ICT strategy review

The project issues
The Council’s previous ICT Strategy had been published three years previously and was out of date. In addition, the Council was in the process of setting up an innovative Shared Service Partnership with neighbouring South Oxfordshire District Council for Finance and Revenues and Benefits (with some of the services outsourced to Capita). The Council was also in the process of restructuring its organisation.

A Project Board comprising Tim Sadler (Strategic Director), Helen Bishop (DD Organisational Development) and Ann Sadler (acting Head of ICT) issued an ITQ for assistance in developing a new ICT Strategy to cover the following three years. Three consultancy organisations were shortlisted and interviewed, and Socitm Consulting was selected.

The Socitm Consulting solution
We reviewed documents from within the Council, Socitm’s knowledge base, and other relevant agencies. We interviewed senior Members and officers, and ran focus groups with the ICT team and representative users. We also interviewed a neighbouring District’s Head of ICT, and three suppliers.

Our report documented the research, our findings and our recommendations, and concluded with an appendix setting out a draft ICT Strategy. The components of the report were:

• Background
• Research
• Current ICT service
• Target position (2009/10)
• Constraints
• Sourcing options
• Recommendations
  • ICT General, Operations, Projects Office
  • Sharing

The components of the draft Strategy were:

• Background
• Principles
• Service Area Applications
• Corporate Facilities
• Technical Infrastructure
• Technical Architecture
• Management and Resourcing
• Sourcing options
• Appendices
  • Corporate objectives, other strategy documents
  • ICT standards, policies and procedures
  • Work-plans 2006-2010

These documents were reviewed and refined by means of two presentation/discussions with senior management and one with the wider stakeholder community. The report was accepted by the client, and they would finalise and approve the Strategy shortly after the assignment was completed.

The benefits to the client
The Council’s ICT team was at full stretch and would have found it very difficult to produce a revised ICT Strategy without external help. The Council also expressed its desire to benefit from an unbiased, independent, external viewpoint based on extensive interviews with stakeholders at all levels of the Council and on Socitm’s considerable experience in the ICT industry.  The project was completed within the required 2 month timescale with only minor impact on the normal service.

Project identification
Client organisation: Vale of White Horse District Council
Client contact: Ann Sadler, now Head of Organisational Change, 01235 540334, ann.sadler@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Lead consultant: Malcolm Wylie
Project no: 5722