Outgoing President commends Socitm Seven Point Plan for next Government

Socitm President Steve Palmer will commend the organisation's Seven Point Plan for the next Government in his final remarks before stepping down from the role following the Socitm National Conference and AGM on Thursday 22 April.

Referring to 'the worst public finances that anyone currently employed in the sector has experienced' Steve will suggest in his opening conference speech that for Socitm members, the current crisis could also bring a significant set of opportunities.

ICT's potential to contribute significantly to public sector savings through better use of information and reducing costs of technology never been more relevant, while IT and information management, normally subjects far from the media's interest, are enjoying unprecedented attention in the run up to the election.

The opportunity should be seized by Heads of ICT and CIOs who aspire to be leaders who shape the organisation, rather than managers who simply deliver a reliable ICT service.  To provide focus for their efforts, Socitm has developed a seven point plan, addressed to the Government incoming following the election, covering the most important issues required to deliver 'Tomorrow's Public Services'. These are:

1. Renew locally determined and delivered public services, empowered by information and technology
2. Re-align ICT governance
3. Focus on public services outcomes
4. Re-think service design
5. Assure information
6. Provision intelligently
7. Continue to build ICT professionalism

Delivering Tomorrow's (local) Public Services will require reform, collaboration and innovation to enable people to handle information more efficiently and effectively.  This means pervasive self-service both for citizens and for employees. Citizens are only interested in the outcome of their interaction with government, so all electronic interactions should be designed from their perspective, not to suit the administrative convenience of the organisation.

The realignment of ICT governance, says Socitm's plan, must start with the appointment of a Minister and a CIO at the heart of government to develop the necessary frameworks and standards to support the new infrastructures such as G-Cloud and PSN.  The trust and identity assurance implicit in these will be a key enabler of electronic service delivery, particularly in collaborative working between partners, for example in a 'Total Place' context.

Perhaps the most intellectually challenging role for the new CIO leader is rethinking process design.  As well as the opportunities that technology affords in reducing human intervention and 'hand-offs' between processes, there are others that require cultural changes.  For example, pervasive flexible working, which is top of the list for making dramatic reductions in cost, requires a shift in management thinking out of industrial age 'line of sight' control to a supportive, 'team coach' role.

Information assurance should be bread and butter to the CIO, but the challenge lies in getting the message across to the people actually handling the information on a day to day basis within our organisations - and that is practically everyone.  It is their actions and behaviours that directly impact upon public confidence.  It is information that enables everything that we do, yet remains the 'Cinderella' resource.

The CIO must also ensure that ICT procurements are of manageable size and cost, with an outcomes-focused review process built-in from the earliest possible stage.  The need for innovation and imagination means creating a market accessible to SMEs and small, innovative ICT companies.

Finally, ICT managers need to develop their skill sets to make a successful transition into the new CIO leadership role that their organisations need.  Those organisations require rounded individuals whose social, communication, business and influencing skills complement their technical ability.  Socitm is putting much more energy into its professional development activities, and will enable members to win accreditation for their professional competence.

'At the heart of our Seven Point Plan is a simple mantra - reform, collaborate, innovate' says Steve Palmer. 'It sums up the changes required to address the astonishing shortfall in public sector finances.  ICT lies at the heart of any approach to saving money, and that means a new role for technology managers in leading their organisation through these three steps. Our Plan will help define that role'.

Socitm's Seven Point Plan for IT in Tomorrow's Public Services can be downloaded from the Socitm website www.socitm.net

The Socitm National Conference will take place at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole on 22 April 2010. Some tickets are available on the day, or contact enquiries@socitm.net

Further information

Martin Ferguson - martin.ferguson@socitm.gov.uk
Socitm Head of Policy
Mobile: 07931 456 238

Vicky Sargent - vicky.sargent@socitm.net
Socitm Press Office
Mobile: 07726 601 139