Socitm Blog

"As new President of Socitm, I am taking the opportunity to write to all key parts of the Society. Consulting is an area which has seen much change and pressure, and which has a critical role in the future success of the Society through the value it offers to our members.

Socitm Consulting is the biggest and most complex financial area we have. I am familiar with the difficulties of running a consultancy business and recognise that the current economic environment poses many challenges for consulting organisations. However, I am confident that Socitm Consulting's many strengths position it, uniquely, to take advantage of the opportunities that these challenges bring.

For me, Socitm Consulting plays a vital role (much more important than the money!), through its specialist consultancy services to the public, independent and third sectors. Your professionals enhance the capacity and capability of public service organisations to reform, collaborate and innovate. You are also often the 'face of Socitm' - our professionalism and our style. This sometimes feels to me to be undervalued in our strategic planning. Never has the need for high quality, high value, relevant and suitably experienced public sector IT consultants been greater. There is no shortage or choice in the marketplace, but few competitors have the public sector business awareness edge of your teams.

I applaud Consulting's focus on enabling its clients to deliver 'more, better for less', a theme that you have built into the Council of the Future initiative. In developing this theme, I would like to encourage stronger integration with other business streams of Socitm - Socitm Futures, Insight and Events. It will also require continued strengthening of the working relationship with the Head of Policyand the Local CIO Council (LCIOC). I know that Consulting is supporting the work of the Society in championing the role of IT in local public services reform, building practical models for the future shape and contribution of councils, third sector, health, education, emergency services, etc. These support our members' challenges and link to the four agreed Socitm policy areas:

• Information assurance, data handling and sharing;
• Efficiency and sustainability;
• Shared services and infrastructure; and
• Citizen/staff access and engagement.

This also resonates with my priority to get members more engaged with our work - you have many 1000s of skilled IT professionals you can potentially call upon, and their instincts must help you to anticipate business opportunities. How can you realise that potential?

Consulting's activities are therefore driven by a 'marriage' of Socitm's policy priorities, as determined by Socitm Futures, and of the demand for its specialist consultancy services. The Society must avoid inventing new vision and priorities, however well intended, or chasing 'themes' which emerge but are outside our agreed priority policy areas. This is a general message to all groups in the Society.

You and all the members of Socitm Consulting have my full support. I am happy to help you in any way I can in these causes, and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further, perhaps in a roundtable. Please let me know if this would be helpful.

Kind regards

Jos Creese

President, Socitm"­

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