Socitm has published the full version of Planting the Flag: the Strategy for ICT-enabled local public services reform following launch of the summary version at the Socitm Spring Conference on May 11.

Planting the Flag is a Local CIO Council initiative led by Socitm's Futures group. It sets out how technology can enable public service reform across the whole range of local services

and deliver significant savings and better outcomes for people where they live and work.

The report advises local public organisations to jointly commission ICT and other infrastructure and services, pool budgets and share staff but it draws a distinction between sharing services between public organisations and the wholesale outsourcing of ICT components.

The full version of Planting the Flag is for CIOs, Heads of ICT, ICT specialists, and private sector ICT suppliers to local public services. Section one of the document sets out three core principles for reform of local public services - collaborate, redesign and innovate. Section two sets out six strategic capabilities (leadership, governance, organisational change, strategic commissioning, shared services and professionalism) and and section three, six key information and technology issues that will determine success. For each of these capabilities and issues the Strategy:

The six key information and technology issues identified in the document as key to redesigning better local public services for less, are:

•Business change

•Digital access and inclusion

•Local public services infrastructure

•Information governance

•Information management, assurance and transparency

•ICT polices of central government departments