Socitm consultants will be leading three workshops at Socitm '08. 'Green ICT: we all want to save the planet, but how best?' is a discussion led by Terry Street exploring how ICT departments can best contribute to the Green agenda. Jenny Brogden will be chairing 'Digital Inclusion – What has it got to do with me?', outlining how some local authorities are developing innovative solutions to digital exclusion that generate cost savings. 'Government IT Profession and the Aspire Partnership' sees Mary Wintershausen and Mark Wheatley showing how the Government IT Profession and SFIA frameworks can help organisations meet their transformation goals, drawing on results of the recent UK IT profession pilots sponsored by the Aspire Partnership. For more information view the Socitm 2008 pages.
Lean working is a proven technique for helping teams of people to identify inefficiencies in their own work areas and to cooperate in eliminating them. Anyone familiar with local authority processes will know there is huge scope for greater efficiency and better service outcomes. The latest Socitm Consulting briefing, available from our Briefings page and from the Socitm library, explains how to apply the principles of Lean working in the context of your own organisation.
Socitm Consulting has issued a new briefing on Information Assurance. Written by business continuity expert James Royds and aimed primarily at local authorities, the briefing argues that addressing information assurance is a strategic priority, explains why a holistic approach is crucial and highlights the principles that will underpin success. The briefing is available from our Briefings page and from the Socitm library.
Socitm Consulting's latest briefing - available from our Briefings page and from the Socitm library - outlines practical steps in moving the Information Management agenda forward. Information security, business continuity, estates rationalisation and improved customer service are among the potential gains.
Socitm Consulting has issued a new briefing on Shared Services which takes a critical look at the agenda and suggests how best to approach it. Doug Maclean, Consulting Manager, challenges the conventional view of where savings are most likely to be made, gives examples of current best practice and recommends a structured approach. The briefing is available from the Socitm library and our Briefings page.
Socitm Consulting and SOLACE Enterprises have launched a new benchmarking service which enables public and independent sector organisations to assess on a regular basis how well their corporate services are performing compared with peers. Benchmarking Corporate Services is based on the UK audit agencies’ Value for Money indicators and offers an objective view of performance in five key areas - finance, human resources, ICT, estates management and procurement – together with a survey of stakeholders’ subjective views of service quality.
Socitm Consulting hosted a workshop at the British Library in London on November 15 for those addressing social exclusion or implementing digital inclusion, developing social policy or Local Area Agreements and Partnerships. Presentations from the workshop will be added to this website in due course, and there will also be a follow-up online survey.
The latest Socitm Consulting briefing summarises current issues around Green ICT and sustainability, and recommends a strategic approach. Authored by Terry Street, Consulting's Product Manager for Procurement and Outsourcing, it provides a number of examples of how ICT can contribute to the green agenda. The briefing is available from our Briefings page.
The London Borough of Camden is transforming its ICT service and redirecting millions of pounds to support front line services - with Socitm Consulting as a key partner. Savings of £600k have already been realised in year one and from 2007/08 onwards over £1m per annum is expected to be freed up. For more information please see our press release on this project.
Details of two upcoming benchmarking groups are now available. Benchmarking the ICT service across the UK (Group 39) kicks off on 4th September, and Benchmarking the Education ICT Service (for LEAs) commences on 25th October. Full details can be found on the Consulting benchmarking page.
Socitm Consulting has issued a new briefing for responsible officers in UK public and independent sector organisations which outlines the requirements of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and recommends how to achieve compliance with the standard. The briefing looks at the issue in the broader context of best practice in security management and ISO27001 in particular. The briefing is available from the Library section of this website and from the Socitm Consulting briefings page.
Socitm Consulting has project managed the successful transformation of Thurrock Council's geographic information infrastructure, enabling Thurrock to meet its obligations under the Mapping Services Agreement and to win plaudits from the IDeA. The implementation follows on from the development by Socitm Consulting of a GIS and LLPG Strategy for Thurrock. For more information please see our case study on this project.