Councils from the East of England flocked to Ipswich to find out how technology can save taxpayers' money.

A best practice workshop, hosted by Ipswich-based web company A Recipe for Success (ARFS), attracted 35 local government professionals from across the region.

The event was aimed at officers involved in organising and administering committee meetings - an area where online systems can result in real savings.

A number of industry experts spoke on how new technology is becoming an essential tool for local authorities to communicate and do business with their customers.

ARFS Director Tonya Hills, who spoke about the growing importance of online petitions, said: "The workshop was an overwhelming success with councils keen to find out more about how technology can cut back on needless admin, saving them time and money. At ARFS we pride ourselves on sharing best practice, and we're delighted so many councils took the time to take part in this event."

ARFS has been working with Colchester Borough Council and the City of Lincoln Council to develop its new Meeting Factory software to automate many of the tasks associated with administering meetings.

Delegates heard from Lashelle Reed, Senior Analyst for the City of Lincoln Council, about how The Meeting Factory has helped her organisation to become more efficient.

Professor Chris Fowler of CHIMERA, the University of Essex's social and technical research institute, also spoke about understanding which target audiences would be interested in communicating with councils online.

This is the fourth in a series of ARFS events bringing local councils together to share ideas and information.

Below are some quotes from the delegates who attended:-

Colin Sweeney, Suffolk County Council
"I came to the last event and I have spoken to Jeff about The Meeting Factory. It's the best committee management system I have come across and I have looked at three or four. I came to hear more about it so I can take that message back to my organisation again. I am also here for the networking side."

Victor Godfrey, North Herts
"My director received an e-flyer about the event and we were interested to come along to see where technology is moving and how to deliver the future of the web. We don't have a committee management system in place at the moment."

Martin Thrower, Broadland
"I came along to an event before at Colchester Borough Council and received an email invite to come along today. We don't have a committee management system in place at the moment. We had one nasty experience with a system, and once bitten twice shy. So I'm interested in hearing the first presentation."

Liz Witcher, Cambridge
"My boss received an email about the event. It's the committee management system that I'm really interested in and it's good to hear from people who have got one in place that they are working with already. We don't have one at the moment. All the topics looked interesting, particularly how to get the public more interested in things using creative ideas."

Ray Amesbury, Babergh

"The event has been absolutely wonderful and I am really glad I came. We don't have a committee management system but it's something we're looking to do so I found that presentation most interesting."

Jerry Herring, Welwyn Hatfield
"We received an email about the event. It was very good and the presentations were great. The agenda for the event was very concise so you didn't feel like you were bombarded and it was very useful."

Copies of the presentation are available on request.