Government CIO: Implementation of ICT strategy must improve

Nelson says government needs coherent narrative and more clarity on 'success'

New government CIO Andy Nelson (pictured) believes that the implementation of the ICT strategy must improve.

A report by independent body the Institute for Government that has identified several areas in which the government ICT strategy implementation needs to improve is "fair and balanced", according to Nelson.

Nelson, also Ministry of Justice CIO, responded to the report at the Future of Government ICT event in London today.

The report, entitled System Upgrade, is a follow-up to 2011's System Error report, which was a review of ICT in government.

Although the government did not respond directly to the initial report, it did outline a government ICT strategy shortly afterwards that picked up on some of the recommendations made in System Error.

The research tools used in System Upgrade included 20 interviews of departmental CIOs, select CIO direct reports, procurement professionals and individuals working in the Government Digital Service (GDS) and a survey of selected government CIOs.

It also analysed other reports on ICT strategy implementation, including the six-month review by the National Audit Office in December 2011 which, like System Upgrade, praised the government's progress of its ICT strategy but identified areas for improvement.

The first of the areas that need to improve, according to the Institute for Government, is bringing all of the strands of the ICT strategy together and creating a clear narrative to help define what success looks like.

"How is it all coming together? IT leaders know there are 19 different strands to the strategy but they do not know what to prioritise," claimed the institute's programme director, Tom Gash.

The second was, as acknowledged by the government's One Year On report, to produce sufficiently robust mechanisms for measuring the success of the ICT strategy.

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Government CIO: Implementation of ICT strategy must improve

Nelson says government needs coherent narrative and more clarity on 'success'

"Departments need better information on the areas in which they are doing well, not just new things, it has to be a holistic, overall outlook," Gash explained.

In response to the first two priorities, Nelson said: "I agree that the government needs a coherent narrative and better clarity into what success looks like."

The third priority set by the institute is to secure departmental interest and resources.

"Funding models are emerging for some work streams such as PSN [the Public Sector Network], but other strategy activities have not yet secured the resources required," the report reads.

The report goes on to explain that the resources could be dedicated staff, investments or departmental time.

"Most resource decisions will ultimately be made at departmental board level, a reality that underlines the need to simply articulate ICT strategy benefits and priorities to the wider Civil Service leadership," it said.

Gash stated that another concern is whether public-sector staff have the necessary skills to deliver the ICT strategy.

"When we asked this question as part of our survey, only a third of the respondents believed they had the necessary staff."

None of those surveyed said that they were confident that they would be appropriately rewarded for their efforts to support the ICT strategy.

According to the report, this is important as parts of the strategy call for departments to give up a degree of autonomy and choice for the "greater good".

Although Nelson said this was a fair point, but Jennifer Rigby, CIO of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), disagreed.

"I challenge the rewards question; it is our job, we should be improving services and there's some reward in that in itself," she said.