Socitm Blog

We live in unprecedented times - a Coalition Government, extreme financial austerity, accelerating demands and expectations on public services, climate change, population growth, the list goes on ......

Amongst all this, Socitm has been granted the opportunity to help shape government ICT strategy from a local public services perspective. The invitation has come from John Suffolk's department in The Cabinet Office via the Local CIO Council. Socitm Futures is taking up the challenge. We will be maintaining close contact with the Cabinet Office as we our thinking unfolds.

We also have the opportunity to engage a newly formed Local Government Association member group (under the auspices of the LGA Improvement Board), that will be tasked with championing ICT-enabled reform in local public services over the coming 12-18 months.

Our objective is to produce a local perspective on those strands of the Government ICT Strategy that are relevant to, and those that may be missing, for enabling and reforming delivery of local public services. The emphasis in our local perspective will be on the practical things that CIOs/Heads of IT will need in order to:

1. reduce the costs of IT services provision
2. enable the delivery of local public services in radically transformed ways and at significantly reduced cost.

Our perspective will be driven by Socitm's conception of Tomorrow's local public services, built on the three-fold principles of:

• Reformation - existing assets and opportunities for re-use
• Collaboration - multi agency/local/sub-regional/regional scales of working together
• Innovation - co-creation and co-production of services involving citizens, businesses, etc.

Much of this chimes with the Coalition Government's policies and principles, including the 'Big Society'.

With the help of Socitm Futures, we are developing a programme of work to cover the following workstreams:

PSN - G-cloud - Shared Data Centres - Apps Store

Shared Services and Supplier Management

Programme and Portfolio Management, including Project Delivery and IT Profession

End User Devices, including Desktop

Transparency and Open Data

Digital Delivery

Information Management, Assurance, Architecture, Standards and Open Source

Sustainability and Green ICT

Our aim is to produce a one-page summary for each workstream, with a supporting document setting out argument and evidence.We believe that much of the thinking and material already exists. Consequently, much of the work will be to assemble that thinking and supporting argument in a clear and logical manner using our collective experience and wisdom.

• Scoping document for the workstream (early August)
• First draft available for consultation with wider Futures and Local CIO Council members and other relevant stakeholders (18 August)
• Complete consultation (27 August)
• Submit final draft to Socitm Head of Policy (6 September)

The workstreams are being led by members of Socitm Futures and others with specialist knowledge and experience. We would be delighted to receive contributions from Socitm members and others - experiences and examples (good or bad!) - in each of the workstream areas. Please contact Suzanne Horner (suzanne.horner@socitm.net) in the first instance. She will be able to direct you to the relevant workstream lead.