E-government concerns unite professions

Three industry bodies are collaborating to combat fears surrounding the 'soundness' of local authority e-government programmes.

Their concerns focus on the 'soft skills', such as influencing decision makers, leadership and change management, all of which must be improved if local authorities are to get the most out of e-government, according to Tony Riding, principal associate for the Society of IT Management (Socitm).

Socitm has teamed up with the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers and the Society Of Personnel Officers In Local Government to produce a model approach.

Riding said the collaboration is evidence of a changing mindset as e-government is seen as more than just an IT issue.

"We used to just influence the IT managers," he said. "We are now working with chief executives, human resources and IT people to identify how e-government should be managed.

"We have investigated a number of ad hoc arrangements in local authorities to develop a best practice framework for [delivering] e-government."

John Griffiths, consulting director at IT services company Compusys, which works with hundreds of local authorities, said the IT industry is not well known for its "soft skills".

"Local government is very good at addressing, or attempting to address, this type of issue and although it may take some time it will get there in the end," he said.

See also:

Pay rate recovery threatens e-gov work

Public sector could lose contractors lured back to private sector by better pay  11 Jun 2004

Slap on the wrist for government websites

Flagship sites fail the needs of users and do nothing to bolster confidence in e-government, says report  30 Oct 2003

E-government eases home buying process

Massive reduction promised in waiting time for environmental search results  29 Aug 2003

Civil servants shun e-government

Public sector staff happy to use private online services, but not the government's  26 Jun 2003

E-government targets strain council budget

Cumbria reviews third-party options to maximise its £10m annual IT spend  11 Apr 2003

Local council websites fall behind

Only 10 of 467 local authority websites fully transactional, finds report  27 Feb 2003

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