Information and Communications Technology Strategy

Foreword

If there is one thing that has affected the way we all live today, it surely has to be Information Communication Technology - ICT as it's better known. Its rapid development has had an enormous impact on how we carry out our daily activities both in the workplace and in the home. In moving forward, we need to be aware of these technologies and their capabilities, utilising them to best effect in delivering service improvements for our residents

The Council's Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Strategy was last updated in September 2003, covered the period up to September 2006 and focused on the planning for the replacement of our main legacy systems with modern application systems and the provision of a new voice and data network. This update of the strategy is in a wider context, with more emphasis on interaction with residents and making our earlier investments work. It brings together the Councils commitment to e-Government, the Transformation Project and other efficiency driven objectives.

In recent years, South Cambridgeshire District Council has been at the forefront in its use of technology. Our strategy, and the use of technology will continue to feature as part of our programme of transformation. Supporting our corporate aims and enabling us to meet local and government targets for electronic service delivery, the strategy underpins our drive to improve customer services and extract the benefit from our e-government investment. E-government is about more than just technology; it is about using the benefits derived from the technology to change the way we work and in the process, improve our service delivery. Put simply, the existence of technology does not make things better, the correct application of that technology does.

Whilst the strategy rightly focuses on supporting the direct provision of services from South Cambridgeshire District Council, it also recognises that shared services and partnerships are key to our ability to continue to deliver improved services in the future

Endorsed by both the Management Team and elected Members, the Strategy identifies the Council's approach to the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). A period of 3 years has been chosen as the period of time over which there is a realistic expectation of predicting the Councils requirements and deliverables. It is not intended to provide detailed analysis, business case or justification for the programmes of work that will be required, as these will be promoted on an individual basis.

Building on the significant achievements to date, this Strategy has ambitious, but attainable, aspirations that will deliver further benefits to all.

Greg Harlock
Chief Executive

Download the ICT Strategy 2006 - 2009

Previous strategies