Overview. Introduction. Purpose. Goal. Perspectives (of our goal) Strategic Direction. Connected

Transcription

1

2 2 South Australia Connected Introduction Government is in the connections business. Everything we do ultimately comes down to better connecting the people of South Australia with the things they want and need, when and where they need them. Whether we are connecting a pensioner with a concession, a sick person with medical care, or a car owner with a self serve registration renewal, we are serving the people of South Australia. This is our goal to better serve South Australians by making, improving, and enabling connections. Information and Communications Technology [ICT] helps us achieve this goal because it amplifies our ability to connect. These days, ICT is everywhere and in everything. It is part of our lives more than ever before, and government, like the rest of the modern economy, is reliant on the smooth, uninterrupted operation of its ICT. We will not ignore the enhanced role that ICT has in the business of government; instead, we will embrace it to get the most out of what we ve got, and deliver better outcomes for our state. ICT is now part of everyone s job. It underpins our everyday activities, but it also underpins the high level directions the South Australian Government has for the state and the public sector, such as South Australia s Strategic Plan, our Seven Strategic Priorities, and Change@SouthAustralia ICT makes each of these more effective and it is an important enabler in their development, consultation, and implementation. Just as these initiatives assist us to be strategic in the way we work, our use of ICT must also be strategic and purposeful if we are to better serve the people of South Australia. South Australia Connected [SA Connected] is the South Australian Government s ICT Strategy. While we achieved much with our last ICT strategy, Ask Just Once, we are determined to go further and have even more of an impact increasing the number, capacity, and richness of our connections improving the services we deliver to the citizens of South Australia. SA Connected sets the direction for us to do this keeping service to citizens at the centre of what we do. The purpose of SA Connected is not to introduce additional burdens; its purpose is to help government continue to go about its business and work towards our objectives in a strategic way. SA Connected outlines six perspectives as a way to focus our energies, and provide some clarity through the complexity of government. By setting the strategic direction for government and assisting agencies to align their decisions and activities with this direction, SA Connected will keep us moving, steady as she goes, in the right direction. The South Australian Government is well positioned to make the most of what the information age has to offer. We are big enough to be good, and small enough to be great we have people with the skills, drive, and experience to lead us into the future. We will build on our strong partnerships with industry and the community to enable us to work more collaboratively, and have more meaningful and early engagement. We are fast followers, and when new opportunities arise, we build on them to take good ideas and put them to work. ICT won t remain static in the future, and neither will our strategy; it will be digital by default and live online at adapting as we need it to, under the governance of the ICT Board. ICT is central to the way our public service will go about its work, but it is not just our ICT professionals who will prepare us for the unpredictable, but inevitable challenges we will face in the future SA Connected will be implemented by all of us, working together. Together we will expand our vision of what ICT can do for the future of our state, and most importantly, put it into practice. I encourage you all to consider what part you can play to make South Australia connected, ready for the future. Jim Hallion CHAIR ICT BOARD GOVERNMENT OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA Overview Purpose The purpose of SA Connected is to set the strategic direction for the use of ICT in the Government of South Australia, characterised in each section by a number of high level From To statements. These statements indicate where we want to go, and by aligning our decisions and activities with this strategic direction, we will move the government towards our goal of making South Australia connected, ready for the future. Goal Our goal is to better connect the people of South Australia with the things they want and need, when and where they need them. Perspectives (of our goal) Innovating Now South Australia Connected Working Together Serving People Improving Securing Resilience These six perspectives of our goal provide a way of looking at the complexity of government. They offer us a means to focus our energies. For example: From Some services online To Digital by default The From To statements set the strategic direction for the government. They move us towards our goal.

3 Innovating Now Working Together Serving People South Australia Connected Improving A strategic direction for Information and Communications Technology in the Government of South Australia Securing Resilience South Australia Connected 3 A living strategy SA Connected is not intended to be static or inflexible. The world we live in is complex and changing (as is the work of government) our strategy needs to be able to adapt and move as change is required. While the strategic direction is intended to be enduring, how we work to align with it may need to change as we continually improve and discover what works best. The idea is that we have an active, dynamic, and living strategy. The strategic direction is just one part of this overall strategy. The rest of it will not be bound in a static document; it will be digital by default and exist online at so that it can be kept relevant and thoughtfully adjusted as required, under the governance of the ICT Board. The online strategy will consist of five parts (including the strategic direction). These parts work together to provide the tools and information that agencies and their partners need in order to align their activities and decisions with the strategic direction. This includes details of the standard practices that agencies will be expected to follow, and the other policies that guide decision making. Strategic direction with where we are heading) Overview 6 perspectives The strategic direction articulated as From To statements. SOUTH AUSTRALIA CONNECTED Ready for the Future This part of the strategy is provided online at as well as in this document. Expectations with what they should do) Principles Standard practices Across government policies, standards, guidelines Relevant agency policies, standards, guidelines Suggested activities for agencies to support/enable each From To. Available from: with how the strategy works) Initiatives with our activities and outcomes) Dialogue with each other) High level governance arrangements arrangements for SA Connected: Agency planning assistance Assurance arrangements Operational management arrangements for SA Connected: How things get changed/updated. Outlines of initiatives and capability developments (across government and agency level): Outcomes Capabilities delivered High level timeframes Strategic alignment Progress of initiatives. Sharing (e.g. case studies, agency plans) Continual improvement activities Agency, industry and community feedback on SA Connected Description of collaboration arrangements with external stakeholders Contextual discussion and high level evidence Provenance and timeline. Available from: Available from: Available from:

4 4 South Australia Connected The strategic direction These are directional statements. They show, in overview, the strategic direction for the Government of South Australia. These statements have been designed to encapsulate the direction that government will go, simply and succinctly. Each From To statement has been provided to show what will change by articulating a shift in focus, or the move to an improved level of maturity. For example, when we say that we are moving from Robust ICT governance to Integrated governance, we do not mean that our ICT governance will no longer be robust, we simply mean that we are making a deliberate choice to move beyond this level of maturity, to improve our governance arrangements. These statements are designed to be brief and high level. The detail required for agencies to align with these statements will be provided in the other parts of the strategy, available from. From To Serving People An external lens This is our purpose; it is What we do. This perspective focuses on services to citizens. Some services online Some engagement Multiple service channels Treating everyone the same Digital by default Collaborative democracy Integrated customer service Serving diversity Securing Resilience Improving Working Together A security lens We live in a changing world; we are Preparing for the unpredictable, but inevitable. This underpins everything we do. A productivity lens This provides a lens on our productivity and project execution; this is about Getting more out of what we ve got. A sharing and collaboration lens Common problems, shared solutions. Collaboration and sharing makes us better at what we do. Robust infrastructure Resilient communities Basic security awareness We all apply security, all the time Protecting the perimeter Protecting information Security as an added job Professionalising security Some big ICT projects Big plans, small projects Robust ICT governance Integrated governance Buying hardware and software Buying services Diffuse accountability Clear accountability Pockets of excellence Professionalised workforce in ICT Barriers to collaboration Seamless government Agencies going it alone Agency partnerships Common problems Sharing solutions Working within government Working with our partners Innovating Now An opportunity lens We have a sense of urgency, and we know that if we manage the risks Embracing opportunities is rewarded. Risk aversion Large scale solutions Technology for its own sake Good deeds done in secret Embracing opportunities Incremental improvements Technology for service benefits Early and open engagement An enabling lens Opening up government held data assists us to make progress in each of the other perspectives. Enabling us to make better connections in order to create shared value. Ownership Data silos Reactive data supply Custodianship Shared value Proactive data streams

5 Serving People South Australia Connected 5 Serving People What we do Some services online Digital by default The evidence is clear our customers prefer online services, and increasingly, mobile ready services. Introducing new services, improving old services whenever possible, our approach will be digital by default. This does not mean that services will only be provided in a digital format; the focus will be on providing the best range of services to our customers giving them choice. Some services cannot be made digital, and some probably shouldn t; however, we will consider whether they can and should from the start. Some engagement Collaborative democracy Every agency will determine how best to engage with the public for decision making and policy development, using co design and co production approaches. Tools like social media are no longer simply interesting, they are essential and we will make it easier for agencies to use them. We will move to embed community participation and engagement into business as usual, making every effort to link (early and meaningful) participatory processes into planning, policy, and program development. Multiple service channels Integrated customer service The relationships we have with our customers are largely formed by the service delivery that we and our partners provide. Face to face transactions may well be many times more expensive than digitally delivered services, but to ensure that our customer relationships remain strong, and our service delivery is both efficient and responsive, we will understand our customers and our services holistically. Treating everyone the same Serving diversity We are not all the same some of us face greater challenges than others. As we move more into the digital space, we will make sure we don t leave anyone behind. We will always consider the challenges that our customers may face and commit to providing greater accessibility to our services. We recognise that individuals want to choose the mix of services they receive and how they connect with them. This will not be the same for everybody. We will not ignore this; we will embrace diversity. Securing Resilience Preparing for the unpredictable, but inevitable Robust infrastructure Resilient communities Communities are better equipped to bounce back when the unpredictable, but inevitable happens technology is core to prevention, preparation, response and recovery. Securing resilience will be in the forefront of our thinking. We must be mindful that even our most basic activities are reliant on the smooth, uninterrupted operation of ICT. We will ensure that we are agile enough to respond to changes effectively. Basic security awareness We all apply security, all the time If security is seen as an afterthought, it becomes an obstacle or problem; if it is built in from the start, it is easy. Security isn t about stopping us from doing things; it s about enabling us to make informed decisions. Security is not the sole responsibility of a nominated individual or team; all staff are responsible for ensuring their actions maintain the protection of people, information, and property. We will ensure that security becomes a natural part of our everyday activities. Protecting the perimeter Protecting information In this era of openness, protecting does not mean locking away ; it means taking care, and being thoughtful. We no longer just have a perimeter to protect insider and other threats mean we are exposed and vulnerable everywhere, all the time. While we will continue to maintain solid defence of our systems, protecting the information we hold will be our primary concern. Improved use of document classification and handling will be key to this. Security as an added job Professionalising security The bad guys are smart, sophisticated and active; we need to match them, or we will lose. Just as there are many criminals who are dedicated to accessing the government s assets, we need to be dedicated to protecting those assets. Security will not simply be an added function to an existing role; dedicated security professionals will provide agencies with the expert knowledge and processes needed to protect our assets. Securing Resilience

6 6 South Australia Connected Improving Improving Getting more out of what we ve got Working Together Common problems, shared solutions Some big ICT projects Big plans, small projects From now on, we re not going to start up any more big ICT projects. We re only going to have business change initiatives. We know that large projects run a higher risk of failure. We will break these down into smaller segments, with well defined exit strategies that ensure that we re not locked into spending more time and money to continue projects that aren t working. We ll still have big plans, but projects will be shorter, and they will be planned and delivered by multi disciplinary teams, not just IT. Robust ICT governance Integrated governance We ve done a lot to improve ICT governance, but now it is time to go further; we are going to progressively integrate ICT and corporate governance, and link up governance structures right across government. We won t be creating more levels of governance; we ll be using the governance structures we already have more effectively. The business needs of an organisation will drive their ICT needs, and business leaders will be critical to ICT governance. Buying hardware and software Buying services We continue to re invest in our hardware and software just to keep the lights on; but it is the services we buy, especially locally sourced, that we value the most. We won t be buying more boxes and wires than we need to, we ll be buying services that may be delivered through any number of mechanisms whatever provides the best value for the state. Diffuse accountability Clear accountability Committees are great for many things, but it is hard to hold a committee to account for its actions. We will hold our executives to account for project successes and failures. From the outset, project documentation will clearly define who is responsible for getting the project done (and how) and who is ultimately accountable for the success (or failure) of a project. This is communicated to, and agreed to by, all involved. Pockets of excellence Professionalised workforce in ICT ICT is now part of everyone s job. Yes, there will always be specialists, but all of us need to develop new competencies to meet the challenges brought about by new technologies. Our professionalised workforce will be thoughtfully designed where the right skills are in the right positions, based on the needs of the organisation. Barriers to collaboration Seamless government Lack of technology is no longer a valid excuse for not working together for the most part, we already have the tools and technology to connect. To work together effectively, we need more than technology. To support both the informal and formal networks that we use to connect, we will establish standard processes and ways of working, so that people know what they need to do to take part in effective collaboration. Agencies going it alone Agency partnerships Our budget processes often make it easier for agencies to do things alone instead of working together. From 2013 onwards, we will see increasing numbers of multi agency approaches. From now on, we form partnerships and share first. We will put in place across government support to make it easier for agencies to work together. Central agencies and expert groups will provide leadership to coordinate agencies and show the way. Common problems Sharing solutions Often, different parts of government do the same things differently. Instead of re inventing what already exists, we are going to re use and share capabilities and solutions across government. To enable this, our approaches will be open by design. Sharing is not only possible, it is necessary. We need to unlock as much of the latent capacity we have scattered across government as possible. All agencies will demonstrate that genuine effort has been made to identify and use existing solutions before new initiatives are approved. Working within government Working with our partners Government does not exist separate to society. We are just one part among many, making up our dynamic and diverse community. By further leveraging our partnerships with organisations outside of government, we can work together to tackle common problems and deliver better services. We will develop new and improved service supply chains so that our services can be delivered through partnerships whenever appropriate. Local councils, not for profit organisations, industry, community groups, other governments, and tertiary institutions will extend and enhance our connections with the community. Working Together

7 Innovating Now South Australia Connected 7 Innovating Now Embracing opportunities is rewarded Enabling us to make better connections Risk aversion Embracing opportunities Risk is already on most of our meeting agendas; soon, innovation will be as well. It is much easier to avoid risk than to accept and manage it. Avoiding risk reduces uncertainty, but it also limits us to the status quo. Managing a risk requires us to understand the effects it may have and take precautions to minimise them. To gain the benefits of innovation, we need to embrace opportunities, inform our choices, and manage the risk to reduce its effect. We will move forward by making innovation a priority, not for its own sake, but because it will help us do our job. Large scale solutions Incremental improvements We will tackle problems through iterative development, breaking them into planned, bite sized chunks. Then we ll test solutions through prototyping, and where prototypes work, scale them up. Even when ideas seem big, innovation does not need to be. Small, steady steps can lead to incremental improvements. Tried and tested developments are easier to expand across agencies. Technology for its own sake Technology for service benefits Technology is interesting, but it isn t everything; we will look at things from a 360 perspective. When flash, new technology becomes available, it is natural to want it, even when it may not be needed. Even when everyone else seems to be using the hot new toy, this will only be one consideration, not the only consideration. Technology will not drive our business; our business will be informed by new possibilities and our technology choices will be driven by the benefits our customers will receive. Good deeds done in secret Early and open engagement Ownership Custodianship Agencies do not own data, we are custodians. As custodians, our job is to improve access improving access means moving government away from just using data ourselves in order to provide services to the community; it also means providing data to the community so they can use it. We will make more government held data publicly available. Data silos Shared value Every day, agencies create and use all sorts of data in the course of doing business. This data, if shared more widely, could generate immense value for our state. The challenge is where to make a start? We will work with our partners to identify those potential high value data sets and make them widely available so that experts and entrepreneurs can work together to explore the potential for creating new services and unleash the economic value of the data we hold. Reactive data supply Proactive data streams In order to generate sustainable value from our open data, the community needs to have confidence in its quality and supply; so that is where we will focus our efforts. We know that it is much easier to release data when the decision to do so is made up front, before the data is collected. That is why we will put in place across government support to make it easier for agencies to classify, license and release data in sustainable ways as part of their day to day business. We will favour approaches that securely automate the release of live open data direct from government systems. We will find new ways to work with the ICT industry, academia, and other sectors, so that we can innovate together. Exposing challenges and problems to a wider audience will invite better solutions. We won t just be working with our government colleagues when searching for solutions that affect all parts of society. We will clearly distinguish between procurement and engagement to allow industry stakeholders to be involved in innovative developments early on, while allowing us to maintain rigorous procurement processes later on, when they re needed.

8