Speaking at Society for IT Management's conference in Harrogate, William Heath, chairman of Kable, said on 3 October 2006 there was a streak of "hierarchical or authoritarian intent" in the agenda.
"The fact the agenda is moving slowly is probably a good thing."
He called for "respect for the individual customer or citizen, common sense, efficient services and the transformation experienced by public servants who rediscover that the purpose of their work is to serve other people".
Peter McNanny, chief executive of Belfast City Council, told delegates that Northern Ireland will fail in its transformation of public services if it does not get citizens on side.
"Gaining trust from citizens is especially important in a divided society," he said. "It will stop them barricading us or throwing pepper bombs, which means they will not withdraw their consent.
"The public are entitled to say what they think about services. It is not for them to fit into our boxes. Therefore councils should harness customer knowledge and change services accordingly."
Cisco Systems head of e-government Simon Willis attacked politicians during a debate, saying they had "no excuse" for not embracing technology to drive change.
"We are letting them (politicians) off lightly," he said. "We would find it quite hard if politicians did not understand transport investment of how to invest in infrastructure for schools etc, so why should we have to repackage IT in gentle language?"
"Politicians need to understand that they can not deliver modern services effectively without embracing IT."
Quelle/Source: KableNet, 05.10.2006
