Local authority IT managers are encouraging councillors
to use IT more widely to help transform public
services.
In a newly published pamphlet, the Society of IT Management
(Socitm) said that the transformation of public
services could not succeed without the involvement of elected
members who were well informed and enthusiastic about the role of
ICT.
Socitm said that using technology on a day-to-day basis was the
best way for councillors to find out “what it is, and is not,
capable of doing”.
The briefing highlighted four key areas in which ICT could
support the elected councillor’s role: saving time, keeping in
touch with a wide range of people and issues, balancing the
councillor role with other commitments, and getting people to
engage with the local council and their councillors.
Socitm said that technologies that allowed 24/7 access to
information in councils' back-office systems could help councillors
to work efficiently outside office hours, enabling them to fit
council meetings and paperwork around family, caring and work
commitments.
Socitm said the internet offered politicians a way of keeping up
with all the issues affecting a locality or neighbourhood, keeping
constituents informed and engaged with local issues, and helping
individual councillors get their message across and their
achievements recognised.
The role of e-mail as a means of effective communication with
officers was highlighted by the briefing, as was the importance of
remote access to council systems for providing immediate,
well-informed answers for constituents attending weekend or evening
surgeries.
The briefing contains contributions from nine local politicians
who have found ICT helpful in their work.
The briefing, ICT for Elected Members, is available from
www.socitm.gov.uk, and costs
£10 per copy, or £5 per copy if 10 or more are ordered.
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