draft ict strategy 2015 - 2018 · developing a green ict policy to look at ways of reducing power...

APPENDIX A

Draft ICT Strategy

2015 - 2018

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1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 3

2. Purpose of the Strategy ......................................................................... 4

3. Context .................................................................................................... 5

4. Vision and Core Principles .................................................................... 8

5. ICT Strategic Themes and Outcomes 2015-2018 ................................. 9 Theme 1 – ICT Infrastructure and successful delivery of operational services .................................................................................................. 10 Theme 2 – Customer services and access to services ........................... 12 Theme 3 – Information management and security .................................. 14 Theme 4 – ICT Governance ................................................................... 15 Theme 5 – Business Transformation and Information Development ...... 17 Theme 6 – Partners and suppliers .......................................................... 19 Theme 7 - Application Modernisation ..................................................... 21

6. Delivering the Strategic Themes ......................................................... 22

7. Resourcing the Strategy ...................................................................... 22

8. Risk ........................................................................................................ 22

9. Action Plan ............................................................................................ 24

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1. Introduction The three year timescale for this latest ICT Strategy sits within a very uncertain period for local government. Councils continue to face an incredibly challenging financial position and Lincoln is no exception to this, these financial pressures, along with increasing customer expectations, will continue to have a major influence on the Council’s plans for service delivery and will no doubt exceed the three year lifetime of this strategy. All Council services rely upon ICT services in some form. In some cases this will be obvious and reach right out to the customer and in others it will be less so where the technology plays a supporting role behind the scenes. What is clear though is that, if targeted correctly, ICT is often the critical factor or enabler in delivering the business transformation priorities of the Council to improve services and reduce the costs of service delivery. The emphasis in this strategy is therefore focussed on identifying, designing, building and deploying ICT solutions that underpin, a more mobile workforce, customer channel shift to effective web services, increased partnering, and improved performance, and that are reliable and secure. The strategy itself sets out 7 ICT strategic themes and associated delivery projects which encompasses the strategic architecture and ICT service requirements of the Council along with the business specific projects of the services themselves. Combined, these form the overall ICT requirements of the Council in supporting the delivery of its strategic priorities.

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2. Purpose of the Strategy The purpose of this document is to provide the vision and to layout the key aspects of the Council’s ICT Strategy for the next 3 years.

The ICT Strategy is designed to ensure that the appropriate ICT infrastructure is in place to enable the Council to deliver services efficiently and effectively and implement the Council’s Strategic Plan. Therefore the ICT Strategy is aligned to the strategic objectives of the Council with technology being used as an enabler of business change to support the Council’s priorities.

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3. Context Strategic Drivers The public sector and in particular local government have in recent years faced unprecedented challenges to deliver against increased demand for services and rising customer exceptions whilst experiencing the largest reductions in funding for a generation. These challenges are forecast to continue until at least 2018/19 and potentially through to the end of the decade. These challenges present specific demands and requirements for ICT across the Council, including; the delivery of services across organisational boundaries, the requirements of customers, the changing manner in which customers wish to interact with their council, the pressure to share services and common ICT platforms and the need for ever-increasing efficiency means that the Council must deploy its technical resources effectively. Technology should always be a tool and an enabler with which to deliver the strategic priorities and services objectives rather than a goal itself. The Council’s Strategic Plan promotes a clear view of the Council’s strategic focus and in particular its key priorities. The Plan along with the Medium Term Financial Strategy summarises the challenging financial climate that the Council is working in and sets out the service commitments and aspirations for the City. The Plan, supported by other key plans and strategies, service plans and individual performance appraisals provides the integrated policy and financial planning framework to ensure that the Council’s vision and strategic priorities drive the activity and allocation of resources of the Council. Making the best use of ICT is a key business success factor for the delivery of the Strategic Plan. An effective ICT service will support delivery of most of the strategic priorities. The five strategic priorities are:

Reduce poverty and disadvantage

Seek to increase the supply of affordable housing

Improve the council’s housing landlord function

Reduce Lincoln’s carbon footprint

Develop a fit for purpose council Stakeholder Drivers Key drivers from services, partners and public include:

The need for a more mobile workforce using IT to deliver greater productivity and requiring a suite of technology solutions (mobilisation) to suit the different worker styles.

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With an increase in the use of technology at home staff expect to have the right tools for the job and know the capabilities of technology.

Greater demand and rising expectations from the public for personalised web based ‘user journeys’ with improved access to services through multiple channels (Channel Shift) and using a variety of devices.

Increased use of IT to automate, streamline and self-serve, to support reduced staff numbers and service delivery costs.

Recognition that not everyone has access to technology and that a digital divide has the potential to exacerbate existing social inequalities.

An increase in shared and co-located services allowing more effective service delivery and providing efficient use of the property estate.

Increased reliance by service providers on IT systems availability and for business continuity planning.

Partnership, integration and collaboration with other public sector organisations e.g. implementation of Universal Credit

Technological Drivers Key drivers from a technology perspective include the need for an efficient range of ICT services and the exploitation of new and emerging technology:

The growth in off-premise (Cloud) solutions which reduces the need for on-site physical storage and other applications.

Mobile technology developments including tablet devices, the emergence of 4G wireless connectivity and new web based applications.

Consolidate the use of, and leverage maximum benefit from existing platforms and applications such as Microsoft.

Rationalise the applications estate as a one Council approach to technology use.

Technology and security roadmaps of the current ICT estate necessitate a programme of continuous upgrades relating to the applications, databases, server infrastructure, network etc.

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Reduction of operational delivery costs across the ICT estate.

Employ industry best practise in support of the different technology stacks (e.g. servers, storage, networks, desktops, applications, databases) and ensure compliance with data and information security protocols.

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4. Vision and Core Principles As already stated in this strategy there are many challenges facing the Council, with financial pressures being foremost and affecting all aspects of its business. Therefore the Council’s vision for its ICT services is to create a modern, flexible ICT organisation that embraces technical innovation and targeted investments; and works alongside service managers to drive up the deployment of up-to-date, reliable ICT products and services that maximise staff efficiency and reduce ICT ownership costs. With the challenges facing the Council and taking into consideration the vision the Council holds for its ICT services the following core principles have been designed to support the business requirements for ICT and are all factors uppermost when considering technology related initiatives. Principle 1 – Fitness for purpose Services should put technology at the core of their service transformation; appropriateness and value for money should be tests for any technology related business case. Principle 2 – Usability Those using ICT systems should have the correct technologies to aid them in their work and an appropriate level of skill to use these effectively. Principle 3 – Channel shift Migrating services on-line should be the default position of any procedural/service development or review, or procurement of ICT systems, and an end-to-end approach should be adopted. Principle 4 – Optimise Benefits Existing ICT assets should be reviewed, rationalised and exploited as far as possible to maximise gain and eliminate waste. Principle 5 – Corporate Approach A corporate approach should be considered where several services have similar ICT requirements. Principle 6 – Technology to support the Business Information technology should be the enabler of business and not an obstacle. It should be resilient and secure.

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5. ICT Strategic Themes and Outcomes 2015-2018 Given the strategic context and the vision for ICT services the Strategy has been organised into 7 strategic themes, providing a spectrum of ICT delivery areas that cut across the Council’s business objectives and help to achieve the priorities in the Strategic Plan, The six principles outlined earlier will be applied throughout these themes.

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Theme 1 – ICT Infrastructure and successful delivery of operational services Why this is important to us The provision of ICT services is vital to delivery of the Council’s services. The quality, reliability and resilience of the ICT infrastructure will enhance all Council services over a period of time. In some cases this will be obvious and reach right out to the customer and in others it will be less so where the technology plays a supporting role behind the scenes. The level of reliance of services on ICT has continued to grow in recent years to the point where the Council cannot function efficiently without ICT for even short periods of time. This essential ICT includes corporate infrastructure such as email, voice and data networks, servers, personal computers and mobile devices and increasingly internet and other e-channels. The provision of such a level of capability requires a solid and dependable technology infrastructure that is maintained and updated on regular basis. It also needs to have an appropriate level of resilience and capacity to reflect changing organisational and service demands and data growth. It is therefore essential that ICT infrastructure is managed appropriately to ensure that ICT resources are used effectively to meet strategic needs and outcomes. Outcomes we wish to see

Effective and resilient business continuity and disaster recovery contingencies.

Provision of an effective, robust and resilient infrastructure to support service delivery.

Provision of access to the infrastructure which meets the business need.

Standard infrastructure to provide lean, sustainable services ensuring that the Council remains on relevant and supported software/hardware platforms.

An ICT service that gives confidence to services that the infrastructure will meet their requirements.

Cost effective and efficient ICT services. We will achieve this by

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Implementing appropriate disaster recovery plan arrangements, including the development of a secondary site and full revision of the Business Continuity Plan for the ICT.

Developing and monitoring a ‘review and refresh’ programme for; o core infrastructure; o storage, o servers, o network o desktop refresh programme o new desktop applications o operating systems o IT suite improvements o storage upgrade o upgraded email environment o Other core infrastructure o Device Health and safety improvements pool

Implementing SIP (internet) telephony and development of the current telephony service to ensure a robust and resilient system.

Developing a Green ICT Policy to look at ways of reducing power consumption and carbon emissions.

Exploring and assessing the opportunities presented by cloud based services in order to exploit the potential it offers, with an aim of ensuring the most cost-effective and secure solutions.

Continuing to develop of staff cross skilling within the team to aid resilience, working with other authorities where relevant.

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Theme 2 – Customer services and access to services Why this is important to us The essence of channel shift is that the public can engage easily with Council services through the on-line channels of their choice and it is recognised that the potential benefits for both the public and the Council are significant. As well as improving the way in which the public engage with Council services, channel shift also affords the Council the opportunity to radically change the way in which it delivers its services. Therefore, the ICT access to services not only sets out key deliverables that will use technology it improve and transform communication but also use technology to deliver improved outcomes for both the public and the Council. Outcomes we wish to see

Revamped internet, intranet and web based services to address the digital inclusion agenda;

o providing access channels that are as accessible and inclusive as possible, whilst delivering efficiencies.

o allowing customers to access and apply for key services and gain information about their local area online or via any device (self serving).

A demonstrable increase in customer take up of on line services.

Technology that links front office customer requests to back office service processing systems.

Automatic service tracking available to customers to avoid the customer having to chase for this information.

Sharing of customer information across services, systems and partners avoiding replication of information and duplication of work, supporting a ‘Tell Us Once’ approach.

Customers can be confident that their personal details and information are managed securely and shared responsibly.

We will achieve this by

Procuring and implementing a new Website Content Management System with improved functionality and accessibility to information.

Developing and implementing a self-service solution for high volume customer transactions enabling them to interact and transact with the

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Council through its website ensuring appropriate integration into back office services – ‘digital by default’.

E-enabling and providing access to high frequency Council forms online.

Developing a Single Customer Record that will allow the sharing of data to enable a joined-up customer service across services and reduce correspondence costs.

Implementing of a new GIS and web-mapping facilities to enable viewing of data by geographical areas, enabling services to be targeted more effectively.

Continuing to develop the opportunities that social media presents for working with customers and other organisations for improved service delivery and information provision.

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Theme 3 – Information management and security Why this is important to us The Council relies on information to provide services and it is one of its most important assets. Effective data and information management is vital to decision making and providing appropriate levels of security. This theme focuses on improving information management and establishing a fit for purpose information management and reporting environment. Outcomes we wish to see

Embedment of Information Management in the culture of the Council.

A comprehensive suite of Information Management Policies which are embedded and operated throughout the authority.

A secure infrastructure which is compliant with the Government Public Sector Network but easily accessible by users.

The exchange of information with partners, safely, easily and appropriately.

Educated officers who are able to make informed decisions regarding the use of data and information.

We will achieve this by (in conjunction the Information Management Strategy Action Plan)

Implementing improved information Governance structures, e.g Information Governance Board

Maintaining our compliance with PSN accreditation through ICT security improvements.

Revising/developing and implementing of a range of information management policies e.g.

o Retention and disposal o Records management o Government Security Classification Policy

Reviewing IT processes and arrangements e.g mobile working, physical security, disposal of equipment, to ensure the requirements of data protection are satisfied.

Increasing awareness amongst officers and members along with the delivery of appropriate training for staff.

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Theme 4 – ICT Governance Why this is important to us ICT as a service is critical to the day-to-day functioning of the authority. It supports all services, and therefore it is important that there is effective management of ICT resources to be a robust reliable service. To ensure this is enacted, the service need strong leadership and direction. This theme tackles the need to focus on using ICT resources effectively and ensuring that all ICT activity meets the business needs and strategic priorities. Outcomes we wish to see

A responsive ICT service that participates in active and purposeful engagement with services and users, ensuring a two way communication channel is in place.

A robust ICT governance framework that successfully manages the development and implementation of key ICT infrastructure, systems and service improvements.

Effective use of resources, ensuring activities meet strategic priorities.

A strong alignment between the ICT Service Plan and service plans from other areas.

Effective programme and project management. We will achieve this by

Developing the corporate arrangements for the management of ICT Strategy and delivery of key outcomes.

Developing appropriate governance arrangements for ICT investment and development, providing a strong gate keeping role and enforcing compliance to agreed ICT standards and procedures.

Developing appropriate forums and methods of communication to actively engage with services and ICT users.

Documenting and standardising our technical infrastructure to increase resilience and reliability of services

Reviewing our requirements for corporate refresh programme to gain maximum benefit from investments in infrastructure

Defining and agreeing guidelines and standards for new systems to optimise systems and services to provide improved cohesion between Council functions

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Applying Lincoln Project Management Model to all ICT projects to ensure best practice is applied and minimising the risks to investments

Developing a technology roadmap to provide a direction of travel and ensure consistency of approach towards common goals

Improving process for licensing and asset management to safeguard the Council’s assets and maximise benefits from software investments

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Theme 5 – Business Transformation and Information Development Why this is important to us The Council is committed to continually improving, its approach to ensuring a fit for purpose council us based on modernising and re-designing services, removing waste and duplication in doing so, maximising assets, generating new sources of income, commissioning and procuring assets and making greener choices. ICT has a key role in play in the success Under the Council’s transformation programmes, Service Review, Next Steps and Towards Financial Sustainability there has been a steady adoption of new ways of working. This has demanded changes to the way ICT services are delivered to staff. These demands will continue to increase as members, staff and partners continue to adopt new and modern approaches to delivering services. This theme of the strategy focuses on ensuring that the delivery of the benefits that come from the investment in technology. Outcomes we wish to see

An enabled workforce, who are mobile/agile, smarter and more productive with access to the right (up to date) tools and information supported in a variety of locations to ensure fit for purpose.

A skilled workforce who are competent and confident to embrace new technologies and that are able to support customers to adopt new access channels.

Business processes and tools that deliver value for money through reducing costs, reducing duplication and improving speed, that are customer focussed and digital friendly.

Sharing of customer information across services, systems and partners avoiding replication of information and duplication of work

Continuous improvement in the delivery of services.

Delivery of the TOFS Programme and associated savings targets. We will achieve this by

Developing and implementing a strategy for the implementation and utilisation of mobile and agile working tools ensuring the provision of personal computing facilities to suit all categories of staff and their working locations.

Undertaking a review of intranet and internal information systems to ensure they remain fit for purpose.

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Joining up communications with other Lincolnshire Authorities including shared email/calendar, instant messaging and improved video conferencing.

Supporting the Corporate Training Plan to invest in staff through the provision of appropriate training and technical skills

Continuing to support to the TOFS Programme, developing and refining business processes based on a lean principles approach, ensuring the effective utilisation of information and providing appropriate facilities to suit all categories of staff and their working locations.

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Theme 6 – Partners and suppliers Why this is important to us The Council is committed to working together with partners and other Local Authorities and agencies to deliver better, more cost-effective services to customers. This will involve collaboration with other public sector partners, where mutual benefit can be identified, and also working with suppliers who can provide the necessary additional skills and tools. The ability to work more effectively with our partners across the public, private and voluntary sectors is an essential goal for the Council. At the same time national initiatives and legislation are driving the requirement for integrated information systems and data across the public sector, with the current economic challenges also necessitating more efficient use of property and technology assets. From a technology point of view successful partnership working is underpinned by an ability to transfer seamless, secure and reliable information between partner organisations in order to fully integrate services. Whilst information governance will be key, the technical challenges to deliver integration are not insignificant. Data must remain secure across public and private networks and data centres and systems architecture must be consistent across all partner organisations. Outcomes we wish to see

Successful partnership and supplier working arrangements and relationships.

Replication and adoption of best practice across partners benefitting from the access to a wider pool of skills and expertise.

Procurement of services in joined up and sustainable manner

Sharing of customer information with partners avoiding replication of information and duplication of work, supporting a ‘Tell Us Once’ approach.

Efficiencies and service improvements for customers through partnership working.

Improved availability of collaborative technologies that facilitate partnership working.


Reviewing and developing our collaborative working arrangements with our key partners, sharing strategy, procurement opportunities and resource sharing.

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Supporting the transfer of the Job Centre Plus into City Hall and developing shared ICT facilities for customers.

Developing County Wide opportunities, including Police, Health etc. to gain benefits from economies of scale and joint learning.

Developing Public Services Network opportunities, gaining benefits from national infrastructure investments when they arising.

Reviewing the provision of secure and reliable ICT solutions supporting collaborative arrangements, e.g. Revenues and Benefits shared service, Joint Planning Unit, Lincs Homefinder.

Continuing to review procurement opportunities with Procurement Lincolnshire.

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Theme 7 - Application Modernisation Why this is important to us The authority runs a number of large ‘Line of Business’ Applications and many smaller desktop applications. These cost significant amounts of money to buy and run, and it is therefore essential that Value for Money is achieved by ensuring that they are efficiently supporting the business of the Council Outcomes we wish to see

An optimum suite of business applications that are correctly implemented correctly, based on efficient processes, provide the best fit for the business and that provide the best outcomes for the customer.

Interfaced and integrated business applications that are used effectively to enable streamlined and joined up working.

A continual review and refresh programme of system applications ensuring that they remain upgraded, supported and fit for purpose.

A skilled workforce who are competent and able to exploit the benefits available from our business applications.


Delivering a programme of upgrades, replacements and patches , to line of business applications, including:

o i-trent (HR and Payroll) o Servitor (Works Management) o Universal Housing (Housing Management) o M3/IDOX (Planning) o Choice Based Letting o Optitime (Works Scheduling) o Agresso (Financial Management)

Developing an ICT Application Strategy, enabling investments from line of business applications to be optimised

Implementing an annual review/refresh programme of for key business applications.

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6. Delivering the Strategic Themes This strategy sets out the direction of ICT at the Council for the next three years. It will be delivered in conjunction with service providers and partners. It will provide opportunities to exploit new technologies and infrastructures and enable delivery of service plans. This strategy will be monitored and steered through the Information Governance and Technology Board. All ICT projects of sufficient scale or consequence are also to be managed in accordance the Council’s corporate project management methodology, the Lincoln Project Management Model.

7. Resourcing the Strategy The Council currently has an IT Reserve along with a revenue budget for project based work. Service areas are responsible for the ICT investment required in the service specific ICT applications and the funding of the ICT equipment needs of the service teams. In addition the Council has an Invest To Save Reserve which is used to pump prime initiatives, such as channel shift, that will ultimately result in the release of revenue resources. The investment plan in support of this ICT strategy identifies a need for an significant investment over the next 3 years in order to design, build and run the corporate ICT architecture and to deploy solutions into departments that take advantage of it (to deliver workforce mobilisation, customer channel shift, business reporting, reliability and compliance). In addition investment will be required in the service specific ICT applications and for the provision of equipment to officers. The costs associated with replacing or updating core infrastructure and operating systems can generally be met from the ICT reserve however, the level of the reserve will need to be kept under review to ensure adequate funds are available to support the ICT Strategy. Should the Council require new or upgraded systems or IT services to support projects, the associated costs will need to be included in the business case for the project.

8. Risk Some of the high level risks associated with the delivery of the strategy are:

Resourcing constraints associated with having too few ICT and/or business development staff whilst running concurrent programmes of work.

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The need for services to be fully engaged in the delivery of the strategy and adhere to the core principles.

Funding constraints due to unrealistic and under developed business cases.

Funding constraints where funds identified through business cases are not made available.

Changes in scope that can have an impact on cost, resourcing and timescales.

Business continuity and disaster recovery vulnerabilities

Important and urgent organisational business priorities emerging which require ICT resourcing, necessitating the redeployment of ICT staff.

The technical complexity and interdependencies inherent in the deployment of ICT solutions.

Cultural challenges associated with new ways of working, the use of technology and the desire for customised local solutions.

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9. Action Plan Theme 1 - ICT infrastructure and successful delivery of operational services

Actions we will take: Timescales for Delivery Resources Required

DR site operational June 2016 From ICT Reserve

ICT Team

DR/BC plan in place August 2016 ICT Team

Develop of strategic review and refresh programme December 2016 ICT Team

Develop green ICT Policy June 2017 ICT Team

Explore and assess cloud opportunities December 2017 ICT Team

Develop staff skills Ongoing From existing ICT budgets

ICT Team

Implement SIP telephony June 2016 From existing ICT budgets

ICT Team

Theme 2 - Customer services and access to services


Implement new Web Content Management System March 2016 From ICT reserve

Appendix A

Business Development Team

Develop self-service solution December 2016 From Invest to Save reserve


E-enable Council forms Ongoing From Invest to Save reserve


Develop a single customer record December 2016 From Invest to Save reserve


Implement new GIS and web mapping facilities March 2016 Business Development Team

DDES teams

Develop social media opportunities Ongoing Communications team


Theme 3 - Information management and security

Appendix A


Develop Information Governance structures March 2016 Information Management resources

Maintain compliance with PSN Ongoing ICT Team

From existing ICT Budgets

Revise and develop Information Management Policies December 2016 Information Management resources

Review IT processes and arrangements in relation to data protection In line with Information Management programme

ICT Team

Information Management training and awareness for staff and members Ongoing Information Management resources

Theme 4 - ICT governance


Develop ICT Governance arrangements for investment and development

June 2016 ICT team

Develop user forums and engagement and communication methods December 2015 ICT Team

Documentation of technical infrastructure Ongoing ICT Team

Define standards and guidelines for new systems December 2016 ICT Team

Apply LPMM to all projects Ongoing BDIT team

Appendix A

Develop Technology Roadmap December 2016 ICT Team

Develop licensing management processes December 2016 ICT Team

Theme 5 - Business transformation and information development


Develop Mobile Strategies September 2016 BDIT Team

Review Intranet and internal information systems June 2017 BDIT team

Join up communications tools with partners December 2016 ICT Team

From existing ICT Budgets

Support the Corporate Training Plan Ongoing BDIT Team

Supports TOFS programme Ongoing BDIT Team

Theme 6 - Partners and suppliers


Review of collaborative working arrangements December 2016 ICT Team

Support transfer of JobCentre Plus to City Hall January 2016 ICT Team

City Hall capital budget

Develop Countywide opportunities Ongoing ICT Team

Appendix A

Develop Public Services Network opportunities Ongoing ICT Team

Review of support to shared services December 2016 ICT Team

Review procurement opportunities Ongoing ICT Team

Theme 7 - Business applications


Deliver a programme of upgrades, replacements and patches;

I-Trent

Servitor

Universal Housing

M3/IDOX

Choice Based Letting

Optitime

Agresso

April 2016 January 2016 April 2016 March 2016 June 2016 April 2016 March 2016

From existing service departmental budgets

Develop Application Strategy March 2016 BDIT Team

Implement an annual review/refresh programme of key applications March 2017 ICT Team and Service Areas

draft ict strategy 2015 - 2018 · developing a green ict policy to look at ways of reducing power...

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