South West Democratic Services Officers Conference Thursday 9 October 2014 was held at the County Hall in Exeter

This was a free event as a result of sponsorship achieved from ADSO, SW Councils and Modern.Gov.

The theme of the Conference was ‘Future Vision for Democratic Services’.

There were a number of really useful workshops, namely ‘IT and social media for councillors and the democratic process – ‘advantages and risks’, ‘New ways of working (lean and mean) / preparing for shared services’, ‘New challenges for Democratic Services Officers (not just a committee clerk!)’ and ‘Scrutiny – latest developments and working with partners’.

Excluding presenters, there were 65 delegates who signed up and on the day 67 actually turn up. (Both figures include one representative from Public-i).

It was unfortunate that there were no representatives from two of the largest Councils

All in all this was a successful event which will be happening once or twice in a year.

Resources from the Conference can be downloaded below: