Rose Crozier, who is Head of Information Services at Belfast City Council has been elected President of the Society of Information Technology Management (Socitm). She took up the reins following the Society’s AGM which was held during the Socitm Spring Seminar at Stoneleigh Park on 26 April.
An IT professional who started working as a Cobol programmer for Belfast City Council in 1981, Rose progressed through systems analysis and project management roles to become Deputy Head of Information Services in 1999 and Head of Department in 2004.
Rose was instrumental in the establishment of Socitm Northern Ireland, the Society’s newest branch, and became founder Chair when the branch was formed in 2005. She has also served as one of Socitm’s Vice Presidents for the last two years. Her Presidency was confirmed at the Society’s AGM, held during the Socitm Spring Seminar at Stoneleigh Park, Nr Coventry on 26th April
Rose brings to the role a particular interest in the contribution of ICT to local authority performance and effectiveness, being in the final stages of a PHD in Business and Management at the University of Ulster with ICT performance the subject of her dissertation.
During her Presidency, Rose expects the role and value of ICT to come under increasing scrutiny as politicians and public look for payback from significant recent investments in new technology to deliver the local e-government programme. However, she also believes that the tightening financial climate represents a significant opportunity for Socitm members to demonstrate exactly what effectively deployed ICT can do to enable councils to deliver more service with fewer resources. Making the closing address at the Socitm Spring Seminar, she told delegates:
‘There is a sense of mounting pressure and urgency about delivering efficiencies, arising from the Spending Review, the Varney report, customer expectations and many other issues we’ve heard about today. But this afternoon’s presentations have showed just how well ICT can be applied and the benefits it can bring, and I see many opportunities ahead for ICT to shine - providing we, as IT managers, deploy the right skills and leadership within our organisations.’
Later this year, the Socitm Annual conference will be coming to Rose’s home patch, Belfast. At a time of significant change in Northern Ireland, with the prospect of the restoration of the Assembly, and following the Government’s review of public administration, the ongoing theme of transformation will take on an added dimension.
Further information:
Vicky Sargent or Peter Coates, Socitm Press Office
Tel: 0845 094 5641 email: vicky.sargent@socitm.gov.uk or peter.coates@socitm.gov.uk
Rose Crozier, Head of Information Services, Belfast City Council
Tel: 028 9084 3981 email: rose.crozier@belfastcity.gov.uk