A Socitm Workshop to consider how our benchmarking services should be taken forward was held at Newham's offices at Direct House. We resolved to develop a new Socitm brand and will have the concept ready to launch at the Socitm Conference. The working title for the brand is "Socitm Measurement", and colour (TVR!) purple. How many of you realised that literature related to different Socitm brands – Insight, Consulting – is colour coded?

We recognised that there is some confusion about how our present benchmarking services are organised and delivered, as they are located in different services. Importantly, therefore, the new service offerings will be "pan-Socitm". Although Socitm corporate, Insight and Consulting will all be involved in their delivery, there will be a single, cohesive member interface. Existing services, including ICT Benchmarking, the User Satisfaction Survey, the new Customer Access Improvement Service, the National e-Service Delivery Standards, the Application Software Index / e-Government Index and KPIs Database will become part of the brand and developed within it, but there will be a major focus on demonstrating effective use of ICT (as opposed to measuring its efficiency).

Socitm Futures will be asked to develop associated policies, in accordance with the protocol, which includes formal member consultation, that was agreed at its previous meeting. Although we should not delay the launch of the "Socitm Measurement" services, subsequent development will be closely aligned to emerging Society policy on Information Management and Governance. We also recognised the need to build appropriate links with other stakeholder professions in the delivery of some services. A further meeting was arranged at Vicky's offices in Birmingham, on 15th September, to refine the proposition and consider marketing issues.


I reviewed responses, so far, to the Survey of Members' interests. (Thank you very much to all who have responded.) One respondent's expressed his (understandable) view that the Society has an Identity Crisis, as we claim to be working in the interests of all public sector IT Managers – but in reality still exhibit too much Local Government bias. I wrote back clarifying that, as yet, Socitm technically remains a Society for Local Government IT Managers. Although we (the board and a broad range of Socitm activists) have agreed our ambition of developing the Society for all who work in ICT in the public and third sectors, and we do have a number of members from Police, Heath, Charities etc, the formal change is dependent upon a change in our articles of incorporation that will be voted-on at an Extraordinary General Meeting at the Socitm Conference (12th to 14th October). I thought that clarification worth making here.


Mike Simons, ComputerWorldUK editor, and I met to discuss several matters, including Socitm Events Management, my proposed campaign regarding social injustice and other collaborative opportunities – not to mention Tag Clouds and Widgets!