Onwards & Upwards!

Well, I completed a first draft of updated Newham ICT Strategy, yesterday, but I’m anticipating a lot of feedback requiring more work on detail…


The Socitm Board of Directors met today. Steve skilfully chaired, keeping us to topic and time.

The budget is looking pretty healthy, with Consulting and Insight both performing well. There was a fair amount of discussion about the presentation of financial data (a bugbear of mine is that we don’t have commitment accounting, which would simplify analysis) financial regulations, and “banding” of reserves investment, which are to be resolved online.

Thankfully, now that the finances are looking to have stabilised, we can start to take the brakes off investment in much-needed resources.

Steve Hopson fed-back on member consultation he has undertaken on our behalf (all non-attributable) which reflected a fair amount of negativity about developments. Communications is clearly a continuing problem area, which was born-out by our own monitoring of whether broadcasts are opened or links are followed, which we’re able to monitor from the new CRM. We agreed the need for a properly crafted communications strategy (i.e. crafted by a communications expert – which ruled us out) and, probably, the creation of a Communications Manager post, but will be commissioning some professional work to shape these requirements.

Rose, who couldn’t make today’s meeting, is being asked, as Chair of the Membership Board, to tell us what resources are required to complete the work on professional development and member services. Adrian and Steve Hopson were authorised to agree a proposal for the latter to pick-up work on product development and sales, reporting to the Commercial Board.

Between us, we get a great many invitations to speak or participate in events, supply editorial or be interviewed. We need to co-ordinate these better, and Pam agreed, initially to undertake this role.

Mark Brett’s appointment as Head of Information Assurance was confirmed. We are asking Martin Ferguson (Head of Policy) to the next Board meeting to greet him, and discuss how we can help one another.

Adrian was authorised to conclude negotiations with GBTV and e-Learning to create a pilot “Socitm TV” and social media service.

Revised Socitm Director monitoring roles were agreed, covering Events, Information Assurance, Insight, Green IT, IST, Marketing, Membership, Professionalism, HR, Regions, International, Management, External Relations, Finance, Consulting, Commercial Oversight, Audit, Business Development, Third Sector and Social Responsibility.

Adrian and David Houston are half-way through updating Socitm Strategy.

We need to change our constitution to enable electronic voting at AGMs, which we agreed to do (at the October Conference EGM) and are considering its use, which may, or may not be in conjunction with a 2010 Spring event.


Frances Kettleday, last year’s Graham Williamson Award Winner, attended the Socitm Board to take-up her role as our new Board Advisor. She wrote a Blog of the Microsoft-sponsored Study Tour of Sweden, awarded as her prize, which she said, and obviously, was hugely enjoyable. Didn’t understand references to “Ice Queen”, ‘though!

Frances will write-up her thoughts about our meeting, and post them to our GovX space for discussion. She did, however, re-emphasise her views about the need to support personal development.


The Socitm President’s Blog, I am pleased to say, has now become the “Socitm Blog”. I had always intended for mine to be a team blog, and hope that the new incarnation will be well-supported.

Socitm is also on Twitter!


Finally, here’s another report of a report on how many see investment in IT as the way to weather, and survive beyond, the recession, which I certainly hope the new Newham ICT Strategy will facilitate.