Looking for a buzz? Looking for a rewarding job? Looking for a
chance to make a difference to society? James Rogers has found the
place for you, and it's not where you might think.
DPM's diary, which graces the back page of Computer Weekly every
week, depicts the humdrum life of the fictional Bogcaster City
Council's IT department. A visit to Knowsley Metropolitan Borough
Council proves that the reality of local government IT is anything
but humdrum.
At first glance, the modern, open-plan office of the Information
Society Technologies (IST) division looks more like the busy
headquarters of a newspaper than the stereotypical IT department.
It certainly helps if you can thrive on pressure, according to one
member of the team, "It's stressful - but IT people like to be
stretched, they like the buzz."
Joe Daniels, Knowsley's community information officer and classic
car aficionado, agrees that the work is challenging, although he is
keen to highlight the unique rewards that it brings. "It allows for
innovation and creativity," he says. "I get to work with a whole
range of people."
One area where this buzz is most apparent is on the council's
helpdesk. A number of Knowsley ITers take turns on the helpdesk,
dealing with an array of queries, from the straightforward to more
advanced technical problems.
There is a feeling in the division that it can be healthy to get
lots of helpdesk calls, however mundane. After all, as one IT
staffer explains, it shows that the technology is actually being
used. This can be particularly important after major council IT
projects, such as Knowsley's recent roll-out of Citrix thin-client
terminals to its social services department.
The overall impression is of an IT department that is extremely
committed to both its internal users and the needs of the community
as a whole.
Daniels who, when he's not at work takes great pride in showing off
his pristine 1979 Scimitar, has worked for the council for 28
years, after an earlier career in both the private and the public
sectors. However, he believes that Knowsley is by far the most
rewarding working environment he has experienced. "It is all to do
with the way that this council approaches the use of IT to support
its community. There's a top-level approach to doing that so it
gives us a head-start in delivering electronic services using the
latest technology."
According to Daniels, Knowsley has one of the most advanced
networks in Europe, which is built using fibre-optic technology and
serves more than 160 sites. "We have also pioneered learning
technologies and digital TV technology," he adds.
The ability to handle several tasks at once, however, is key to
working in the IST division. A number of the council's IT staff are
expected to fulfil the role of programme managers for a range of
initiatives. Daniels, for example, could be overseeing 10 or 11
schemes at any one time, ranging from helping to develop regional
e-government strategies to the key task of extending computer
access to all sections of society.
The digital divide is felt more acutely in Knowsley than in most
other parts of the country, with the council serving an area with
high levels of social and economic deprivation. According to
figures released earlier this year by the Office of National
Statistics, unemployment in Knowsley stands at 8.7%, nearly three
times higher than the national average. A trip to this corner of
the north-west underlines the fact that e-government is about much
more than just deadlines.
As part of his job, Daniels works closely with a range of
community-based IT projects, such as the Westvale Resource Centre
for people with learning disabilities, which is based in the
neighbouring town of Kirkby.
Having hands-on involvement with initiatives like this may seem a
world away from the standard view of an IT career, but Daniels
would not have it any other way. "It is all about providing
opportunities for people who otherwise wouldn't get a chance. We
provide an opportunity for the vulnerable and socially excluded to
participate in our information society."
Projects such as the Westvale Resource Centre illustrate how
technology can make a difference in peoples' lives. The centre has
built its own Web site and last year users worked with Liverpool
John Moores University to develop a CD-Rom entitled Lifeskills: 24
Hours a Day, to help people with learning difficulties to cope with
everyday situations. It was a finalist in last year's Health and
Social Care awards run by the Department of Health and was also
nominated for an Emma award - the new media equivalent of an Oscar.
Such is the success of the Lifeskills CD-Rom that it is now being
distributed nationally. "We have now made this generally available
throughout the country via a distribution chain - this project is
all about sharing ideas, resources and best practice," Daniels
says. The CD-Rom won praise in the Scottish Parliament and earlier
this year, for example, representatives of the Irish government
came to look at the work being undertaken there.
Elsewhere in Knowsley the IT department is involved in any number
of projects to help bridge the digital divide, from one-stop-shops
to public IT kiosks called i-plus points. Schools, libraries and
resource centres in the borough have access to about 4,500
computers at more than 160 locations, all with free public access
to the Internet. Indeed, the borough's central library has one of
the country's largest public computer suites, with 40 PCs and a
team of resource tutors.
In addition to enabling the council to extend its services to the
local community, Knowsley's IST division is also involved in
forging links with the private sector. The department is closely
involved in developing the Knowsley Community Tradenet, a Web
portal linking local residents, the council and small- to
medium-sized businesses in the area.
Awarded more than £500,000 of government funds, Tradenet is
designed to bring the benefits of e-commerce to local businesses
while at the same time tackling the issue of social exclusion. As
well as bolstering the local economy, it will provide an online
shopping and information service to all sections of the community,
including elderly and disabled people.
The council is extremely keen to use the private sector to boost
the services provided to the local community. Liverpool Football
Club, for example, chose to build the much-publicised football
academy for its future stars in the borough, a decision which must
have been greeted with delight by the red half of the council's IT
division. The academy is the the largest in Europe, and the site
has attracted other businesses to the area.
Typical of Knowsley's approach to services, however, the academy
will prove as much a benefit to local residents as it will to the
nation's budding Michael Owens. "We are working in partnership with
private sector supplier Granada Learning to provide an e-learning
centre attached to the academy for local community access," Daniels
says.
With initiatives like this it comes as no surprise to discover that
Knowsley's most recent Beacon status award was for "fostering
business growth".
Ultimately, however, it is the people in the IST division that are
the engine-room of Knowsley's services. The head of the department,
Nottingham-born Rod Matthews, says, "I have worked at a number of
local authorities before here but the level of understanding and
ability at Knowsley is about the best that I have ever seen. It's
not just about working hard - it's about working smart as well."
People in the IST division are engaged in the council's whole
agenda, he says.
Moreover, the IST division has gained the respect of other council
staff as a result of its work. "The level of trust placed in the IT
staff by the rest of the organisation is very high," Matthews says,
"Because of that we have been able to propose corporate change
programmes such as customer relationship management and
e-procurement that are then embedded in the council's modernisation
and organisational changes."
With a string of awards, the IST division's efforts to improve the
council's services have already been acknowledged on a national
level, notably at the Improvement and Development Agency, the
government body set up to foster best practice in local
authorities.
"Knowsley is one of the leading exponents of local e-government in
the UK, integrating electronic service delivery and citizen
participation into the mainstream of its activities through its
community information programme," says Martin Ferguson,
e-government consultant at the agency. Vision and leadership have
been translated into e-government projects to support services, to
pay bills online and to offer a range of access through one-stop
shops, community centres, libraries, the home and the workplace, he
says.
Local MP George Howarth also praises the work of the council's IT
staff. "As the awards that they have achieved underline, Knowsley
have been very much to the fore in blazing a trail in e-government.
The emphasis is on accessibility to the public and they go the
extra mile in making sure that this happens."
Where is Knowsley?
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
is one of Merseyside's five metropolitan districts and is home for
153,094 people. It covers an area of about 86.506 square
kilometres, two-thirds of which is green-belt and includes the
urban areas of Huyton, Kirkby, Stockbridge village, Prescot,
Whiston and Halewood. In addition, there are the villages of
Knowsley and Cronton and the rural area of Tarbock. According to
figures released by the Government earlier this year, unemployment
in Knowsley stands at 8.7% - nearly three times the national
average.
Recognition for services to citizens
Based in Huyton
on Merseyside, Knowsley's Information Society Technologies (IST)
division has the tough task of providing support to the council's
8,000 employees while at the same time forging one of the country's
most innovative e-government programmes.
Knowsley is firmly established as one of the UK's e-government
trailblazers, having been awarded Pathfinder status by the
Government and named a Beacon Council on three occasions.
Both the Pathfinder and Beacon Council initiatives aim to identify
leading local authorities as centres of excellence for other
councils to learn from, and Knowsley is keen to underline its
status as an e-government pioneer.
With more than 50 staff permanently based in the building, the IST
division also has about a dozen other people working in the
council's eight departments and the chief executive's office. Each
year the division deals with an IT turnover worth millions of
pounds, and plays a key role in how the council delivers services
to more than 150,000 local residents.
Glittering prizes
Knowsley's IST division has played a
key role in a number of the awards the council has won over the
past few years.
- 1999 Named IT team of the year by Local Government Chronicle
magazine for their work in supporting the council's services
- 2001-2002 Awarded Pathfinder status by the Government for the
development of electronic forms system and life-episode mapping on
Web site
- 2001-2002 Awarded Beacon Council status by the Government for
accessible services
- 2001-2002 Awarded Beacon Council status for regenerating
through culture, sport and tourism
- 2002 -2003 Awarded Beacon Council status for fostering business
growth.