[LINK] Report of the Gov ICT Procurement Taskforce

[Roger Clarke]

At 10:02 +1000 29/8/17, Tom Worthington wrote:
>Centralisation is the last thing you need for digital transformation ...

Aw c'mon Tom, get with the zeitgeist.

'Small is beautiful' is from the same ancient historical period as San Fran 'flower power'.  The era of employee empowerment was a brief interlude between Taylorism and the new surveillance-based, gods-know-best employment authoritarianism.

Let's face it - you and I are dinosaurs, and history is bunk.

And as for the people who read these posts, well, I mean to say, they're still using the <spit> text technology of email (1972) and e-lists (1984). 

_____________


At 10:02 +1000 29/8/17, Tom Worthington wrote:
>On 28/08/17 18:29, Stephen Loosley wrote:
>
>> ... The Government is also frustrated that its considerable
>> investment in ICT is not delivering its digital transformation agenda
>> quickly enough for the benefit of the Australian economy and society.
>> ...
>
>What is needed for digital transformation is people skilled in, and allowed to do, digital transformation. This does not take much money or
>equipment: it is a people problem.
>
>> 1.    Lack of centralised policies, coordination, reporting,
>> oversight and accountability ...
>
>Centralisation is the last thing you need for digital transformation. Otherwise public servants have to spend extra time working around the central rules, so as to get things done.
>
>> 2.    Limited capability and the risk adverse nature of the
>> Australian Public Service ...
>
>To a large extent, risk aversion and compliance is inherent to
>government. Do you want the military taking risks with explosives, or armed police failing to comply with the law? What we want is a measured approach to risks and a workable compliance regime.
>
>> 3.    Practices that do not reflect contemporary procurement best
>> practice ...
>
>So train the staff in contemporary practice and ensure new hires have these skills. One way would be to run staff through the innovation workshops run at the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN). These were originally designed for private enterprise start-ups, but have adapted for unveirsity researchers (ANU IT students do similar training). They could be further adapted to help public servants think about producing a quick result for their customers: http://blog.highereducationwhisperer.com/2016/07/innovation-workshops.html
>
>
>-- 
>Tom Worthington, MEd, FACS CP.  http://www.tomw.net.au t +61(0)419496150
>TomW Communications Pty Ltd.    PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617, Australia
>Liability limited by a scheme approved under Prof. Standards Legislation
>
>Honorary Lecturer, Computer Science, Australian National University
>https://cecs.anu.edu.au/research/profile/tom-worthington
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Roger Clarke                                 http://www.rogerclarke.com/
			             
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
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Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Law            University of N.S.W.
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University