1 December 2008

Socitm survey of transformational activity in local government

Socitm is doing a trawl to update the information it holds on transformational projects and programmes in local government.  As with similar exercises we have carried out in previous years, the information will be used in a number of ways:

• to get an overall picture of transformational activity across the UK for use in our work with government departments, the media and other opinion-formers
• to identify individual projects/programmes suitable for further research for inclusion in Socitm Insight reports
• to identify projects/programmes that might be invited as case study-based presentations for events organised by Socitm
• to pass on to central government colleagues for possible inclusion as case studies/examples in progress reports on transformation or aspects of transformation.

If you have made submissions to the IT Excellence or other awards schemes, you may like to submit the same (or updated) material to us.  Please go to the Socitm website to submit details – there’s a facility to upload existing files if you have them.

If you wish your material to be considered for inclusion in the forthcoming Cabinet Office progress report in transformation, please ensure you submit your material by 19 December 2008.

18 November 2008

Socitm/LGA data handling guidelines for local government published

Data handling guidelines for local government, produced by Socitm working in partnership with the Local Government Association/ Welsh Local Government Association have been published. Local Government Data Handling Guidelines shows councils the steps they need to be taking to keep safe and secure data collected from residents, businesses and other parties.

The booklet provides local authorities with an essential checklist of actions, highlights best practice in secure data handling, and sets the standard for local government. It provides chief executives, senior managers and elected members with a vital aid in living up to their responsibilities and being accountable for proper handling of personal information. Copies of Local Government Data Handling Guidelines are available on the Socitm website.

Login will be required until the document is made available to all from 25 November.

17 November 2008

President's report - October/ November 2008

These reports appear monthly following Socitm Board meetings, and can be viewed on the President's report page. See also the daily updated President's blog. The Socitm Newsletter is published every other month.

This month's President's report covers:

• Towards a more assertive Socitm and IT profession
• Socitm involvement with Government Connect and other key projects
• Meeting of Socitm National Advisory Council - its role and scope
• Proposed new membership Vision for the Society following EGM vote 
•  Merger with CITRA - the Charity IT Resource Alliance
• Socitm 2008 photo competition for this picture 
•  Future of the Socitm conference - Events Review Working Party 
•  Socitm financial position improving
• Board Workshop to consider member services for a wider membership
• President’s trip to New Zealand to attending ALGIM conference
• Other items to mention

14 November 2008

Website takeup service to enable automation of NI 14 returns

The Socitm Insight Website take-up service is to be enabled from January to provide an automated means of capturing the information about website transactions that local authorities will need to make as part of their NI 14 (avoidable contact) returns required from next April.

Existing subscribers will get this additional benefit at no extra charge, while new subscribers can get all the other benefits of the service as a by-product of signing up to satisfy the web element of NI 14 reporting.

The Website take-up service, established in 2004, tracks usage of and satisfaction with council websites, using information gathered through an exit survey offered to every fifth visitor to participating councils’ websites. In September 2008, 29,506 visitors completed the survey – an average of 324 responses during the month for each of the 91 councils already participating in the service.

Find out more about the Website take-up service or come along to our Website take-up service briefing event on December 5 in Leicester.

10 November 2008

Winners announced in Socitm 2008 photo competition: Socitm has announced the winners of its photo competition for delegates at Socitm 2008 (held at Newport,12-14 October), organised with sponsorship from GOSS Interactive. Details of the four winners, and links to the winning images can be found on the Socitm Web2 site. The competition tied in with the recent Socitm Insight report around Web 2.0 - Web 2.0: what it is and why it matters – a briefing for public sector managers - and the associated microsite www.socitmweb2.net that has been set up to demonstrate web 2.0 functionality such as blogs and forms.  The competition attracted 23 entrants who submitted a total of 141 images to the Socitm 2008 group page in Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/).  Other content from the conference including reports, ppt presentations, videos and speaker photos can be accessed from the conference landing page.

31 October 2008

Highlights from Socitm News 105 - the conference issue: See also pages on the Socitm website with conference reports, ppt presentations, videos and photos. Results of Socitm 2008 photo competition will be announced later this week in a broadcast

28 October 20008

Government Connect Conference calls Book now: At the Socitm Conference, announcements were made about additional support for Local Authorities, to help them achieve their code of connection (CoCo) to Government Connect (GCSx). The full press release (PDF) can be download by using the link. One of these measures is a series of 5 facilitated Conference Calls.  Each Local Authority is encouraged to sign up for one of these free themed calls. Spaces will be limited to 20 places on each call., these will be allocated on a first come first served basis. You may book a first and second preference, we will do all we can to accommodate you. To book your free conference call follow the link. Once booked, we will in good time send you the connection details for the Conference Call facility.