Public Service ICT Strategy: streamlining and integration

Ciarán Galway examines plans aimed at transforming the Government’s ICT provision, including a focus on the improved sharing of information, the digitisation of services and preparations for the future.

Unveiling the new strategy, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin concluded that it “will set the future direction for innovation and excellence in ICT within the Public Service.”

There is an increased demand for enhanced access to public services. This, coupled with financial constraint, has meant that the Government is confronted with a need to economise whilst maintaining quality service delivery.

The report maintains that with technology at the heart of Ireland’s economic agenda, the new strategy is consistent with the growing technology market on the island. ICT therefore, has been characterised as the “complex yet critical component” for the future of the delivery infrastructure of the Public Service.

The Public Service ICT Strategy identifies five distinct strategic objectives for the future. Driving these objectives are the increased requirements for efficiency and transparency through innovation and integration.

All public bodies within the Public Service require ICT to some degree. However, while infrastructure is broadly comparable across the service, the process of attaining this has been notably decentralised. Consequently, until now, individual public bodies have developed and managed their own structures on a standalone basis.

Thus, the establishment of a shared ICT infrastructure with the capability of consolidating and pooling resources across the wider Public Service is intended to drive efficiency. For example, through a government cloud network. Meanwhile, the centralisation of existing government networks and ICT support services could release resources for other strategic ICT projects that aim to improve service for citizens and business.

Priority is given to streamlining the primary transaction services which are available to citizens across the relevant public bodies. The strategy outlines an intent to build upon previous achievements in this area, such as the online motor tax (OMT) service. This success is exemplified by PwC’s ‘Paying Taxes: the global picture’ (2014) report which ranks Ireland as the sixth country in the world and the first in Europe in terms of ease of paying business taxes. PwC attributes this particular status to the “substantial advances in the area of electronic filing and payments” made by the Office of Revenue Commissioners. The strategy suggests that other projects that channel innovative, cloud or mobile technologies should also be prioritised.

Additionally, the document recommends that all new services undertaken by the Public Service be digitally led or designed as “digital first”. It is suggested that such a trend would help to incentivise the public adoption of digital services. It is hoped that such a shift could meet wider public expectations of ‘anytime, anywhere’ access to services, which have been so readily embraced in the personal banking sector.

In order to produce an improvement in ICT governance and ensure the centralisation of ICT projects, the Chief Information Officer Council (CIO) is to be restructured. A Public Service ICT governance model will be developed in an effort to deliver ICT policies which align with overarching government objectives. The Office of the Government CIO (OGCIO) will support standardisation and integration of Public Service ICT in conjunction with the CIO Council.

Due to the fundamental shifts in ICT development, along with accelerated retirement and headcount reduction initiatives, a skills shortage has emerged within the Public Service.

The strategy redresses this by planning for targeted recruitment of ICT professionals, ensuring that ICT resources and skillsets are installed for the future.

It is hoped that this will reduce dependency upon contractors, subsequently saving on expenditure.

Funding for the strategy will be incorporated into the budget cycle for relevant public bodies from 2016 onwards. The five-year programme will be phased in across all departments and the process will be reviewed annually for potential amendments. The Government’s Chief Information Officer, Michael McGrath, has stated that “this strategy defines approaches and principles that will deliver real change and efficiency in Public Service ICT.”

The Public Service is expected to become “more agile” while at the same time the sharing of a common infrastructure across public bodies is expected to deliver increased value for taxpayers. The adoption of new technologies, such as open data, is expected to deliver an improvement in the relationship between the public, businesses and the Government whilst unlocking a new level of transparency surrounding government operations.

Significant efficiencies are expected to be derived from shared interdepartmental information and the elimination of duplication, which in turn is expected to drive more evidence-based decision-making. The proposed implementation plan for this strategy will provide comprehensive guidance on how data may be “lawfully shared using a principles-based approach.” The perceived benefits of data sharing should be “weighed up against the personal fundamental rights of the individual.”

At its core, the strategy aims to digitise the Government and establish a framework for the future of service delivery. Minister Howlin stated that the strategy “will ensure that future investment in ICT will deliver the required services and efficiencies for the Public Service, for citizens and for businesses.” It is also designed to correspond with the wider objectives laid down by the Public Service Reform Plan and the Civil Service Renewal Plan.

Moving forward

In support of the strategy’s implementation, a comprehensive analysis of ICT expenditure and headcount across the relevant public bodies has been undertaken. The reform dividend has been earmarked for potential reinvestment into innovation and new digital services. Furthermore, a currently unpublished Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) is to be further developed and business cases proposed for investment into specific projects.

Overall, the adoption of an integrated and consolidated ICT network across the Public Service is regarded as “a prerequisite for implementation of wider collaboration, data sharing, cross-government digital services and ultimately a unified Civil Service.”

Leadership at a senior level across the Public Service, and sufficient resources in terms of finance and headcount emerged as key factors for the success of the strategy.