Policy & Campaigns
- Information - better information management
- Innovation - in public services design
- Improvement - in public service outcomes
The policy drive will determine priorities and work programmes across the full range of the Society's activities, including events, advice and guidance to members, consulting services, collaborations with other organisations, and in our efforts to influence policies and their implementation wherever they affect local public services.
Having a clear policy stance will support development of our relationships and influence with bodies, such as the Local Government Association, Improvement and Development Agency, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives, Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, Audit Commission and a broad range of central government departments, including the Cabinet Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government, equivalent bodies in the devolved administrations of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and their relevant initiatives.
As a result of the Society's recent merger with CITRA (Charity IT Resource Alliance), the scope of Socitm's policy work will extend within and across the 'third' sector. Other areas of membership growth will further extend the Socitm's policy reach, which will be enriched also by exploiting Socitm's international links to draw on good practice in other countries.
The policy and campaigns work is led by our Head of Policy - Martin Ferguson.
He is assisted in this role by our Head of Information Assurance - Mark Brett.
The Head of Policy manages Socitm Futures' work programme as the main policy setting body for Socitm.
Bodies with which we maintain close relationships (formal relationships in bold) in each of our Priority Policy Areas include:
Multiple policy areas:
- CIO Council (Jos Creese and Glyn Evans)
- Local CIO Council (Jos Creese - chair, HoP - policy adviser, HoIA - programme manager)
- Local Government Delivery Council (Glyn Evans/HoP)
- EURIM (MD/HoP/HoIA)
- Parliamentary IT Committee - PITCOM (Managing Director/HoP)
- CESG - Information Assurance Events Advisory Board (HoP)
- Charities Consortium IT Director's Group
- Institute for Local Government Studies, University of Birmingham
Tomorrow's (local) public services:
- Cabinet Office - Government CIO; Government IT Profession
- Department for Work and Pensions - Government Connect and Tell US Once programme Boards
- Local Government Association
- Improvement and Development Agency
- Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers
- Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
- Institute for Government
- Newcastle University
Efficiency and Sustainability:
- Cabinet Office Delivery Group (Green IT)
- Audit Commission
- Public Sector Performance Management Forum
- CIPFA IT Panel (HoP)
Infrastructures:
- Cabinet Office Director, Office of the Government CIO & SIRO - Shared Data Centres, G-Cloud, AppsStore
- Cabinet Office Digital Britain Team - 'Digital switchover'
- Cabinet Office - Public Sector Network (Local CIO Council representative)
- Cabinet Office - Government ICT Strategy Implementation Steering Group (HoP - Local CIO Council representative)
- National Health Service - CIO
- Department for Work and Pensions - Government Connect Programme Board (HoP), Tell Us Once
- Department for Education - Employee Authentication Board (HoP)
- Public Sector Infrastructure Team Steering Group (HoP)
- Local CIO Council Supplier Management Board (HoP) - development of supplier management and assessment frameworks as mandated by the national CIO Council
- Socitm - Intellect Suppliers Forum (Stuart Mitchenall)
- National Computing Centre Group
- British Standards Institute
- British Computer Society (and ProfIT Alliance)
Citizen and Staff Engagement:
- Cabinet Office - Director of Digital Engagement - Citizen Engagement, Director of Digital Exclusion
- Department for Communities and Local Government - Digital Inclusion Project Team (HoP)
- Making Local Data Panel (Making Local Data Public - Jos Creese)
- De Montfort University