What is this recipe?
A Digital Advocates Network (sometimes called Digital Champions) is a group of volunteer staff from all parts of the council who are enthusiastic about improving ways of working.
They are not necessarily technical experts. They are receptionists, social workers, librarians, and planners who are keen to learn and are good at helping their colleagues. Their role is to act as a friendly, human bridge between the central digital or IT teams and their own service areas.
Advocates provide ‘on-the-ground’ support. They help bust myths about new technology, show colleagues how a new tool or process works, share success stories, and feed back to the central teams what is and isn’t working for staff.
It’s a powerful, low-cost recipe for spreading digital skills and changing the organisation’s culture from the inside out. It builds momentum for change by empowering the council’s own staff, creating a positive, grassroots movement.
When is it good to use?:
This recipe is brilliant for making change happen at scale, especially when a central team’s resources are limited.
- When a central digital team is small and struggles to reach all corners of a large and diverse organisation.
- During a major technology change, like the rollout of Microsoft 365, to provide local peer-to-peer support and encouragement.
- To help embed new ways of working, such as agile methods or a focus on user needs, beyond the core digital teams.
- When you need to gather honest, unfiltered feedback about how digital projects and tools are landing with frontline staff.
- To identify hidden talent and keen individuals across the council who could be future leaders in digital transformation.
How does it work?:
Setting up a network is about building energy and empowering people.
- Get Senior Backing: First, get an influential senior manager to be the network’s sponsor. Explain the benefits: it’s a low-cost way to improve skills, support staff through change, and get better value from technology. Get their agreement for advocates to spend a small amount of time (e.g., 1-2 hours a month) on network activities.
- Ask for Volunteers: Put out an open call for volunteers via all-staff emails, your intranet, and in team meetings. Be very clear that you are looking for enthusiasm and a willingness to help, not technical expertise. Frame it as a great personal development opportunity.
- Hold a Kick-off Event: Bring all your new advocates together. Have your senior sponsor attend to personally thank them for volunteering. Use this session to agree on a clear purpose for the network. Make it fun, collaborative, and exciting.
- Empower Them with Knowledge: Give your advocates the inside scoop. Provide them with regular, exclusive updates on digital projects and early access to new tools. Equip them with simple resources (like checklists or one-page guides) that they can easily share with their teams.
- Create Their Community: Set up a dedicated online space for the network, like a Microsoft Teams channel. This is where they can ask for help, support each other, and share ideas.
- Keep the Momentum: Meet as a group regularly (monthly is good). Publicly celebrate their successes, listen carefully to the feedback they bring from their services, and, most importantly, act on it. Make them feel valued and influential.
An example:
A county council is trying to encourage staff to use the data visualisation tool Power BI to make better, evidence-led decisions. However, uptake is low as many people find it intimidating.
The Data & Intelligence team starts a ‘Data Advocates’ network. They recruit 25 volunteers from services like Public Health, Highways, and Children’s Services.
- What they do: The advocates get extra training and support from the central team. An advocate in Highways creates a simple dashboard to track road repair requests, which gets their team excited about what’s possible. They then share a template of this dashboard with the rest of the network. An advocate in Children’s Services runs a lunchtime drop-in session to help their colleagues with basic questions.
The better outcome: Instead of data being something only the ‘experts’ do, the advocates make it accessible and relevant to their teams’ day-to-day work. They create a buzz and demonstrate the real-world value of the new tool in a way a central team never could. The council’s ability to use data improves dramatically, not because of a top-down mandate, but through the enthusiasm of a peer-to-peer network.
Further reading:
- The Digital Champion model: A useful overview of the different types of champion networks from the Digital Champions Club. https://digitalchampions.club/the-digital-champion-model/
- Building a successful champions network: A practical guide from Microsoft on getting a network for Microsoft 365 off the ground. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/community/build-a-champions-program
- Digital Champions Network for the Public Sector: An example of a national network providing training and resources for champions. https://www.digitalchampionsnetwork.com/
- The power of a Champion’s network: A blog post from a UK council about their experience of setting up a network. https://blogs.kingston.gov.uk/digital/2019/07/22/the-power-of-a-champions-network/
- Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail: A classic article by John P. Kotter on leading change, which highlights the importance of creating a “guiding coalition” – exactly what an advocates network is. https://hbr.org/2007/01/leading-change-why-transformation-efforts-fail