ICT strategic planning in the public service

Today, most organisations in all sectors of government, commerce and industry are critically dependent on information and communications systems. With the emergence of e-commerce, the use of technology is becoming just another accepted, indeed necessary, way of conducting operations in government. Consequently, organisations, including the public service, are increasingly looking towards the application of technology not only to underpin existing operations but also to create new opportunities that enable them to provide a cheaper but better quality delivery service on a 24 hours, 365 days basis.

ICT strategic planning within the public service takes place at various levels. At the highest level, the Central Information Management Unit (CIMU) in the Office of the Prime Minister is responsible for formulating an Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP) which in scope covers the whole of the public service.

The ISSP maps out the key objectives for the next three years and identifies tasks critical to the success of these objectives.

The ISSP also serves as a guideline to ministries in the formulation of their own ICT strategic plans.

At ministry level, CIMU is spearheading an initiative to promote and develop strategic planning for ICT investment within ministries. Although there is no "ideal" approach to ICT strategy formulation and planning, there are a number of factors that should be considered critical for its success:

Using the experience of appropriate people from the public service organisations, possibly with external advisers with the view to provide invaluable knowledge of ICT and on governance;

¤ Gaining the buy-in, commitment and involvement of permanent secretaries, information management officers, directors corporate services, directors general and directors at the planning stage;

¤ Getting a thorough understanding of the internal, external and ICT environments, government or service imperatives and culture, and the real stimuli driving strategy and planning;

¤ Setting objectives consistent with experience and maturity, and tailoring the approach to meet them, employing a mixture of analytical and creative techniques.

However, it should be remembered that having a good strategic plan is only a means to an end - its implementation is when the value of the strategy is actually realised. A key aspect of the formulation process is ensuring that the organisation is both willing and able to implement its ICT strategy. This will depend as much on how the strategy was derived, and who was involved, as it will on the actual content of the strategic plan. Proper involvement and process will facilitate implementation.

The objective of the ICT strategic planning process is not to have a strategy document per se, but to develop and sustain the public organisation's ability to implement the ideal set of business applications and that these are effective. It may require demand and supply management approaches in each segment and coherent means of migrating systems around the matrix in relation to their evolving contribution to the public service organisations.

Taking advantage of what technology offers requires an enduring ability within an organisation to understand how systems and information use improves its performance and creates new options. This requires sustained investment in developing ICT competencies that, once in place, enable the public organisation to exploit the technology, systems and information it has and with the knowledge acquired make further investments, each of which delivers explicit, measurable value to the citizen.

In conclusion, balancing the need to innovate in ICT use with the need to fully exploit the organisation's ICT resources and assets is one of the major reasons for having a planned ICT strategy. Strategic management is about making informed choices based on an understanding of the relative potential benefits of different options and having the ability to deliver those benefits. The citizens and business that utilise government services will see the benefit of the initial investment.

Mr Mifsud is BCom, BA (Hons) Business Mgt, NCC Dip Computer Studies, MIM, Central Information Management Unit, Office of the Prime Minister.