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The Cabinet Office has published the Government ICT Strategy
Strategy acknowledges there have been ‘significant failings’ in big projects, and Coalition is ‘determined to do things better’.
The strategy sets out the direction of central government ICT and the key actions that will be delivered over the next 24 months. The Chief Information Officer's Delivery Board is expected to publish a strategic implementation plan by summer 2011.
As expected, the initiatives are ‘all about spending money better, rather than spending more’.
The Strategy outlines the following points to address current and future challenges:
- introduce new central controls to ensure greater consistency and integration;
- take powers to remove excess capacity;
- create a level playing field for open source software;
- greatly streamline procurement and specify outcomes rather than inputs;
- create a presumption against projects having a lifetime value of more than £100 million;
- impose compulsory open standards, starting with interoperability and security;
- create a comprehensive asset register;
- create a cross-public sector Applications Store;
- expect SROs to stay in post until an appropriate break in the life of a project/programme; and
- encourage boards to hold ministers and senior officials to account on a regular basis for the progress of ICT projects and programmes.
The 25-page report is divided into four parts. Part 1 addresses project failure; waste reduction, and economic growth stimulation. Part 2 outlines a push towards a common ICT infrastructure. Part 3 focusses on how a common infrastructure will be the enabler to deliver change. A new strengthened governance structure is explained in Part 4, which will oversee a new ‘devolved delivery’ of ICT to departments whose work is already aligned with relevant ICT projects.
To read the full report, click here, or download the pdf below.
