Technology in KCC Briefing: In Partnership with our Business Strategic direction and current status. Date: Update September 2007

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1 Technology in KCC Briefing: In Partnership with our Business Strategic direction and current status Date: Update September 2007 Version 1.3 Page 1 of 42

2 1 Executive summary 1. Introduction 2. Technology offers the potential to significantly enhance public value and democracy, support the formation and function of neighbourhoods, enable new, flexible ways of working and accessing services, to enable KCC to contribute to the green agenda and to revolutionise education and learning. 3. As we move forward maximising the opportunities offered by effective innovative technology, whilst reducing the associated cost and risk, will become increasingly important. 4. The Strategy 5. There are four layers to our IT Strategy, these layers address our responsibilities to the different elements of the councils responsibilities as a public authority, and are supported by the new structures now in place to govern our ICT. Development of ICT strategy is directly informed by the objectives of the Council and the approach to ICT is an integral part of the Council s strategy for the delivery of the Vision for Kent and Towards The use of technology to directly benefit and enhance the communities served by the council is now reflected in the medium term planning process and has been embedded as part of the ICT strategy and targets. Examples include the broadband partnership which has focussed on SME enablement, and the continuing development of e-enabled services, including web jams and web casts, which seek to further democratic engagement. 7. The second of the layers within the implementation strategy considers the how ICT might best be aggregated across public services to the benefit of all. Opportunities for shared services, and particularly partnerships, form an important part of our IS strategy. This approach can support Kent s recent agreement to work together to use enhanced two tier working. It is already agreed that the most effective solution for IS in these circumstances is likely to be the implementation of shared support services across elements, or all, of Kent Public Service including the NHS, discrete from the political or service structures. 8. The third layer of implementation responds directly to KCC s requirement to support the agenda for service transformation within KCC, ensuring that our ICT infrastructure and strategy supports the strategies of our various businesses. Examples of this might be the technical development support required for mobile working or to build collaborative partnerships. 9. The final layer addresses the objective of Business Development to deliver economically viable ICT services to public sector organisations. This is underpinned by our determination to deliver transparency of the total cost of ownership of IT systems, and the means to measure these costs against industry benchmarks. 10. The Outcomes 11. Consolidated ICT and IS strategies developed and reported over the last 3 years have gained wide support throughout the organisation. These have enabled us to progress towards outcomes which support our business colleagues and our Version 1.3 Page 2 of 42

3 communities, whilst remaining agile enough to benefit from many of the latest technological advances. The principles behind our strategy remain valid; enable business flexibility and drive up the benefits derived from investment in ICT while reducing cost and risk. 12. Much progress has been made over the past year to support this position. Our Enterprise Architecture is being constantly developed to reflect the changing needs of our business and communities, and will be underpinned over the next year with practical and grounded processes to ensure that day to day decisions at all levels within ISG are aligned with the strategy. 13. The broadband infrastructure across Kent is now complete. This provides significant economic development potential and may help to lessen the East Kent West Kent divide. 14. The ICT governance framework is now embedded and working well to provide the opportunity for IS experts to disseminate knowledge about how technology can add value and provide new ways for the business to deliver their objectives, whilst leaving the direction of ICT firmly in the hands of the business. 15. Towards 2010 (ICT Strategy published in 2005) first stressed that the principal challenges that KCC and Kent face in respect of technology may not be purely technical in nature. Our governance structure is very much part of the evolution of the organisation required to closely link the IS and business elements of the transformation agenda. 16. Consideration of how ICT within KCC can directly benefit the community that we serve is now embedded in our medium term planning. Facilities have been purchased to make many of our back office capabilities such as web casting, and collaborative web based technologies, accessible by community groups, and the opportunities to use these solutions continues to be exploited by our business. 17. Opportunities for shared services, and particularly partnerships, form an important part of our IS strategy. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which ICT might be aggregated across public service to the benefit of all. This approach can underpin Kent s agreement to work together to use enhanced two tier working as the option for implementing shared services. 18. In addition partnerships based on common technologies are being advanced, with a group of 11 leading authorities who share an investment in Microsoft technologies working to identify mutually beneficial projects which take our develop once, use many strategy to a new level. 19. It is important that this principle of re-use is reflected within and across KCC. This will be supported by the governance process and will deliver reduced IS, business and staff costs, whilst delivering better support, both within the businesses and from ISG. 20. Attention is also paid to opportunities for shared services, and income generation through business development. 21. Joined up working both within KCC and across the local government in Kent and beyond to the wider Public Sector is agreed to be the most cost effective and lowest risk option for our local government structure in the future. This will require the alignment of ICT strategies, in the first instance to meet the data and information requirement of the new Children s and Adult s directorates, and to meet our obligations within the Whole systems demonstrator programme for Version 1.3 Page 3 of 42

4 Telecare and Telehealth, but as the transformation programme continues it is reasonable to expect that there will be many more examples of this way of working in the future. 22. The need to support our business in those areas that they identify as most critical is the main thrust of the governance process. With Swift phase 1 complete, and TRP continuing to roll out, attention has turned to the benefits that can be derived from mobile and home working in its various forms, and the new business processes and technologies that will be needed to support this. 23. To this end several pilots of mobile working technology, including document management, are underway, and supporting technologies such as document and content management systems and various collaboration tools are being considered. This will represent a major change to the way we work and engage with our citizens, enabling our front line officers to spend more time with our clients, and will also make a big contribution to the green agenda. 24. Throughout the implementation of these and the other major projects and programmes it is important to remember the need to break technology projects down into small, manageable chunks. The large, multi-million pound, three-year projects that often fail to fully deliver (and have been a notable feature of much central government activity) need to be replaced with very much more focussed, short projects that continuously provide new capability. There are a number of benefits to this approach but the most obvious is that systems can continuously evolve businesses can build a system once, use it and then make it better. 25. ISG is evolving to help KCC address the challenge. Through support of innovation activity, partnership with leading ICT suppliers such as Microsoft and IBM as well as participation in acknowledged public sector best practice partnerships. 26. There is significant activity in ICT underway, both in support services and in the service delivery directorates. 27. Anite Swift was implemented in late 2006, and phase 2 has been scoped to include some finance elements not delivered in phase 1. Analysis is underway to identify how the combination of Swift, Microsoft software and hardware from IBM can be combined to provide a platform for transformation. 28. Work to procure a single Public Service Network for Kent is now well advanced. Work is also underway to expand the capacities of the existing environments. SHQ LAN refresh is now largely complete, bringing increased performance to the desktop and the ability to service additional users. Increased network capacity and speed has also been provided to many of our smaller sites to support TRP and Swift rollouts. This provides the opportunity to introduce technologies such as WiFi and other wireless solutions. Meeting rooms across SHQ are now wireless enabled and other major sites will be addressed in the coming months. Access to Kent (A2K) provides an opportunity for staff to access their desktop via the internet from home, or from public hot spots, and this has proved very popular. These changes provide better support for remote working, as well as facilitating more media rich services such as video conferencing. 29. These and other activities are defined in detail in section 6, and define a programme which will see KCC and the wider public sector within Kent embrace technology and innovate new services, provide better access and more local, personal engagement with citizens. Version 1.3 Page 4 of 42

5 30. The level of change will be significant, requiring business and technology managers to work closely together within the new governance structures. Shared understanding of the opportunities presented by new technologies must be a matter of course, and this must be included in the business planning process 31. The business must lead but technology must not be an afterthought. Working together the benefits can be harnessed whilst the costs and risk are minimised. 32. Increased public value will result. Version 1.3 Page 5 of 42

6 Technology in KCC Briefing: Strategic direction and current status Contents 1 Executive summary 2 2 Introduction Purpose and structure Document Scope and Readership References and Further Information 10 3 In Partnership with our Business - a framework for delivery The Route Map Strategic ICT Framework Governance Community Involvement Partnership and Shared Services Service Strategy Business Development 21 4 Towards 2010 How does all this support our primary objectives? Direction of travel Realise the opportunities core strategic requirements Innovation in services, service delivery and new ways of working Capability development Driving public value Partnership working, service delivery and accessibility Neighbourhood and Community development and engagement 26 5 A watershed in ICT the immediate, two year horizon Introduction Consolidate ICT around a resilient, integrated and adaptive infrastructure Enable service delivery to automate processes Make better use of 3 rd party providers to reduce risk Develop and securely deploy KCC capability as web services New Communication Channels WEBCASTING IPTV WEB JAMMING BLOGS Response to the Climate Change Challenge 29 Version 1.3 Page 6 of 42

7 6 Current Investment Activity Service Directorate Activity ENVIRONMENT & REGENERATION CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND EDUCATION ADULT SERVICES COMMUNITIES Chief Executive s Directorate FINANCE PERSONNEL AND DEVELOPMENT PROPERTY BUSINESS SOLUTION AND POLICY 33 7 Existing use of technology Overview NETWORKS INFRASTRUCTURE APPLICATIONS E-ENABLEMENT BENCHMARKS 37 Appendix A 39 SERVICES MODEL 39 Appendix B 41 Capability development model 41 Appendix C 41 Appendix C 42 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND ENGAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY MODEL 42 Version 1.3 Page 7 of 42

8 2 Introduction 33. The increasing importance of technology KCC are part way through the implementation of a challenging programme that will substantially change the way in which services are delivered, the nature of democratic engagement and the way our staff work. 34. Effective, agile and innovative use of technology and the reduction of cost and risk associated with that use are fundamental to the entire modernisation agenda and will become increasingly important. 35. Involving neighbourhoods and communities, for example, will give citizens and communities a voice that helps to ensure that services are meeting needs. Technology can open up new channels of involvement and help to make sense of, balance and respond to the many, conflicting priorities that will flow into KCC as community involvement develops. Examples of these technologies would include our many web enabled services as well as more innovative technologies like web casts, blogs and web jams 36. Making services personal and accessible is a priority. Technology cannot replace communication between two people who know and understand each other. But it can allow us to focus this valuable form of communication and service delivery where it is most needed. Using the most appropriate channel (face-to-face, telephone, web site) to deliver a specific service to a specific customer will reduce cost and improve citizen choice. 37. Mobile working can liberate staff, free up line managers and divert resources from back-office administration to front line service delivery. Technology will enable that mobile working and also help to build the partnerships with other service providers that will be increasingly important as we move forward, and forms an important strand of our strategy to support the businesses. 38. As the need for joined up services becomes more apparent, both internally to KCC and across the public sector, we must ensure that we engage with other public sector bodies to develop joint strategies for data sharing and to share best practise and expertise. 39. Recent concerns about climate change have reached the top of our agenda and it is important that ISG make their contribution to helping KCC improve its carbon footprint, and to adjust to the now inevitable consequences of global warming. 40. These are very significant changes which KCC and Kent public services as a whole will need to understand and embrace. 41. Meeting the strategic challenge The challenge is to find a way to work very flexibly with technology to deliver the modernisation agenda. Technology moves so fast that rigid structures and processes are soon left behind and yet ensure a level of coherence, cost control and risk management. The principles outlined in A Watershed in ICT and the annual status reports; Towards 2010 and Supporting Transformation which followed, provide the framework to address the challenge, and this document builds on their success. Version 1.3 Page 8 of 42

9 42. We are engaging with our strategic suppliers to ensure that we maximise the benefit of these relationships by utilising the specialist skills and experience that these large organisations can lend. 43. The sections that follow review the direction of travel offered by Towards 2010, highlight key issues relating to the application of technology and stress that these are not all purely technical in nature, the evolution of the organisation is also required. The document also reviews the near-term priorities necessary to reduce cost and risk and then consolidates the strategic principles and provides the route map for delivery. 44. Our transformational government challenge demands a level of change which will be significant, requiring business and technology managers to work more closely together than might currently be the case. The business must lead but technology should not be an afterthought understanding of opportunity must now feature much more strongly in the business planning process. 45. Current developments There is significant activity in ICT within KCC, both in support services and in the service delivery directorates and a number of initiatives are in progress to provide KCC with the technology platforms required. 46. The Technology Refresh Programme (TRP) is delivering a significant improvement in desktop technology, back-end server infrastructure and service levels while substantially reducing the refresh costs and risk to the authority (as compared with the current provisioning mechanism) and ensuring continuous evolution as well as improving our carbon footprint. 47. The other key element of infrastructure Network Capacity is also being updated as a priority. Work to consolidate networks through the development of replacement Public Service Network is now advanced, and we must continue with interim upgrades of the networks which we will continue to utilise until The service directorates are also pushing forward with technology. New systems are in place to support services for adults and children, new technology will transform the nature of learning, and new systems in Highways will build productive partnerships. In addition all of our Directorates are showing keen interest in how mobile working and content management can bring them advantages. 49. All these investments fall within a much broader programme which will see KCC and the wider public sector within Kent embrace technology and innovate new services, provide better access and more local, personal engagement with citizens. 50. Driving public value through innovation Our ability to innovate with technology to understand how to apply technology to drive up public value, enhance democratic engagement and make services more accessible and relevant - is the foundation on which the programme will be built. 51. Technical knowledge and understanding to feed into service innovation will spread throughout the organisation and be matched with an ability to implement technology quickly and flexibly but in a way that reduces costs and risks. 52. In delivering this vision for technology in KCC, the modernisation agenda will be fully supported and new opportunities presented. Version 1.3 Page 9 of 42

10 53. KCC and Kent as a whole will be better placed to deliver good quality services that improve the quality of life for citizens and help them to reach their full potential. 54. Increased public value will result. 2.1 Purpose and structure 55. The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of: The current strategic direction being followed to ensure that the business has the necessary ICT in place to achieve its business plans. The current status of a range of significant ICT and IS projects and programmes and their alignment with the strategic direction The current utilisation of technology within KCC. 56. This document will describe the broader programme: the 5 year big picture, as described in the Towards 2010 approach; and the more immediate horizon, as described the Watershed in ICT strategy. 57. As with any strategy document this is just a snapshot. Significant elements of the strategy will continue to evolve. Programmes within the business units in Highways and Children s Services will have a very major impact on systems requirements as will the development of our new network (KPSN) and our partnerships across the public sector. 2.2 Document Scope and Readership 58. This document is designed for the readership of Managing Directors, Directors and Cabinet members. This document does not explore the organisational, service delivery or political landscape. Readers do not require detailed technical knowledge to read or understand this document. Technical detail is available on request. 2.3 References and Further Information 59. This document refers out to: KCC Information and Communication Technology 3-Year strategic priorities and Plan: A Watershed in ICT: From silo applications to consolidated, on-demand services version /11/04. (KCC Strategy and Architecture team). KCC Strategic Direction and Current Status 2005 Towards 2010: Agile services that support innovation version /05/05. (KCC Strategy and Architecture team). KCC Strategic Direction and Current Status 2006 Supporting Transformation: Technology to underpin service improvement version /05/06. (KCC Strategy and Architecture team). Version 1.3 Page 10 of 42

11 Documents available on KNet; For further information, please contact: Peter Bole Head of ICT - Commissioning, KCC xxxxx.xxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx In Partnership with our Business - a framework for delivery 3.1 The Route Map 60. The key principles required to underpin transformation and so empower our business to achieve their business plans, are identified within the ICT strategies that have been articulated in previous documents. Consolidation of these principles will guide and provide a framework for technology, systems and infrastructure implementation that will help realise the Vision for Kent. 61. It is important that these principles are allowed to grow and develop, whilst avoiding the sudden changes in direction that derail the resilience and stability of the existing products and systems. 62. The ICT strategy, policy and framework must all align with the policies that guide our business toward achieving the vision set out in KCC s Towards It is important that our framework remains flexible enough to accommodate changes in these emerging policies as they are developed to support and deliver to KCC and Government direction. 63. In Partnership with our Business underlines a change in emphasis which enables and facilitates the business s understanding of the technologies available and encourages them to integrate ICT solutions into their business plans. We also aim to embed the route map further into our ICT activity by developing the ways in which strategy directs our day to day decisions at the grass roots of the department. 64. The impact of this is reflected in 6 key areas: Strategic ICT Framework - a business wide understanding of the advantages that technology can bring to the delivery of services to KCC, it s staff, partners and citizens. Governance a process to ensure that ICT strategies are applied consistently whilst enabling the business to drive innovation and quality. Community Involvement the element of the ICT strategy that enables technology to directly benefit and enhance communication and democratic engagement with the community. Partnership and Shared Service the part of the ICT strategy which considers how the best ICT might be aggregated across public services to the benefit of all. Service Strategy relates to the infrastructure changes necessary to support KCC s requirements in both the immediate future and the longer term. Version 1.3 Page 11 of 42

12 Business Development looks at the wider issues of delivering economically viable ICT services to public sector organisations, through aggregation of demand. 65. The sections below outline these areas in more detail. The initial two areas concentrate on the inter-relationships between ICT and KCC s Business Plans. The remaining four identify the main areas of implementation strategy and outline key projects, many of which were raised as key technologies within the earlier strategy documents referenced in this report. 3.2 Strategic ICT Framework 66. Description 67. Deriving benefit from technology is dependent on a basic knowledge and understanding of the advantages that those technologies can bring to the delivery of services to KCC, its staff and the citizens that we serve. It is therefore vital that those within IS who understand the benefits are able to pass this knowledge to those within the business who continually look for ways to deliver their business objectives. 68. However getting value from investments in IS remains dependent on managing the balance between that freedom to innovate and the subsequent exploitation of that innovation. Multiple initiatives all aimed at resolving the same issue will not deliver the required outcome. 69. By IS and business managers jointly defining and owning a strategy for IS, a plan is provided for the agreed direction of travel. This will ensure that the efficiencies and savings are banked, whilst the opportunities for shortcuts (innovations) are not missed, and the ability to refine the plan in transit is retained. This is dealt with in section 3.3 Governance. 70. Strategic Principles for the ICT Framework 71. The following principles have already been endorsed and form our baseline. 72. Resilient, adaptive and integrated architecture. Keep simple, stick with core technologies. ICT solutions developed in support of business requirements and based on reusable common services. Develop once use many. Implement automated and integrated processes across unit, directorate and organisational boundaries. Develop secure web based services. Improve relationships and outcomes through partnership with third party providers. Develop our enterprise architecture to enhance the links between business requirements to ICT initiatives. Version 1.3 Page 12 of 42

13 Innovate to deliver both efficiency and service development. Invest in sustainable technologies with future potential. Agile ICT infrastructures to support new technologies and the innovation agenda. Continuous evolution of KCC to re-orientate the way in which the organisation approaches the technology. Scalable solutions across public service. Harness public sector purchasing power to support private sector investment in community infrastructure. Disburse best practice, identified from both internal and external sources, across the enterprise to support new business practices. Continue to embed and empower the governance framework Collaborate with other public and private bodies and organisations to ensure that our best practise remains in sync with others. This will facilitate joint working and enable us to draw from others knowledge and experience, as well as contributing our own. 73. For benefits to be maximised everyone within the council should be following the same plan. The plan itself can be altered; in fact it is essential that it should reflect changing objectives. It is important that this is agreed and communicated to ensure that the entire organisation can benefit from proven best practice and innovation. 74. A key aspect of maintaining the principles is the Enterprise Architecture which has been developed to maintain the ICT strategy in line with KCC s vision, objectives and business strategies and to ensure that these are reflected in ICT deliverables. 75. On a practical note, the enterprise architecture will this year be underpinned with a product strategy to define the product used and reused in similar sets of circumstances. To keep pace with changing technologies there must be a robust change control process. To prevent the structure becoming an overhead, all elements of the strategy should be owned and informed by those with the most knowledge of the area, both within ISG and across the business, and reviewed only when business need, or significant market change dictates. The KCC Enterprise architecture model is defined in the following diagram: Version 1.3 Page 13 of 42

14 Architecture Target Future State Business Information Applications Infrastructure New Services System Renewal Innovation Enterprise Architecture Framework For Continuous Improvement Develop Common Requirements Vision Environmental and Technical Trend Analysis Strategic Objectives Enterprise Architecture Principles Business Drivers Business Strategies Business Information Requirements Produce Enterprise Wide Technical Architecture Conceptual Architecture Domain Architectures Requirements For Technical Architecture Business Information Applications Evaluate and Apply Architecture Infrastructure Implementation Projects Alignment of Business Strategy and Technology Architecture Current State Version 1.3 Page 14 of 42

15 3.3 Governance 76. Applied consistently the ICT strategies developed over the past two years will provide the building blocks for transformation. For the vision to be realised, the ICT infrastructure must be sufficiently agile to support the innovation that will drive business change but sufficiently rigid in using the design once, apply many application of proven technologies and best practice to ensure that benefits are realised. 77. The strategies outlined will continue to evolve to reflect change in both business objectives and technology. However key principles must be designed to support service activity over the medium to long term and to incorporate a framework for sustainable funding. 78. Structures for governance and control are vital. These are focussed on the responsibility of the ICT Board, chaired by the Chief Executive Officer, for the direction and delivery of ICT services. 79. The relationship between corporate and service strategy as applied to ICT remains a critical consideration. Service directorates must remain the drivers for innovation and quality through the application of technology. Corporately, leadership and vision are required to set the direction and ensure that the entire enterprise can benefit from service innovation and re-use. 80. The relationships are defined in the diagram below. Version 1.3 Page 15 of 42

16 Collective Business Opportunity Strategy Governance Technology Availability Information Technology Strategy INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY BOARD Service Opportunity Business Strategy Enterprise Architecture Approvals Compliance Approvals Compliance Delivery DIRECTORATE BOARD s Information Information Architecture Architecture Technical Architecture Architecture Infrastructure Architecture Unit Structure Structure Proposals Approvals Service Development Specific Requirements Operating Model/Structure SERVICE PROVISION Resources Governance Design Design Common: Technical Common Requirements Infrastructure Architecture Standards Unit Planning Design Services Processes Applications Infrastructure Resources Project focus Service focus Enterprise wide focus Version 1.3 Page 16 of 42

17 3.4 Community Involvement 81. Description 82. The use of technology to directly benefit and enhance the communities served by the council is now reflected in the medium term planning process and has been embedded as part of the ICT strategy and targets. 83. Key activities in support of this objective are highlighted in the remainder of this section. 84. Actions and Approach 85. Empowering the community by evolving from services available through electronic channels to full self service. Reuse of common software components introduced through e-government programme. Work to review the implementation of the egov components, ensuring that they are now fully embedded in business practise and facilitating any changes that the business may now request is underway. 86. KCC is taking a leading role in e-kent the new broadband partnership focussing on SME enablement (with KMEB, BT, SEEDA, FSB, Locate in Kent etc.). ISG providing technical support and availability data. 87. Parish Web Services delivered via EIS and to be expanded to voluntary agencies across Kent. This built on our principle of seeking to expand and make community use of what have previously been back office capabilities, like development of web casting, digi TV and IPTV facilities and collaborative web technologies, accessible by community groups 88. Broadband enablement focussing on not-spots, and increasing broadband capacity where already available. 89. Bringing competition to more exchanges. The market would ordinarily only target exchanges supporting more than 10,000 properties. By using the authority s purchasing power we can influence and establish markets that would otherwise be un-addressed. 90. Kent Public Sector Backbone planning to lever infrastructure investment for wider community benefit. This builds on the work undertaken to support broadband in Kent. The challenge moves from availability to capacity. If industrial and commercial regeneration are to be supported, ICT infrastructure will demand as much attention as the county s traditional infrastructure such as highways. 91. Investing in the development of public wireless hotspots. 92. Exploring opportunities with Microsoft and partner authorities to change the face of assistive technologies within the community, stimulating change in the construction and manufacturing sectors and working to ensure that the future of smart home technology embraces the requirements of social care. This initiative is derived entirely from the service based innovations of Telecare and Telehealth, and is the subject of a very active Shared Learning Group with other leading authorities and Microsoft. Version 1.3 Page 17 of 42

18 93. Trialling web based collaborative technologies such as blogs, chat rooms and web jams to enhance collaboration with our citizens. Version 1.3 Page 18 of 42

19 3.5 Partnership and Shared Services 94. Description 95. The increasing importance of technology The second of the layers within the implementation strategy considers the how ICT might best be aggregated across public services to the benefit of all. Opportunities for shared services, and particularly partnerships, form an important part of our IS strategy. This approach can support Kent s recent agreement to work together to use enhanced two tier working. It is already agreed that the most effective solution for IS in these circumstances is likely to be the implementation of shared support services across elements, or all, of Kent Public Service including the NHS, discrete from the political or service structures. 96. ISG has been proactive in the support of partnership working over many years. Renewed emphasis has been placed on this, and particularly on Kent Connects which already delivers a number of services to multiple authorities. 97. In addition partnerships based on common technology are also being progressed. A group of ten leading authorities are members of the Shared Learning Group, based on their shared investment in Microsoft products. The group has identified a number of workstreams of interest to all partners, and has nominated lead authorities from whom the others can identify best practice and replicate technical designs. Kent is an active member of four, and leads on one of the six, currently active workstreams. These partnerships have now moved on to identify exciting mutually beneficial projects which take our develop once, use many strategy to a new and exciting level. 98. Actions and Approach 99. The partnership strategy is reflected in the following projects and initiatives Kent Connects now shares our corporate internet pipe, and over half of the Kent District Councils have now been migrated onto the shared internet service. Other partners will be migrated as and when their existing contract end. This is a precursor to Kent Public Service Network A pilot scheme is operating in the Shepway area where Kent Police use the KCN network to transmit data from the new CCTV cameras. These are being implemented as part of the programme to introduce proactive monitoring of car registrations, making common use of network capacity and combined purchasing power The joint technical approach to 101 being developed with Kent Police has been put on hold whilst Central Government considers the future of phase 2 of the programme A common disaster recovery approach is making use of contracts put in place by the Kent Connects Partnership to provide an alternative ICT disaster recovery solution for mid range line of business systems Expanding Web Casting to provide a service to all Kent Public Sector Agencies. This is also seen as a potential commercial initiative. Version 1.3 Page 19 of 42

20 105. The Kent Public Service Network is being developed as common infrastructure resource for all public services. Procurement is now well advanced, and the project board includes a senior user representing Kent Connects. All partners have been included in the requirements capture. Canterbury City Council and Thanet District Council have indicated a desire to join the network immediately and other partners will decide shortly Technology refresh introduced a new and innovative approach to sustaining technology. The issues the programme was designed to address are common to many public services. The capabilities to extend the scope of the contract are being used to offer access to the solution to other public sector bodies Mandatory assessment of options for shared delivery at the point of renewal of systems across all Kent Connects Partners has been implemented The implementation of Microsoft Sharepoint 2007 is underway to provide an ongoing strategic solution for collaborative working both within KCC and across the Kent Partnership. 3.6 Service Strategy 109. Description 110. The third layer of implementation responds directly to KCC s requirements both in the immediate future and to support the agenda for transformation moving forward. The following items are all key projects or initiatives for the current year Actions and Approach 112. Moves to integrate networks Highways are now using KCN2 (school network) to backhaul traffic monitoring data from new West Malling bypass rather than retrofit fibre / use expensive leased lines; Adult Education are also using the network from Canterbury. We are now looking at further opportunities to re use this facility SHQ LAN refresh a major upgrade programme is almost complete providing greater resilience within the SHQ campus for the contact centre and the ISG service desk; improved performance at desktops; and the ability to grow the number of supported devices by up to 50%. The new LAN is also capable of supporting the mobile working initiative, including video conferencing and web casting The Technology Refresh Programme (TRP) is delivering a significant improvement in desktop technology, back-end server infrastructure and service levels while substantially reducing the refresh costs and risk to the authority (as compared with the current provisioning mechanism). The strategy is to link technology renewal to the business planning cycle to achieve continuous business development Introduction of collaborative environments. Current versions of software in use within the council are aimed at individual productivity. The next stage is to look at the deployment of tools that target efficiencies at team and unit level. To this end it is intended to introduce Microsoft s Sharepoint 7 for team collaboration, and to consider the implementation of the new operating system Vista and MS Office 2007 within the financial year 2007/8. Version 1.3 Page 20 of 42

21 116. Proposal of ICT strategies to support each directorate in the implementation of its business plans, whilst leaving control of investment and strategic direction in the hands of the cross directorate ICT Operations group Delivery of phase 2 of the Systems Renewals Project. The scope includes reporting functionality excluded from Phase Pilot the replacement of current printing infrastructure with on demand service. The target is to update, rationalise and reduce cost Facilitate remote and home working capability to reduce property pressures, reduce costs and increase productivity by establishing secure remote access to networks and systems Review the priorities for infrastructure renewal to support the transformation agenda, in partnership with our strategic suppliers Consolidate and build on strategic partnerships: o o o o o o Oracle Back Office Software IMB Hardware BT Networks Siemens Voice Microsoft Middleware, Desktop and Exchange Software. Anite, Arete, Capita etc. Line of business solutions Continuous improvement of the Intranet to meet the requirements of the business. 3.7 Business Development 123. Description 124. The objective of Business Development is to deliver economically viable ICT services to public sector organisations The aim is to create efficiency through aggregation of public sector demand, establishing a capability for continuous improvement in ICT services delivered through ISG, by the application of best practise models and standards Actions and Approach 127. Improve transparency of the total cost of ownership of ICT services to enable improved business decision making Improve operational efficiency by using: The Governance model to set overall direction Version 1.3 Page 21 of 42

22 Industry benchmarks to measure Service Delivery functions. More partnership working with commercial and public sector partners The further development of commercial capability, including using EIS (Education Information Services) as a commercial arm of ISG Service targets and costs to be aimed at best performance, as measured by upper quartile benchmarks Improved supplier management through partnership agreements and strong management controls. Version 1.3 Page 22 of 42

23 4 Towards 2010 How does all this support our primary objectives? 4.1 Direction of travel 132. The core aim and ambition of KCC is to ensure that there are good quality public services in Kent which improve the quality of life for citizens and help them to reach their full potential. These objectives are clearly defined in the Vision for Kent published in April An organisational environment that is agile, adaptive and responsive to individual needs is essential if that ambition is to be fully realised The role of technology is to support these organisational goals to open up new ways of delivering services, new ways of interacting with citizens and new ways of working so that the right environment can be developed, maintained and evolved. 4.2 Realise the opportunities core strategic requirements 135. New technologies are likely to continue to emerge at an ever-increasing rate. Any strategy that simply defined key technologies and their application would be out of date before it was printed. There is also significant change in the political and service delivery landscape Our strategy must recognise that level of change and build the capability to innovate and cope with change. The backdrop should be an understanding of the core areas where technology will have a substantial impact, and to promote innovation in those areas. This approach is being developed within the Towards 2010 strategic thinking There are currently strong pockets of innovation in all directorates, as witnessed by the telehealth and telecare projects. Our challenge is to promote that level of technical innovation throughout the organisation and provide the infrastructure and services to support it The Towards 2010 strategy defines 6 basic areas on which ISG must focus: Innovation in services, service delivery and new ways of working Capability development Driving Public value Democratic engagement Partnership working and service delivery and accessibility Neighbourhood and Community development and engagement 139. The first two areas define an approach to improving our ability to innovate. The remainder relate to areas where technology will have a substantial impact. Version 1.3 Page 23 of 42

24 4.3 Innovation in services, service delivery and new ways of working 140. ISG has developed an approach to technology that is centred on innovation and on smarter ways of implementing and providing technology The objective is to encourage innovation by addressing education, cost and risk barriers to innovation in services, service delivery and new ways of working Appendix A shows the service model that we are working to. In simple terms we will ensure: business knowledge and involvement through our governance structures and account management function, innovation through our innovations team and ICT strategies, intelligent provision through specialist and informed ICT procurement and appropriate charging policies. 4.4 Capability development 143. This service model will enable and encourage innovation One key function described within that model is Intelligent provision. Intelligent provision centres on the provision of commodity services such as connectivity (networks) or processing power from the most appropriate source, be it internal, provided by a public service partner, or a third party provider on an on-demand basis, cutting costs and risk Intelligent provision should also mean that KCC, wherever possible, implements capability once but uses it many times ISG is developing an enterprise architecture and product strategy that will deliver software re-use, and faster, more predictable implementation. The enterprise architecture will also enable systems to be implemented in small chunks, reducing risk and making it easier for the business to understand and shape requirements The Capability Service model is shown in Appendix B. The model describes how our enterprise architecture, supported by the new product strategy will facilitate the delivery of a service charging model. This will deliver predictable delivery and costs, supported by corporate investment in our infrastructure to meet our growing demands, sanctioned by our ICT Board. This model can lead directly to better more efficient service delivery, and must be shaped by service development. Version 1.3 Page 24 of 42

25 4.5 Driving public value 148. Public value defines the total, combined benefit of a service to a community, neighbourhood or individual and the efficiency with which the service is delivered Unlocking public value requires an understanding of not just immediate benefit but also additional, consequential benefit. There are many instances where services delivered by one public sector agency or authority can enable another to change what they do reducing cost or offering other, new services This goes beyond partnership working which is focused on service delivery. A focus on true public value requires that all public sector and other agencies in Kent interact to shape a portfolio of services and the supporting organisations. This would be challenging in a stable environment. The social and economic conditions in Kent are such that communities are dynamically evolving on a continuous basis, with overlapping and sometimes conflicting priorities These ambitions will be underpinned by our re-use strategies, our requirement for solutions to be scaleable across public service and of course our ambitions to use public sector purchasing power to encourage private sector investment in community infrastructure. 4.6 Partnership working, service delivery and accessibility 152. Enabling a citizen to access all relevant public services through common access channels is a general, public service objective that raises numerous political, business and technical challenges but is of significant public value. An initial focus on the technical problems may also be of value in overcoming political barriers A mobile officer should also expect to be able to interact with the access hub and this will form part of the developing mobile ICT strategy True partnership working means much more than sharing information. Each organisation and professional within each organisation must understand the role they play in the delivery of service. As we move towards increasingly electronic delivery of services, there is a risk that voluntary organisations could be excluded due to cost and skills. There is also a risk that dependencies are not being fully understood which would mean that service failures at any point in the chain may not be immediately visible to partner agencies Understanding the full picture of business processes both within KCC and across our partner organisations is a huge task, but one which must be addressed in order to meet this goal. To avoid a large investment in an unmanageable process map we will keep our map simple and high level, building detail only when required for business change projects or as requested by the business to improve efficiency. The value will be in the ability to store and retrieve the detail for re-use when the need arises and in the growing knowledge store which will be formed Duplication of core back office functions and infrastructure remains an issue in Kent. Reducing such duplication will reduce the cost of public services in Kent, and can also, in a subtle way, smooth some political challenges. Avoiding duplication also permits use of the resource by other agencies and partners. Version 1.3 Page 25 of 42

26 157. We will use our strategic partnerships with suppliers to help review and improve our position as the infrastructure needs to be renewed and we will implement policies and practises to avoid the unintentional introduction of new duplication We will use opportunities such as the Microsoft Shared Learning Group and the Kent Connects partnership, and we will ensure that we stay in touch with central and local government ICT initiatives via SOCITM (society for public sector IT managers) and SIAG (SOCITM s Information Age Government Group). 4.7 Neighbourhood and Community development and engagement 159. Strong communities are key to successful economic development and vital assets which too often remain hidden. Technology has a key role to play in identifying, building, understanding and responding to communities Communities are complex, dynamic entities. One individual can belong to many communities. Geography is but one of the dimensions around which communities form. Race, background, interests or need can trigger community formation Communities whose members do not identify themselves or connect with the geographic area in which they live are common and problematic in the context of economic development, community development and regeneration 162. Technology can make the many communities that form and evolve within Kent visible, enabling KCC to engage and respond in a form which can better meet the needs of many communities Our community engagement model is shown in Appendix C. Version 1.3 Page 26 of 42