Open data, industry collaboration drive new Victorian ICT strategy

Victoria’s state government will overhaul its ICT strategy with aggressive open-data initiatives – which will see agencies releasing 1000 data sets for public use this year – and “unprecedented” moves to better engage with local suppliers, state ICT minister Gordon Rich-Phillips told the audience at an Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) luncheon where he launched the new Victorian Government ICT Strategy.

Finalised after a public and industry consultation process over the course of the past year, the strategy outlines 50 hard action points for 2013 and 2014 that will seek to improve the process of ICT implementation – a process that, the minister noted, had been severely compromised by ongoing ICT-related issues with the likes of the Myki ticketing system and the state’s CenITex shared-services organisation.

“ICT is fundamental to improving service capability,” Rich-Phillips said. “Byt with ICT expenditure of around $1.5 billion per year, we need to ensure that is appropriately managed and that we have the capabilities in place to manage this in a strategic and holistic way.”

Victorian ICT Minister Gordon Rich-Phillips set aggressive targets for ICT reform in launching the state's new ICT Strategy at an AIIA function.

Open data plays a significant role in the strategy, with organisations expected to make 1000 data sets available by September this year.

Among the other targets set by the minister are technology-specific goals, such as the requirement that major service delivery agencies transition three key transactions online by 31 December 2014; that they target a 15% reduction in customer effort from baseline by December 2014; and that they commence five service interoperability projects by July 2014.

A review of and implementation of ICT governance and organisational structures will be complete by March 2013. By June this year, all major ICT-enabled projects will have adopted High Value Risk processes and by July, the industry will be regularly engaged in the design phase of major government solutions. The strategy sets a goal of having ten government apps developed externally by March 2014.

“This is an unprecedented shift in the way in which government engages with the ICT industry for the delivery of ICT services and systems to government meet new demand,” Rich-Phillips said, noting that government agencies will develop five policies, services or solutions using co-design and/or co-production by December 2014.

“It is about effectively managing ICT expenditure by developing an innovative culture that manages risk, increases productivity, and delivers better services through innovation – and in doing so, helps to stimulate growth in the industry.”

By December 2014, the government will introduce analytics and reporting against agency KPIs. By that time, the strategy is expected to have delivered a 15% direct cost reduction through shared or reused ICT solutions.

Much of this will be directed by CenITex, the trouble-plagued agency that has been reshaped in recent years and will, Rich-Phillips said, have a different direction in the future. “CenITex will continue to play an important role in this strategy as it shifts to becoming a broker of services from the market, rather than delivering services itself.”

“We will aim to achieve this by improving the clarity and scope and outcomes of ICT enabled project and business cases; engaging with the ICT industry to establish the feasibility, risk and cost-effectiveness of technology solution options; looking first at ICT options the government already owns or has access to in order to provide the required benefits; adopting sound project management methodologies; and improving the skills and capabilities of project management staff; and continuing to refine the delivery of common ICT services across government.”

Reforms to ICT governance and management will target three core action areas – engagement, investment, and capability – as well as following eight key implementation principles:

1. Policy and service delivery programs will use popular digital channels.
2. Policy and service delivery programs will be increasingly co-designed and produced.
3. Information will be shared, open and managed as an asset.
4. ICT-enabled projects will be staged and focused on managing risks and delivering business benefits earlier.
5. Competition will be promoted to drive efficiency and innovation in ICT systems and services.
6. ICT services will take advantage of industry capabilities.
7. ICT systems will be interoperable, modular and reusable.
8. Technology will be trialled and adopted to promote better outcomes.

The Strategy is available online, and progress updates against the plan’s goals will be posted online on a regular basis. – David Braue