the borough.” Benefits Since the LoveLewisham project started, Council officers are also seeing the the number of reported environmental potential for improving service delivery crimes in the borough has fallen by using LoveLewisham and significantly. However, another key LoveCleanStreets to conduct surveys performance indicator is an 87 per cent with other local authorities on how well improvement on the council’s response they’re meeting national key time to complaints about graffiti and fly performance indicators for combating tipping from elected members of the environmental crimes. Tyrell says: “This is council and citizens. Other statutory particularly valuable when collaborating bodies are also using the service, with a neighbouring borough on our including safer neighbourhood policing common boundaries.” teams of the Metropolitan Police in Lewisham and the London Fire Brigade. Clean-up Time for Casework Improves by 87 Per Cent Citizen Complaints About Graffiti Fall Complaints by elected councillors and by 30 Per Cent members of the public about Since introducing its online environmental crimes sometimes took environmental crime reporting tool, much longer to resolve than the

34 performance targets set by the council. brought together in a way that helps to Tyrell says: “This led to a loss of improve the relationship between local reputation by the council and irritated authorities and the communities they citizens. Because we now channel serve.” councillors and the public to the LoveLewisham portal where possible, the clean-up rate for complaints has improved by 87 per cent. Everyone can see the issue on the Web site and what has been done about it. This often helps Microsoft Server Product Portfolio with cases of dumping on private land, For more information about the for example, which takes longer to follow Microsoft server product portfolio, go to: up than a mattress left in the street.” www.microsoft.com/servers/default.mspx

Lewisham Wins National Awards for For more information about the Innovative Online Service Microsoft Citizen Service Platform The LoveLewisham project has inspired Portfolio: www.microsoft.com/uk/csp other local authorities such as Oxford City Council and Oldham Council to introduce their own schemes. In addition, the councils in Leicester, Kirklees, and Glasgow are all considering adopting the service. Further afield, Toronto City Council in Canada has expressed interest in launching a similar project.

In March 2010, Lewisham Council won the Environmental Innovation Award at the U.K. Government Business Awards for its work in developing LoveLewisham and LoveCleanStreets. The LoveLewisham project first received national recognition with a New Statesman New Media Award, winning the Modernising Government category in 2006, for use of mobile technology to address fly tipping and graffiti. LoveLewisham is also referenced in a government paper— Putting the Frontline First: smarter government.

Helen Gilroy, Head of Local and Regional Government, Microsoft U.K., says: “The LoveCleanStreets project is a leading example in local government. I’m really excited to see technologies being