WRITTEN ON February 17th, 2010 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Ideal government IT strategy

Most people don’t care that we’re drafting with CTPR an Ideal Government It Strategy, and one or two people are even being a bit sneering about it because they can’t see the point.

It’s going great guns and we’re completely up for it. The reason it’s important is that if you’re frustrated with the status quo of public sector IT you have to do something positive about it, however modest. Otherwise you just go bitter or nutty – like an unwelcome cup of conference coffee.

The CTPR/IdealGovernment approach is to offer a structure, take comments and suggestions, pull together what we want and offer it up to all parties.

And we’re getting some terrific help and support in the process. There’s a stalwart posse of #idealgits who have been meeting and drinking beer together Wedneday evenings. We’ve had offers of propmotion and input both from the trade association Intellect and the Foundation of Information Policy Research. No tent has ever yet been broad enough to accommodate both those two very different bodies. Verily, the “courteous and mutually respectgul dialogue” #CMRD is under way.

And now David at BCS has offered to host and help with the final drafting day, which is set for 11 March, about which we’re delighted. We have a deadline for completion and a place to do it.

So now is the time for your input – suggestions and comments – to the ideal government IT strategy. Anyone who makes any contribution of any sort gets invited to the party. There’s an urban myth that prizes may include signed copies of a new book by HMG’s Data Sharing Czar Sir Bonar Neville-Kingdom (though just where he’d find time to write a book given his many other commitments I cannot imagine). We can’t confirm that, but it will be fun anyway.