Information & Communications Technology (ICT) Strategy 2009-2012

Supporting Plan

The purpose of this document is to define the Thanet District Council ICT Strategy for the years 2009 to 2012. It builds upon work already undertaken and the key principles of how ICT can be used to effectively support the delivery of the Corporate Plan objectives.

This ICT strategy brings together the critical links between the Council’s Corporate Plan, STEP (Service, Teamwork, Economics, Pride) aims, Central Government initiatives and ICT to enable effective and efficient delivery of services to residents, businesses and visitors to Thanet.

The scope of this strategy is that of a high level document which defines the direction for ICT in line with the Council’s priorities. This strategy is intended to be flexible so that ICT developments are not constrained by it but can change in line with advances in technology and changes in Council priorities, whilst still having a clear framework within which to operate.

This strategy aims to provide a framework for delivery of innovative services to our customers, to build a reliable and resilient technical infrastructure which is both cost-effective and sustainable, and to keep environmental costs to a minimum.

The period covered by this strategy (2009 -2012) is likely to bring significant challenges and changes for Thanet District Council as it balances increasing demands for services against increasing pressure on resources. Customers expectations are increasingly to have services delivered on demand by a method of their choosing. Thanet’s Gateway Plus, the Thanet Service Centre and online payments already play their part in improving customer choice. During the period of this strategy there will be further requirements for technology to develop these services further and support new and innovative delivery methods.

Thanet District Council are partners in Kent Connects (the lead technology partnership of fourteen authorities in Kent) and the Kent Public Services Network (a partnership of local authorities, schools, emergency services and Kent County Council all participating in a shared wide area network infrastructure). Our membership of both these partnerships ensures we are well placed to take advantage of opportunities for efficiencies and savings through joint procurements, shared services and access to a wide range of knowledge and experience. We have achieved compliance with the Code of Connection for the Government Connects Secure Extranet (GCSx, a method of securely transferring electronic information between the authorities and Government departments).

Analysis and options

The impact of previous investment in ICT at Thanet District Council has led to a largely robust and stable ICT infrastructure which has been improved and developed year on year. Technologies have been implemented as part of both business and ICT projects which have delivered significant savings and efficiencies. The Civica W2 document imaging and workflow system has been a major contributor to the Council’s aim to reduce paper and also helped deliver efficiency savings in the Revenues and Benefits service. This system will continue to be rolled out across the whole of the Council to achieve further improvements and savings. The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is firmly embedded into the Council’s service delivery processes and integrated into the major back office systems enabling many customer enquiries to be dealt with at the first point of contact. This system will continue to be developed, upgraded and integrated with other back office systems as required by business areas. Servers have been rationalised through the use of VMware virtualisation technologies enabling us to reduce the amount of hardware in our data centre and achieve savings from the consequent reduction in power consumption and cooling required.

The above is an indication of where we are now and shows that the investments made have been appropriately used to improve service delivery and achieve efficiencies. In order to continue moving forward and building on the achievements thus far we will need to make further investments in diligent analysis of business requirements, research, collaboration with stakeholders, partners and suppliers, and expenditure.

To ensure that the right investment is made and that maximum benefit is gained ICT must be an integral part of the Council’s business planning process with a partnership approach between everyone who uses, manages and develops ICT. ICT must deliver value for money and contribute to the effective working of the organisation and those deliverables must be measured and regularly reviewed.

There must be a commitment to develop the ICT skills of all employees at Thanet District Council to a level appropriate for them to take advantage of technology to improve their own performance and that of their service area. Part of that staff development must include an understanding of and commitment to their own responsibility for the integrity and security of Thanet District Council’s ICT systems, data and information in accordance with ICT policies.

Next: Action plan

Executive summary

Introduction and Context

Supporting Plan

Analysis and options

Action plan

Objectives and outcomes

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