- Conference focus is on Realising the Benefits of Transformation
John Suffolk, the Government's new Chief Information Officer, who was appointed in June to lead the Government's transformation strategy, features in the line up of top presenters at the Socitm Annual Conference, which will take place at the Harrogate International Conference Centre 1-3 October.
The theme of the conference is Realising the Benefits of Transformation – a highly topical issue in local government following publication of the Transforming Local Government discussion paper earlier this year.
John Suffolk is not the only speaker likely to touch on this theme. Professor Richard Scase, who will open the conference with a keynote address, is one of the world's leading business forecasters and a specialist on the impact of Internet technologies and other global technological trends on organisations and individuals. William Heath, founder and chairman of Kable, has authored key market studies into e-government and is a well-known and provocative speaker on the topic. Professor Jean-Noël Ezingeard is Academic Dean of Henley Management College, and has a research specialism in technology management. He will be discussing the challenges of the technology 'hype cycle' for those managing ICT in today's organisations. Peter McNaney, Chief Executive of Belfast City Council is also a member of the Modernising Local Government Taskforce for Northern Ireland which will be implementing a challenging improvement agenda to modernise services and to increase back office efficiency. Simon Willis is Head of the Internet Business Solutions Group at Cisco Systems where he is building a global team advising public sector organizations where transformation is imminent or there is the potential for ground-breaking projects. From an altogether different perspective, mountaineer and adventurer Rebecca Stephens MBE will be sharing her thoughts on personal development, effective teamwork and leadership.
The conference also features the Local Government IT Excellence Awards 2006. The Awards are a collaborative venture between Socitm, SOLACE and Intellect, and aim to demonstrate how IT has been used effectively and innovatively to deliver best value public services. Winners will be presented with their awards at the conference
on the morning of Tuesday 3 October.
In addition to a professional programme packed with interest, delegates will be able to visit a large exhibition of relevant services and suppliers, and meet colleagues for
networking. The Gala Evening on Monday 2 October includes as after dinner speaker the writer and broadcaster Frances Edmonds, recently voted Britain's top female after-dinner speaker in a survey by The Times.
Sponsors of Socitm2006 include Cisco Systems, Clearswift, Sungard, IBM, Avaya, Anix and Computer World Wales. The Gala Evening will be sponsored by Siemens Communications.
Full conference attendance, including overnight accommodation 1-2 October, all meals and the gala dinner costs £535 or £485 for 2nd and subsequent delegates from a single organisation. A discounted fee of £499 applies to full delegate bookings before 24 July (2nd and subsequent bookings at £485 as above).