PF’s new monthly column aims to cut through the IT hype and suggest new ways of using technology in public services.This should help organisations both to become more efficient and to save money
This is the first article in a new series aimed at helping the public sector make the most of technology to improve services.
It will identify new developments and emerging practice and explain in simple terms the concepts and inter-relationships that can often be hidden behind technical jargon and commercial hype. The series is for ordinary readers who want to learn more about these issues.
The efficiency savings that public bodies must make in the next few years provide a difficult challenge. It is extremely unlikely that continuous improvement and marginal cutbacks alone will be enough to balance the books.
Public service bodies will therefore need to explore new ways of working, share innovation and make much greater use of the power of technology. This means using it as a facilitator to meet rising expectations, to achieve higher standards and to increase productivity from existing resources.
However, as we all know, harnessing the power of technology and innovation can be problematic and the public sector is not without its share of poorly executed projects.
One of the reasons often quoted for unsuccessful schemes is that they might have been viewed by business managers as ‘IT projects’. In reality, there is no such thing as an IT project. These types of schemes should all be based on improving the management and success of business services — and as such should be ‘owned’, driven and managed by the organisations that commissioned them.
They might rely on ICT to produce business benefits but this does not mean that the responsibilities and ownership can somehow be abrogated to the ‘techies’ in the IT department, or to specialist consultants.
Managers and politicians need to understand the potential of technology in the same ways that they need to understand the basics of the law, finance and human resources.
Hardware, software and the ways that we connect with technology are all evolving rapidly, but the opportunities, benefits and pitfalls are often shrouded in technical jargon that can appear confusing for busy managers and decision-makers.
The expectation is that ‘Innovation inbox’ will flag up issues that readers will want to explore in more detail with their colleagues and specialist advisers.
In parallel with the start of the column, CIPFA is publishing the Top ten tips for delivering efficiency through technology, a compendium of ideas, information, case studies and techniques under ten main themes.
Among the likely topics to be covered in this column in the next few months are: improving efficiency and processes by better understanding the needs of service users; what Web 2.O is and why it matters to public service bodies; how we can use technology to better support collaboration and partnership working; how we can enable staff to be more productive; smarter procurement processes; and improving the efficiency of the ICT infrastructure.
We also expect to look at issues around information handling, especially how to ensure that the right information is available at the right time in an appropriate format. Plus we will reflect on concerns about the use of personal information and self-service systems.
As the full effects of the economic problems start to be felt, the need for new ideas and smart thinking becomes ever more important. Understanding the potential responses and issues is an essential part of the day job of everyone involved in planning, managing and regulating public services.
Used judiciously, innovation and technology have the power to facilitate new ways of working and efficiency improvements worth hundreds of millions of pounds across the public sector. I look forward to exploring some of these possibilities with you over the coming months.
John Thornton is an independent adviser and writer on business transformation, financial management and innovation and executive director of e-ssential Resources.
