A 5-year ICT strategy and implementation roadmap for Burdekin Shire Council

Recognising that ICT is an integral part of its service delivery model, Burdekin Shire Council initiated a strategic review of its ICT infrastructure and services.

The council wanted to put in place a 5-year ICT strategy and plan that gave clear direction of how to develop and manage its ICT resources to ensure that local government services are delivered in ways that best meet community needs and priorities set by the council.

The new CEO also wanted to understand if he was spending the correct amount of money on ICT resources, and that this spending represented value for money for the residents of Burdekin Shire.

With significant ICT strategic planning experience in private and public organisations, Frame was chosen to conduct the strategic review, and develop the strategy and plan.

Following Frame’s strategic review of the ICT resources, Burdekin Shire Council has a comprehensive understanding of the state of its ICT infrastructure and services. Frame developed a detailed roadmap which would enable the strategy to be practical and cost-effective to implement.

The strategy positions the council to meet the CEO’s strategic and operational goals. That’s because it’s designed to provide the tools and metrics to better support ICT resources, manage ICT expenditure, and to help realise the CEO’s objective of productivity improvements across the council.

The review provided significant clarity for senior managers of the value of their ICT assets and the level of council’s ICT resource usage.

As a result, the strategy provides guidance for implementing good ICT governance practices, as well as guidance for better ICT service management. This includes the need for well-described service-level agreements in contracts for outsourced services, and recommended improvements for ICT service continuity and recovery planning to enable ICT support during emergencies and disasters.

The strategy addressed the role that disruptive technologies are likely to have on the delivery of ICT services, and provides guidance to council as to how best to prepare itself and take advantage of these technologies rather than simply react.

Specifically, Frame reviewed various cloud and as-a-service models, and placed these opportunities on the roadmap for consideration within the life of the strategic plan. Frame also provided guidance with policies for BYOD and social media.

The strategic review of the council’s ICT infrastructure and services included a gap analysis against international standards and industry best practice, and so:

• the review of business systems and applications led to a recommendation to implement an ITIL toolset
• the review of the adequacy of the infrastructure and technology led to recommendations which would ensure a higher level of ICT resilience
• the review of partnerships and shared services arrangements led to recommendations for improved service level agreements and reporting
• the review of security policies led to recommendations for aligning them to ISO standards where applicable
• the review of ICT staff roles and responsibilities compared to SFIA standards (Skills Framework for the Information Age) led to high-level recommendations and options for training.

Considering all ICT and business services reviewed, the results of interviews with stakeholders and an assessment of the reliability of the current-state ICT investment, Frame delivered:

• a new ICT governance structure and terms of reference for the ICT board
• strategic ICT and business process direction for the next 5 years
• a roadmap of agreed strategic and tactical ICT work plans
• a revised business case process for introducing new ICT services and updating existing services
• guidance for information management
• documented ICT change, capacity, asset management and lifecycle processes.