Councillors told: Sharpen up IT skills

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Despite recent investment in local IT services, councillors need to be more informed about technology, according to the Society of IT Management (Socitm), an industry body for public-sector IT workers.

To be successful, the group said public service IT projects need the involvement of elected members who are knowledgeable about technology and keen on its use.

Martin Greenwood, programme manager with the group's research arm, Socitm Insight, said local politicians' IT knowledge currently is "patchy".

He added: "There are still too many that don't [know enough]."

Greenwood said improved technical knowledge would lead to greater success for local government IT projects in the long term — and would mean local councillors would realise the importance of training in making projects work.

Socitm highlights several benefits for councillors improving their IT skills, including the ability to better manage their time, keep in touch with local issues and engage with local people.

The group suggests the best way to understand tech and what it's capable of is for local politicians to increase their day-to-day use of it.

Talkback

My wife is a councillor and has a better understanding of it than most. But the other councillors have a mental block they are unable to cut and past and send a simple email. I help as much as I can by showing the members of the different political groups mail merge and email, and so on but they can not grasp the idea using it from home. I think that anyone who is entering the council should be trained to use this simple communication if they do not accept the training they should not be a councillor .

1000052234 13 March, 2007 12:52
Reply

Typical bleating from SOCITM and all too typical of IT/Computing representative groups. Just whose responsibility is it to bring awareness of IT benefits (generally) and IT projects (specifically) to the elected members?

Local Government officers are in many situations (with a few shining exceptions) involved in a battle of self preservation, constantly seeking to shore up internal systems on limited budgets rather than looking at strategic benefits from developing IT resources in alternative ways.

From experience the message seems to be "more of the same" from Local Authority IT departments, working solely on developing skills in areas they are comfortable with and shutting out innovative solutions.

Thus we see the very limited numbers of councils deploying significant levels of Open Source (no gets sacked for deploying M$, Novell etc.).

SocITM needs to be challenging its own membership rather than sitting back waiting for Councillors to become IT friendly. In all other walks of Local Authority business it is down to the services to make the case, increasingly hard decisions involving redeployment/reductions in staff numbers. IT departments can no longer play the silo mentality game or external contractors will make the case for change and leave them behind (despite much evidence that contracting out is not good in an LA situation). If internal departments do not offer alternatives thay will be left behind.

67435 19 March, 2007 11:52
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