Socitm calls for shared services

eWeek.

The report, titled 'Planting the Flag', covers the organisational changes and new approaches required across government services: local authority, health, education, emergency services and civil society organisations.

Socitm says business change, digital access, public services infrastructure, transparency, IT governance and ICT policies will determine success in government departments, states ComputerWorld.

Planting the Flag has been endorsed by UK government chief information officer Joe Harley.

In the document Harley writes: “The themes contained in Planting the Flag rise to the challenge of delivery of improved services, while at the same time cutting costs. We must also continue to innovate, adopting new processes and developing new products to meet the growing challenges faced by the public sector.”

Public Service.co.uk says there is generally an ICT fear in the UK public sector, according to former Socitm president Jos Creese.

To tackle these fears, Creese says CIOs in central and local government have "a particular responsibility for getting the message across clearly about the opportunities, risks, and how risks can be best managed, in using technology to change what we do, and how we do it".