Tech 100: Government

GOVERNMENT

New Ged Bell, Chair, Socitm Scotland, Head of IT, Dundee City Council

As Socitm Scotland’s new chair, Ged Bell is looking ahead to the organisation’s annual conference in November which will be looking at how digital services and improved IT infrastructures offer public service organisations the means to operate more efficiently at a time when budgets continue to be squeezed. The conference will consider the Scottish digital vision and the practical steps that can be taken to implement it in a way that boosts efficiencies and improves services. 

Kay Brown, Chief Executive, SEEMiS Group; Member, e-skills UK Employer Board for Scotland

Former head of information technology at South Lanarkshire Council, Brown now runs SEEMiS, the limited liability partnership, owned by the 32 Scottish councils, which is delivering Click+Go, the new education management information system for schools. It provides tools for behaviour tracking, pastoral notes, text messaging, exam planning, school lets, new intake registration and custom reports. The system will cover all pupils by March 2015. Brown is a past president of Socitm and current member of the Local Government ICT Board. Prior to her career in the public sector, Brown was employed in IT roles with CERN, BOC, Alexander Stenhouse and Honeywell Bull.

Mark Baker, Service Manager (Performance & Improvement), Aberdeenshire Council, leads on mobile and flexible working

Baker graduated as an architect and worked in hotel and restaurant design before specialising in large-scale office refurbishments in the oil and gas sector. He joined Aberdeenshire in 2006 and was the leader of its flexible working project, Worksmart. Three of the programmes he has been involved with have received COSLA awards over the last few years: Worksmart, workSPACE and Kaizen for Daily Improvement. Baker also leads Public Sector Nomads, a free membership organisation in Scotland working with stakeholders and the Improvement Service, which aims to promote new technology-enabled ways of working.

Elspeth MacDonald, Deputy Director, Criminal Justice Division, Scottish Government

The Digital Strategy for Justice in Scotland, published in August, aims to provide “a modern, user-focused justice system which uses digital technology to deliver simple, fast and effective justice and value for money, across the full extent of administrative, civil and criminal justice”. It is one of the projects in the Government’s ‘Making Justice Work’ programme to modernise the systems and processes of Scottish justice. With previous experience in the constitutional and education directorates, MacDonald has been at the forefront of the strategy's delivery.

Colin Cook, Head of Digital Strategy and Programmes, Scottish Government

Cook is responsible for developing Scotland’s digital strategy. He oversees Scotland’s £400m next generation broadband infrastructure programme, chairs the Business Excellence Partnership that aims to stimulate digital business and meet digital skills gaps and is the lead official on Scotland’s digital participation strategy. In the recent Digital Leaders 100 poll, Cook came second in the Central Government Official category, behind Mike Bracken of GDS. He was previously Marketing Director, British Army Recruiting, where he pioneered online recruiting and is a trustee of the Poppy Factory, a charity that helps disabled, sick and injured ex-service people back into work.

New Sarah Davidson, Chair, National ICT Board; Director-General, Communities, Scottish Government

A reshuffle of the Scottish Government’s directorates in May, with Paul Gray taking responsibility for Health and Social Care, saw Davidson’s Communities team assume responsibility for digital. A civil servant since 1995, recent roles have included Scottish Government Director of Communications, Director for Local Government and Communities and Acting Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development. Among a range of strategic ICT roles, Davidson now chairs the National ICT Board and the Data Management Board.

Fergus Ewing, Minister responsible for cybersecurity; Minister for Energy, Enterprise & Tourism

Tasked with developing a response to the threat of cyber attack, Ewing has overseen the formation of RABS Cyber, part of the Resilience Advisory Board Scotland, which coordinates five sector delivery groups covering critical infrastructure, cybercrime, information assurance, education and digital participation and enterprise and technology. Its vision is to develop a “cyber secure and resilient Scotland which is safe for its citizens and businesses and which supports economic development, in an internet-enabled world.”

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs

Responsible for the Scottish Government’s digital participation agenda, Hyslop has said that future success as a society and an economy depends on “digital participation for all”. She launched the Scottish Government’s new Digital Participation Strategy in April, describing Scotland’s ambition to match world-class levels of digital inclusion, and is working with the SCVO and signatories of the Digital Participation Charter to build a national movement for change.

Claudette Jones, Chief Information Officer, City of Edinburgh Council

Jones is responsible for ICT and digital across the City of Edinburgh Council’s corporate and education services. She has worked in ICT in a wide range of roles and sectors for over 20 years. Leading Edinburgh’s ambitious transformation of ICT and digital, Jones is overseeing the award of an up to £2bn contract through which Edinburgh and other public organisations will be able to procure ICT services. The contract is expected to be awarded early next year and will come into force in 2016. 

Julie Kane, Head of Digital Public Services Strategy Programme Office, Scottish Government

Previously responsible for the Scottish Government’s response to the McClelland Review of Public Sector ICT, Kane coordinates the delivery of ‘Scotland’s Digital Future: Delivery of Public Services’, the national digital public services strategy and action plan, managing the governance and portfolio of projects and programmes at national and central government level. Previously, Kane had a wide range of policy and strategy roles supporting children’s services and enterprise bodies.

Andy McClintock, Chief Technology Officer, Scottish Government

McClintock is a senior IT professional with a wealth of experience in both the public and private sectors including professional services, software development, solutions delivery, shared services and corporate IT. He is responsible for IT infrastructure and service delivery to 10,000 users across Scotland and oversaw implementation of the Government’s data disaster recovery system.

Lorraine McMillan, Chair, Local Government ICT Strategy Board; Chief Executive, East Renfrewshire Council

Former chief executive of Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire, in 2008, McMillan, a charted physicist, became the head of one of Scotland’s 32 councils. Previously, she worked for Glasgow-based Barr & Stroud, gained an MBA from Strathclyde University and joined the former Scottish Development Agency in 1989 in a technology transfer role. As well as her East Renfrewshire Council role, McMillan leads local government’s strategy to get more services online, reduce costs and enable reform across the sector. 

Alyson Mitchell, Head of Digital Participation, Scottish Government

Mitchell holds the post created last year within the Digital Division of the Scottish Government that is designed to increase the number of people and businesses using the internet. A journalist and producer with BBC Scotland, she joined the Government in 2002 as chief press officer. Before taking on digital participation, she was head of International Networks and Diaspora for the Government. 

New Rachael Mfoafo, Support & Communications Lead, Local Government ICT Strategy, Improvement Service

A graduate of Napier University, Mfoafa was the winner of the 2013 Socitm Graham Williamson Research Award. Her work at the Improvement Service supports the priorities and initiatives laid out in the national Digital Public Services Strategy and the Local Government ICT Strategy. Mfoafa’s previous work includes educational and personal support with Stevenson College and the Thistle Foundation and a one-year placement as an assistant fund analyst at Kames Capital Ltd.

Anne Moises, Chief Information Officer, Scottish Government; Senior Responsible Owner, Scottish Wide Area Network

Moises is a senior IT professional with considerable experience in the public sector including professional services, solutions delivery, shared services and corporate IT. She is responsible for the development and maintenance of the Scottish Government and its agencies’ IT infrastructure and for 400 ICT staff. Moises is the Government’s lead on SWAN, the single public services network. A Fellow of the British Computer Society, Moises was named ‘ICT Public Sector Leader 2011’ at the UK Public Sector Digital Awards.

Dr Jane Morgan, Deputy Director, Digital Public Services, Scottish Government

Morgan is responsible for developing and delivering the Government’s national strategy “to ensure that Scotland’s public services are in a position to take full advantage of opportunities offered by the digital age”. As a former director of the Scottish Universities Insight Institute, she is adept at understanding the knowledge needs of different sectors and making links between them.

Mike Neilson, Director, Digital Directorate, Scottish Government

Neilson is Digital Director for the Scottish Government with responsibility for developing its digital strategy and co-ordinating its implementation – focusing on four areas to achieve Scotland’s digital ambition: public service delivery; the digital economy; digital participation and broadband connectivity. Previously, he worked at the UK Treasury, the UK Permanent Representation to the EU, and the European Commission. 

Dr Trudy Nicolson, Head of Broadband Policy, Scottish Government

Nicolson is responsible for developing ‘Digital Scotland 2020’, the Government’s strategy to achieve a world-class digital infrastructure and is sponsor of Community Broadband Scotland and the Scottish Government’s ‘Demonstrating Digital’ programme. She is working closely with the Scottish Futures Trust to identify opportunities for delivering connectivity anytime, anywhere, and for any device. She was the Government’s Head of Energy Efficiency before spending a year as Sustainable Energy Project Manager with the Victoria State Government in Australia.

Robbie Parish, Deputy Director Online Services & Strategy, Scottish Government

Parish joined the Scottish Government from VisitScotland where he was Digital and Media Director. He is responsible for the development of mygovscot, the Government’s public services portal, and of Glow, the schools intranet. He was previously Head of e-Commerce at the Ibedrola Group and held a number of senior roles including marketing director for one of the UK’s largest digital agencies.

Ben Plouviez , Head of Knowledge Information and Records Management, Scottish Government

Plouviez is responsible for information management strategy and policy within the Scottish Government and for information services such as records management and library services. In 2009, he rolled out the Government’s system that allowed 4,000 staff access to 14 million documents with the ethos that wherever possible, files were open and accessible to the whole of the Government – and he has overseen the system’s successor. He is strategic lead in information and data management for the Rural Futures Programme, redefining how rural stewardship is managed and funded in Scotland.

New Kevin Rush, Acting Head of Economic Development, Glasgow City Council

Former principal policy officer and senior adviser to the council leader, Kevin Rush oversees Glasgow’s effort to become a world-leading digital city by 2017. It is estimated that increasing digital participation in the city could create 2,800 jobs, add £0.65bn to the economy and release funds to invest in frontline services. Among the digital initiatives is the £24m Future Cities Demonstrator aimed at using technology to make life in the city smarter, safer and more sustainable.

Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister & Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities

Sturgeon has overseen some of the most significant recent announcements on Scotland’s digital agenda. “The Scottish Government’s aim is to deliver world-class connectivity by 2020, enabling people across Scotland to connect any time, any place, anywhere, using any device,” she said earlier this year announcing the latest phase of the £410m Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme.

John Swinney, Chair, Cabinet Sub Committee for Public Service Reform, Scottish Government; Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth

In previous years, Swinney has pushed Scotland’s public sector to be more digitally innovative. With progress in that area, the Cabinet Secretary has been underlining the importance of digital infrastructure: “One of the greatest issues that we need to address is the issue of digital connectivity in rural Scotland,” he told a conference earlier this year. “Digital connectivity now is literally fundamental to the operation of business activity in rural Scotland and fundamental to domestic life in rural Scotland.”

New Mark Tate, Development Director, Community Broadband Scotland (CBS)

Formerly HSBC’s head of commercial and business banking in Scotland, Tate is responsible for the Scottish Government’s national programme to help the hardest to reach communities get better connected. CBS is a partnership involving the Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise, COSLA, the Carnegie UK Trust and the National Parks. More than £410m of public and private sector funding is being invested through the Scottish Government’s Step Change programme, which will deliver next generation broadband access to 95 per cent of premises in Scotland by 2017. CBS’s aim is to provide support, expertise and funding to communities in the most challenging locations to help them deliver their own broadband solutions.

Andy Williamson, Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN) Programme Manager, Scottish Government

Williamson led the procurement of SWAN, Scotland’s version of the Public Services Network, awarding the framework contract to Capita earlier this year. The contract value for SWAN Connectivity Services is estimated to be up to £325m over nine years. Williamson was previously part of the team that created a national information communications platform for the Welsh Assembly Government.