ICT Management > Strategy & Planning

Do you want to be an IT innovator?

By Lasa Information Systems Team

Some agencies are prepared to put a lot of time and effort into developing innovative ideas: new ways of using IT to provide a new kind of service, or new ways of meeting clients' needs. Is this the right approach for your organisation?

For organisations that want to be ahead of the curve, IT has to be a top priority:

• They need an IT "champion", ideally on both the staff and the Management Committee.
• They will almost certainly have to find partner organisations with technical skills to share the development effort - possibly commercial firms.
• They may well have to put together a consortium of organisations in their field to pilot new systems and check that they meet a wide set of needs.
• They will have to raise specific funds for the work.

The voluntary sector needs agencies that will take on the challenge of pushing forward the role of IT, but equally there are many whose key strengths lie elsewhere. For most agencies, in fact, it will make sense to play safe on IT, and only adopt ideas once they have been developed and tested by someone else. For the Management Committee this could mean taking care not to be over-ambitious. Far better to accomplish a limited task with little risk than to push the boat out a bit too far without the necessary resources or commitment.

It is also worth the Management Committee thinking from time to time about how dependent the agency is prepared to become on IT. Once IT has become absolutely central to your day-to-day operations, you must take much more care to ensure that it is managed properly, that staff get adequate training, and that you have workable procedures for dealing with breakdowns or the theft of key equipment. These all cost money and staff time.

Example

Agency B uses a paper-based information system. It has its faults - and takes a lot of effort to update every month - but is robust and accessible. Client records are also kept on paper. With the aid of a large grant, the agency transfers key parts of its information system to the computer, and also puts its client records and appointments system on computer. A terminal is installed in each interview room, linked by a network to the central system. Some cases can now even be handled entirely on the computer, without having to create or refer to any paper documents.

However, if the computer system breaks down, the agency is stuck. Staff cannot access the information system; they can't log enquiries or book appointments. They may even have to close the centre and turn people away. In order to provide a reliable service they will have to keep a parallel paper system for emergencies and ensure that their network is well maintained and reliable. This means having competent technical staff on hand at all times, backed by a maintenance contract with a four-hour response time. Computer support becomes a major priority.