UK Government ICT strategy report - what can universities learn?

An interesting summary of a report on UK Government ICT strategy and where they need to up their game. Seemed to me to be the same story I've encountered in 10+ years of public sector web management.



In this article in the Guardian, the parts they summarised from the Institute for Government's report resonated strongly for me. They're talking about a broader implementation of ICT than I am exposed to and of course on a much bigger scale.

But the bottom line is always the same. The big challenges:

"...communicating a clear positive vision of what the ICT strategy can deliver to different groups. Hardest of these may be getting the right links and engagement with their colleagues outside the ICT profession to ensure that decision makers understand how elements of the ICT strategy will support business objectives."

This could be me talking about a single website and the senior stakeholders in that particular school or department.

The underlying message for me (and one I know well and work to address every single day) - the ICT profession needs to try harder to engage and communicate more clearly. Business managers need to try harder to engage throughout the process - not just at the point of initial delivery.

Government ICT strategy must better articulate business aims - Guardian newspaper article