What challenges are there for changing Government's use of IT?
3 March 2011
This will be the Committee’s first evidence session of its Inquiry into the Government’s use of IT. Successive administrations have attempted to reform Government IT with the aim of modernising how public services are delivered and reducing costs. The Government’s record in this area is mixed; while several projects have been successful there have also been a number of well publicised failures. This session will take place on 8 March 2011 in Committee Room 6.
Over the years, numerous reports have been produced that aim to improve how the Government uses IT. Many have repeated the same recommendations suggesting that it is easier to identify the problem than to achieve change. This session will focus on what the barriers are to changing how Government uses IT and how to ensure that the current initiatives succeed where previous ones have failed.
Particular issues that may arise include:
- Why successive Governments have found implementing IT projects so difficult;
- The potential of IT to transform how public services are delivered;
- How to ensure current reforms deliver their intended outcomes; and
- How the Government could adopt new technologies and ways of working such as Open Source, Open Standards and Agile Development.
Witnesses:
- Professor Helen Margetts, Oxford Internet Institute
- Dr Ian Brown, Oxford Internet Institute
- Dr Edgar Whitley, London School of Economics
- Professor Nigel Shadbolt, University of Southampton
- Sir Ian Magee, Institute for Government.