Extended benchmarking service
Recognising that the use of ICT has become critical for service managers outside the ICT service to deliver business systems Socitm is now extending its benchmarking services. The new services include:
- Environmental impact of ICT on the organisation
- Information assurance
- Shared services
- Project and programme management
- Flexible working
- Business continuity
- Business transformation
Features of the new services
Willingness to change
"Understanding the implications of change, awareness of the risks and how to manage them, utter conviction that the outcome is worth the journey"
Best Value Review of the ICT Service
The project issues
The ICT Service is performing well within the Council - apart from a few minor areas where effort could be used more effectively. The key issue to emerge, however, was that the Council lacked an overall strategy for e-government and for the role of ICT in its corporate agenda.
Benchmarking analysis and improvement plan
The project issues
Torfaen CBC has taken part in Socitm benchmarking of their ICT service for a number of years. They are also in the middle of a council re-organisation and further changes are being made to the ICT service.
Business Case
The project issues
The Oxfordshire Gateway portal (“the Gateway”) had been developed in 2004 on behalf of the six local authorities in Oxfordshire, using ODPM eGovernment partnership funding. The hosting and support contract with the technology supplier was due to expire in early 2007, and it was decided to take this opportunity to engage external consultancy to review the current services and to produce a business case for the future direction on the Gateway.
Best Value review
The project issues
Barking and Dagenham invests approximately £6.5m per annum in information systems and supporting infrastructure and wanted to ensure that it was receiving value for money and is among the top performing local authorities.
Benchmarking services and Best Value
The new government’s policy decisions to date leave no doubt that difficult financial times will be experienced by the UK public sector over the next few years. These challenges should be a major spur to all public sector organisations to commit to ICT-enabled transformation of services. In turn this will place the ICT service under an even sharper focus. It will also put even greater pressure on the rest of the organisation to use ICT services much more effectively to achieve such a transformation.