Department of Education and Skills ICT Strategy 2015 – 2019
Delivering Transformative Digital Customer Services
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Design for Digital
Invest to Transform
Customer Centric
Information Centric
Cloud
Mobile
Analytics
Social
Contents
PREFACE..............................................................................................................................................................3
RE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICES USING DIGITAL CHANNELS…...…...................................................5
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS...…......................................................................................................................... ...6
GUIDING PRINCIPLES……...…......................................................................................................................... ...7
DESIGN FOR DIGITAL.........................................................................................................................................8
CUSTOMER CENTRIC.........................................................................................................................................9
INFORMATION CENTRIC…................................................................................................................................10
INVEST TO TRANSFORM.................................................................................................................................. .11
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS.....................................................................................................................................12
INFORMATION ANALYTICS................................................................................................................................13
CLOUD TECHNOLOGIES................................................................................................................................... .14
MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES...................................................................................................................................15
SOCIAL MEDIA....................................................................................................................................................16
IMPLEMENTATION..............................................................................................................................................17
GOVERNANCE....................................................................................................................................................18
CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................................................19
Harnessing technology to deliver transformative digital customer services2
Preface
The mission of the Department’s IT Unit is to “exploit thecapabilities of Information and Communication Technologies(ICT) for the benefit of the Department’s business units andcustomers”. ICT is the critical key enabler to improve customerservices and transform the day-to-day business of theDepartment.
This strategy articulates a vision of how the Department canharness prevailing technology trends to effect real businesstransformation by delivering a new genre of digital services toour customers.
New modern digital customer services can support theDepartment’s mission statement to enable learners to achievetheir full potential and contribute to Ireland's economic, socialand cultural development by directly engaging with our serviceusers
The strategy builds on the Public Service Reform Plan and thePublic Service ICT Strategy that positions Digital GovernmentStrategy around five central themes:
It builds on outcomes achieved in the 2011-2013 DES ICTStrategy that laid the infrastructural foundations to leveragemodern technologies.
It is centred on improved customer services by using newtechnologies to build modern cloud based applications that will
leverage both mobile and social media trends to enable theDepartment to become a more efficient and responsiveorganisation.
It addresses the requirement for improved informationmanagement to cater for emerging trends such as big data andopen government.
It encourages the increased use of Business Intelligence andAnalytics software to measure performance, improve customersatisfaction and evaluate outcomes
It recommends optimising and rebalancing ICT costs by phasing outlegacy infrastructure and application architecture, and utilising theconsequential savings to re-invest in modern technologies.
It proposes that the Department expands its online servicescatalogue and application portfolio to bring about more efficientand responsive services.
The Department’s existing online services serve its administrativefunctions and business processes well. However, we are nowentering a new era of online digital services that can enable us toengage more directly with our main constituent groups; schoolemployees, school management, parents and pupils.
The implementation of this strategy will necessitate someupskilling of ICT staff members
Although, this is a five-year strategy, it looks beyond thistimeframe and recommends viewing whole-of-life-costs whenchoosing the appropriate technologies and services to support itsoutcomes.
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1. Build to Share
2. Digital First
3. Data as an Enabler
4. Improve Governance
5. Increase Capability
DES ICT Strategy
2015-2019
DESStatement of
Strategy 2015-2017 Integrated
Reform Delivery Plan
Digital Strategy for
Schools*
Organisational Review
Programme
National Broadband
Plan for Ireland
Insight Centre for Data
Analytics -Open Data Reports*
eGovernment Strategy 2012-
2015
Government Cloud Strategy
Public Service ICT Strategy
National Digital
Strategy for Ireland
OECD Recommendation of the Council on
Digital Government
Strategies
July 2014
Civil Service Renewal Plan
Oct 2014
Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016
DES ICT Strategy 2015 - 2019 Context and Influencing Factors
*To be published shortly
The guiding principles above are applicable across the wider education sector. A coherent approach to ICT infrastructure and digital service provision across the sector would bring economies of scale and complement a shared services approach to ICT provision. The main focus of this strategy is on the ICT needs of the Department.
BIGGER PICTURERE-IMAGINING CUSTOMER SERVICES USING DIGITAL DELIVERY CHANNELS
Information
Strengthen use of Analytics:Build information on Learners to support evidence based policy development and aid early interventionLink Primary and Post Primary Pupil DatabasesBusiness intelligence (BI) for performance management (PM) will apply data analysis to improve work processes and resultsBIPM can measure the performance and outcomes of new education initiativesData is only stored onceImprove data collection, processing, sharing and management systems
Mobile
All new digital customer services accessible using smart mobile devicesDeliver services that are available, “anytime, anywhere on any device”
Cloud
Build all future digital services securely in the Cloud enabling faster service provision and project delivery cyclesBuild integrated administrative services for teachers, parents and pupilsOpportunity for collaborative cloud workspaces for schools to share information and lessonsOpportunity for digital repository for multimedia educational contentUse Private Cloud models where appropriate to ensure security and privacy of personally identifiable citizen information
Social
Explore social media channels for new ways to engage with customersConsider establishing social media presence - Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google +Consider use for launching major new education initiatives and emergency communications.Possible feedback channel for consultation processes.Gauge customer sentiment.
Key Recommendations
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InnovateCommence planning to transition our information and technical architecture to modern service delivery channels.Pilot cloud based mobile applications. Build for the future now and gain economies of scale.
Integrated SystemsAn holistic integrated approach must continue to underpin all future ICT developments to service delivery. An approach that views projectsas discrete endeavours leads to information and technology silos, wasteful duplication of work and fragmentation of information.
Strengthen Information GovernanceManagement of the underlying information is key to all future digital services. Responsibility for stewardship of our electronic informationbecomes increasingly important if we are to embrace the era of big data and information analytics. Collecting more data about our serviceusers will strengthen evidence based policy making. Information needs to be viewed as reusable across all new digital services.
Improve Customer ExperienceGreater emphasis will be given to a customer service based approach to future ICT developments. We will use design principles for serviceusers that optimise customer experience.
Optimise Costs - Consolidate or eliminate redundant business applications, systems, and services.Assess our current IT applications portfolio, services catalogue and infrastructure regarding its readiness to cater for modem customer-centric online service delivery. Then harvest any savings to reinvest in innovation.
“Build once, use many times”As with future information management , new service delivery applications need to be viewed as reusable at the design initiation stage.
Strategy Guiding Principles
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Design for Digital
Services are digital by default
Customer Centric
Deliver modern digital customer services
Information Centric
Information is managed as an asset
Invest to Transform
Release costs from legacy systems
DESIGN FOR DIGITAL SERVICESARE DIGITAL BY DEFAULT
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There has been a significant shift in how people consume ICT andonline services. Mobile devices and smart technology abound intodays hyper-connected world.
“Design for Digital” means that all new information andtransactional systems will originate in a digital format - be ‘borndigital’. This approach should be considered during the initialservice design stage taking account of the need to ensure digitalinclusion.
Implemented and resourced appropriately such an approach willdrive improved performance and effectiveness of customerservices. New and emerging trends in technology can be exploitedto deliver a new genre of services.
Digital services include the delivery of digital information andtransactional services across a variety of platforms, devices anddelivery mechanisms such as public websites, mobile applications,and social media channels. Regardless of the delivery method,these digital services must be built and deployed with customerservice first in mind and reflect the range of technologies in use bytoday’s service users. The quality of digital services that we providecan profoundly affect our customer experience.
We must respond to the Department’s customers’ needs making iteasy for them to find and share information and allow them toaccomplish important tasks online. We must establish a high-standard of informative content, simple transactions, and seamlessinteractions that are easily accessible whilst always being mindful ofdigital inclusion.
We must focus on customer-centric and information-centric designprinciples that will:
focus on customer engagements that deliver the most use andvalue
continuously improve services and ensure these services aredelivered effectively and efficiently.
measure performance and outcomes.
• Since 2014, there are more mobile devices in service than PCsand laptops.
• 85% of the world’s population now has wireless coverage.
CUSTOMER CENTRICDELIVER MODERN DIGITAL CUSTOMER SERVICES
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Smart mobile devices, social media, collaboration tools and cloudcomputing are changing how we communicate. As a result, ourcustomers’ expectations as to how we deliver services arechanging. The Department needs to develop responsive digitalservices to meet current and future customer expectations.
This Digital Strategy advocates that information and servicesneed to be joined-up and easy to access through commoncustomer-centric digital channels. We must design intuitivesystems that will be capable of running on any mobile device.
By increasing our use of BI and analytics software we can improvecustomer experience, measure performance, outputs andcustomer satisfaction. Areas where service delivery needimprovement can be easily identified and targeted.
We welcome the introduction of a citizen authentication accountas proposed in the Public Service Reform Plan, combined with thePublic Services Card to facilitate easier access to GovernmentServices. Using this account the customer will have a single viewof all public services available to them. We will explore thepotential for the use of centralised authentication for ourcustomers. The concept of Customer self-service will beembedded across all new digital services.
Possible Future Online self-service digital customer services mightinclude:
School Employees – should over the lifetime of this strategy be givenonline access to payslip, pension benefit statements, pensionsmodeller, P60s etc. As school employee pay/pensions accounts for66% of Department's annual expenditure – a separate payroll andpensions strategy should be considered, particularly if consideration isto be given to the department delivering payroll and pension servicesto school employees in the broader education sector.
Some schools have already implemented an online digital servicewhereby:
Teachers - can enter pupil grades in an integrated system, post notesfor parents etc.Parents can access information online regarding their child’sassessment results, attendance / absences / lates, timetableinformation, teacher notes etc.Learners - can access their timetable, own grades online along withdetails of attendance / absences / lates etc.
There is huge potential for online services for parents and learners suchas those already implemented in some schools. Consideration couldalso be given to:• Teachers posting homework assignments online and sending
messages to class groups, accessible by learners and their parents• Students could also save work to their own personal e-portfolios.• The enhancement of Post Primary Online Database to cater for
developments within the Junior Cycle Reform Programme.
INFORMATION CENTRICINFORMATION IS MANAGED AS AN ASSET
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Integrate ICT planning
Accelerate the uptake of common capabilities
Build workforce capability
Systemicbehaviourchange
The focus for information management in the Public Service ReformPlan is on supporting open and transparent digital governmentservices. This Strategy supports open data initiatives. Information isa vital asset that can offer significant strategic opportunities. Wecan harness its value to better support service design and delivery,policy development and decision making.
Taking an asset management approach will mean non-personalinformation can be made ‘open by default’, with informationshared more effectively between educational agencies and madepublicly available in a way that facilitates its re-use. This opens upopportunities for the commercial sector to design innovativesolutions based on open data.
There are opportunities to benefit from maturing Internettechnologies to transform the way we manage and useinformation. The concept of information hubs might be considered,promoting a ‘sectoral’ approach to the management of informationacross agencies. This could be facilitated with a sharedcollaboration platform for educational agencies.
This will enable the rationalisation, consolidation and integration ofinformation assets to establish authoritative data sources and moreeffective analysis of information to better inform policydevelopment.
With the advent of Cloud technologies, further work may be neededto protect private and restricted data in order to bolster confidencein new digital public services. Effective information governance andstewardship requires clear management practices that will ensuresecurity and privacy controls are pervasive across channels, devices,networks and applications. The new Government Network Cloudwith its tiered security model can alleviate many of these concerns.
The Department intends to develop a new Data Strategy to providestrategic direction in maximising the value of data to support policydevelopment and evaluation, programmes of reform and businesscases for resources. Some of the topics the strategy will address willinclude the collection, use, management and analysis of data,cohesion of data developments across the education sector andfurther opportunities for data sharing.
The introduction of a new Data Sharing and Governance Bill is alsoof vital importance to address how Public Services operate in thenew digital world and under what circumstances citizen data can belegitimately and securely shared.
INVEST TO TRANSFORM BUILD FOR THE FUTURE - RELEASE COSTS FROM LEGACY SYSTEMS
Re-organise capability
Develop leadership
Enhance governance and decision making
Collaborate, communicate and engage
Systemicbehaviourchange
Over the past number of years, austerity measures combined withfactors such as the decentralisation programme - that led to adepletion of specialist skills and corporate memory - resulted in anunderinvestment in ICT. As a result , IT spend has been focused onmaintaining core services. This resulted in a situation wherebyresources were concentrated on “keeping the lights on” (KTLO)activities. The ability to design, build and innovate was severelycurtailed.
This situation has led to a ‘technology deficit’. Future ICTinvestment now needs to be focused on innovation and themodernisation of our ICT estate. Increased focus on continuedstandardisation, rationalisation and consolidation of our ICT line-of-business systems must be maintained.
By investing in modern technologies we can reduce the costs ofhigh-maintenance legacy systems and, by doing so, free upresources for innovation and transformation. Decisions on wherecost reductions can be made will be based on an assessment of thewhole-of-life costs over long-term timeframes (ten years and over)of maintaining current technical and application infrastructure asopposed to deploying newer technologies.
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As outlined in the Public Service ICT Strategy, “Any potential efficiencygains referred to as the Reform Dividend could be used to part fundinvestment in new digital services, innovation and supporting datainfrastructure.”
Whether a new service needs to be the focus of internal departmentalICT, or if it can be delivered using a standardised format on a sharedservices platform will also be considered.
The Office of Government Procurement (OGP), when fully operational,will result in shorter procurement timescales and change focus on ICTspend from a capital expenditure model to an operational expendituremodel.
When transitioning to cloud based services - we must ensure that wefully optimise costs.
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Technology Trends
InformationImprove service provision
by obtaining new customer insights through the use of analytics, BI and Big Data
MobileDeliver digital services
available anywhere, anytime, on any device
CloudLower operational costs,
project delivery cycles and enable new mobile services
by transitioning to the Government Network
Cloud
SocialExplore social media
opportunities to engage with customers
INFORMATIONIMPROVE SERVICE PROVISION BY OBTAINING NEW CUSTOMER INSIGHTS THROUGH THE USE OF ANALYTICS, BI AND BIG DATA
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Integrate ICT planning
Accelerate the uptake of common capabilities
Build workforce capability
Systemicbehaviourchange
The era of Big Data is upon us. We must begin to consider how best tolay the groundwork to handle such new sources of structured andunstructured information We must source appropriate technologiesto handle such information.
Analytics is a transformative technology that will underlie all futuredigital services. It will deliver a better understanding of information;based on current trends, technologies such as predictive analytics canenable the department to gain new insights into the educationsystem.
Analytics will build rich visualisations to enable better understandingand make sense of underlying raw information. Non personallyidentifiable information, especially aggregate information can then beserved up to the public as online open data in graphical format.
The Department has already harnessed the power of BI softwareusing it to model key information to assist School Inspections, analyseliteracy and numeracy data and payroll financial analysis. We arecommitted to continued implementation of BI across all new data setsand exploring analytical software for predictive analysis.
Further use of BI and analytics software will draw information fromvarious sources across the education system delivering insight andhighlighting meaningful patterns and trends to further strengthenpolicy development.
Information and records management becomes increasinglyimportant as the flow of information increases. New methods ofenterprise content management will have to be appraised.
Technology solutions will ultimately fail if the underlying informationis not timely and accurate.
CLOUDLOWER OPERATIONAL COSTS, PROJECT DELIVERY CYCLES AND ENABLE NEW MOBILE SERVICES BY TRANSITIONING TO THE GOVERNMENT NETWORK CLOUD
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Cloud offers the opportunity to seamlessly access informationanywhere, at any time, on any device. Large-scale upfrontcapital expenditure is not required as cloud services are offeredon an operational “pay-as-you-go” model. Proof-of-concept andpilot developments can be rapidly provisioned for small financialoutlays.
Cloud combined with mobility, information analytics and socialcollaboration will create a customer-driven ecosystem filled withnew and emerging opportunities as to how the Department canengage with its customers.
The Department will consider piloting new online customerservices on the Government Network Cloud. We have begun bypiloting new small scale developments to establish how best costsavings, service delivery efficiencies and expected businessbenefits can be realised. It can then consider transitioning itslarge-scale traditional on-premises mission-critical systems.
Future service delivery can focus on customer-friendly systemsusing component based design methods such as web servicesand service oriented architecture. Older costly monolithicarchitectures will be phased out.
Benefits
Responsiveness. Potential for faster turnaround in online service deliveryRapid provisioning of infrastructurePotential for significant cost savingsNo requirement for upfront capital outlay.Use Government Network Cloud – Hybrid Cloud modelHybrid Cloud – mix of private and public cloud catering securely for both personal citizen data and public domain dataAutomatic Software Integration
Challenges
Security of Personal Citizen Data stored in Public CloudTrust in a third-party cloud service providerCybersecurity – Data more prone to attack in Public CloudTechnical Issues - Outages
MOBILEDELIVER DIGITAL SERVICES AVAILABLE ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ON ANY DEVICE
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Smart mobile devices, social media, collaboration tools and Cloud Computing are changing how we communicate. Combined with cloud technologies,mobile solutions can make information anywhere, anytime, on any device.
We will review our existing applications portfolio and services catalogue to determine the suitability and technical readiness for new mobile solutions.Mobile apps can be piloted delivered based on our main customer groups, teachers, parents and pupils.
Customers expect services to be made available across all mobile devices. Geo-centric (leveraging location awareness) design concepts may also beconsidered.
Access to Everything, All the Time, From Any Device, From Anywhere
In one minute…
204 million emails sent
47,000 appdownloads
135 new botnet
infections
1.3 million YouTube
views
SOCIALEXPLORE SOCIAL MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE WITH CUSTOMERS
Re-organise capability
Develop leadership
Enhance governance and decision making
Collaborate, communicate and engage
Systemicbehaviourchange
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Social media has many definitions – it has core characteristicshowever, such as online mass collaboration environments wherecontent is created, posted, enhanced, discovered, consumed andshared, participant to participant, without a direct intermediary.
Social media can enable a better understanding of customersentiment and create a collaboration channel for open governmentand innovation.
Social media can be used for launching major new initiatives and isespecially effective in delivering a message quickly such as in thecase of emergency communications.
Another possible use might be when initiating a consultationprocess, feedback can be invited via social media, then issue adraft policy, then get more feedback, and finally issue thecompleted document. By doing so, social media can engage ourcustomers more directly in the work of the Department.
The Department has a Twitter presence since July 2012. As partof the External Communications Plan currently being drafted,we will explore other social media channels for newopportunities to engage with our customers in new and
innovative ways.
IMPLEMENTATION
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Action PlanA detailed Implementation Action Plan will be devised - once it is decided the level of customer engagement and new digital services that theDepartment wishes to deliver. A single senior responsible officer (SRO) will be appointed to oversee the implementation of this strategy and the PublicService ICT strategy.
Technical StrategyAn accompanying technical strategy can be drawn up to define guiding principles as to how new services will be designed and deployed. Wherepracticable, we will build services on the Government Network and procure goods and services through the OGP.
IT/Business Unit PartnershipSuccessful implementation of digital projects is dependent on strong partnerships involving business units and IT. PRINCE2 is the standard projectmethodology used at all stages of IT projects by both IT personnel and business unit staff. An agreed Project Initiation Document will be established atproject commencement stage in order to clearly to articulate the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the project.
“Shared Experience”We will draw on the experiences of other Public Service Organisations as they build new digital services and avail of lessons learned.
Shared Services.We will avail of shared services, where feasible. We will build applications capable of moving to a shared services or scalable to take in other agenciesif required. Once a cost/benefit analysis study demonstrates that business benefits realisation are achievable the deployment of internal systems on ashared services model can be considered. How such shared services might be deployed technically requires careful consideration in order to gaineconomies of scale.
ICT GOVERNANCE
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While the IT Unit’s annual work programme is approved by the Department’s Management Advisory Committee (MAC), the MAC ICT OversightSubcommittee (MIOS) established in 2010, consider all potential projects for inclusion in the unit’s work programme, following whichrecommendations are made to MAC. The process for consideration of proposed projects for the IT Unit’s work programme has evolved, with sectionssubmitting business cases using a prescribed template, subsequently considered by MIOS in accordance with agreed criteria and weightings.
MIOS will continue to play an important role providing ICT Governance by prioritising projects, monitoring progress on projects underway andultimately ensuring that the IT Unit’s strategy and work programme continue to be aligned to the business objectives of the department.
This strategy and its accompanying Implementation Action Plan will be reviewed at annual intervals to monitor its progress and take account of newand emerging technology trends.
CONCLUSIONBRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER - EVOLUTION NOT REVOLUTION
Technology is fundamentally transforming how we live our daily lives. Exponential advances in computing power, advances in high-speed networks, the growing upsurge in mobile and smart technologies puts the content of the entire Internet at our fingertips.
We need to harness the potential technology offers to create 21st century digital customer services— that are efficient, effective andfocused on improving service delivery.
We can enable citizens and our own increasingly mobile workforce to securely access high-quality digital information and services—“anywhere, anytime, on any device.” By cultivating an information-centric model, we can securely architect systems for interoperabilityand openness. Doing so will allow us to modernise our content publication model and deliver better digital services capable of runningon any device at a lower cost.
We must build the modern infrastructure needed to support digital government efforts and leverage the Office of the GovernmentChief Information Officer (OGCIO) and Office of Government Procurement (OGP) Frameworks buying power to reduce costs. By availingof the services on these frameworks, we could look at the potential for strategic out-sourcing, in order to release ICT staff to otherprojects.
This strategy espouses an evolutionary rather than revolutionary approach. This strategy combined with the Implementation Plan to bedeveloped, will outline a gradual shift to new customer-centric, information rich digital services.
Building on the Public Service Reform Plan, the Public Service ICT Strategy and the Civil Service Renewal Plan, it provides a platform tofundamentally shift how we connect with, and provide services to, our customers.
To increase our effectiveness, we must enter an era of accelerated service delivery transformation and information-based decision
making.
We must start building for the future now.
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