Leeds-based strategic communications agency CDS has clinched a significant industry accolade in recognition of critical work delivered to Social Work England, police services, Transport for London, MoD and numerous local authorities during the Covid-19 crisis.
The forward-thinking insight, content, technology, digital and print specialist – which recently acquired behavioural research company, SimpleUsability – has been named ‘digital agency of the year’ at the 2020 UK Business Tech Awards.
The Yorkshire-headquartered organisation was recognised for its commitment to solving complex business problems for both the private and public sector – particularly in response to the pandemic.
That work ranged from delivering important, inclusive information to UK residents to supporting social distancing and behavioural change communications – with each ‘touchpoint’ carefully considered to make a positive difference to the wealth, health, and safety of British citizens.
Once such project was building a digital-first solution for new regulatory body, Social Work England. With over 96,000 social workers in England – and millions of documents associated with their career and practice – the new platform has all the building blocks any regulator needs for a fully joined-up system across both frontend and backend.
The online system is cloud-based, resilient, scalable, and accessible, while also providing an audit trail for the organisation’s 1,700 annual fitness to practice claims. This seeks to remove the problem regulators often have whereby information gaps and errors occur as a result of multiple systems and data sources.
Mark Gair, managing director at CDS said: “It’s always amazing to be recognised for the work you do. Our purpose as an agency is to ‘make a positive difference’, so for this to be recognised by the UK Business Tech Awards is fantastic. We are agnostic to technology but have some of the most advanced tech developments which allows us to deliver on our client digital transformation, innovation, and vision requirements.
“Within a crowded communications market, our key differentiator is that we will only take on a brief if there is a genuine opportunity to make a positive difference to society. That’s why we’ve garnered a reputation amongst some of the UK’s biggest institutions for our commitment to improving the health, wealth, and safety of the UK.”
Clare Gledhill, operations director for digital, insight and content at CDS added: “I’m always incredibly proud of not just the amazing work we deliver, but also the way in which we do it. Our open and inclusive approach to solving problems and building some of the most socially impactful solutions really shows in the way we feel about working at CDS. To be recognised for the outputs of our smart thinking and collaborative nature is testament to just how hard our teams work to always deliver the best they can.”
The UK Business Tech Awards celebrate the UK’s finest, and most digitally savvy companies, and rewards innovative and exceptional application of technology to transform and grow businesses. Judged by an independent panel of some of the UK’s leading technology experts, the 2020 winners were announced via a virtual awards ceremony, on Wednesday 25 November.
