2007 winner
The 2007 winner of the Graham Williamson Challenge award was Shey Cobley, an online communications officer at Oxford City Council. Shey is pictured below with Socitm President Rose Crozier (right of picture) at the Socitm 2007 conference where Shey picked up the award.
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As the fourth recipient of the travel and accommodation grant that goes with the award, Shey travelled to India. View Shey's presentation about her trip (PPT 550KB).
Shey joined Oxford City Council a year ago and has focused her time on the development of the council’s website to improve service delivery, and reach excluded members of the community. She is currently studying for her PhD at Oxford Brookes University, where she also lectures on e-government. Her PhD thesis explores the development of e-government in twenty-eight countries. |
Speaking about the Award, Shey said: ‘I am really excited about going to a country that is so rapidly expanding in the IT industry. It is going to be a real opportunity to see how another country approaches online service delivery.’
Socitm will be using its international contacts to help Shey in identifying central and local government bodies to support her visit. She will be mentored throughout her involvement in the scheme by a senior member of Socitm.
Following her return to the UK, Shey will be invited to make a series of presentations to Socitm audiences about her travels and what she has learned
2006 winner
The 2006 winner of the Graham Williamson Challenge award was Clare Forbes, an IT Consultant from Hampshire County Council. Clare is pictured below with Socitm President Peter Ryder at the Socitm 2006 conference where Clare picked up the award.
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Clare, who has a Masters degree in Medieval Studies, joined Hampshire County Council five years ago as a graduate, and helped to train County staff to use Hantsnet, the system that provides applications, communication, information and training at their desktops. She then moved into IT project management and has since become a qualified Prince 2 practitioner. |
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Clare is delighted that her application for the award was successful. ‘I’m really looking forward to representing Socitm and Hampshire County Council on my trip. This is an opportunity to broaden my outlook with international experience that I wouldn’t normally get as part of my job and I am very grateful to my employer for their support in making the application.’
Socitm will be using its international contacts, including those with its US equivalent organisation GMIS, to support Clare in identifying local authorities in California to host her visit. She will be mentored throughout her involvement in the scheme by a senior member of Socitm.
Read Clare’s blog at http://blogs.hants.gov.uk/clareforbes/
2005 winner
David Hamilton, 25, a Senior Web Development Manager from Fenland District Council won the Graham Williamson Challenge award 2005. David is pictured below with Socitm President Angela Waite and Conference Chair Kate Bellamy after he received his award at Socitm2005 on October 18.
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The award enabled David to travel 'Down Under' where he discovered how local authorities in different parts of Australia were modernising the delivery of government services.
During his visit he spent time in some of Australia's largest cities and also ventured into the 'outback' visiting the famous 'School of the Air'. He spent some time too, with Fenland's twin authority Maroochy Shire Council. As a result of his trip, many authorities are interested in working with SOCITM at an international level.
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"The trip was an experience of a lifetime. The Aussies are very determined - seeing the pragmatic way they approach problems was really encouraging. I learnt a great deal and look forward to sharing my experiences with SOCITM."
"It was fascinating to see how the Aussies are using technology to deliver essential services to people, often living hundreds of miles away in the Australian outback" says David. "Given the remoteness of many of these locations, embracing new technology brings huge challenges. Yet, it's immediately evident how the advances in ICT are changing lives in some of the world's most isolated communities."
2004 winner
Neil Gabriel, a business consultant with The City of Edinburgh Council e-Government Division was the winner of the first ever Graham Williamson Challenge in 2004. Neil chose to travel around New Zealand.
Neil is delighted to have won the award: ‘Working for a foreign local authority will contribute to my development in both a personal and business capacity’ he says ‘and will help me achieve one of my personal career ambitions which is to help increase the cooperation between Local Authorities within the United Kingdom and abroad.’
Sarah Bartlett, Senior Consultant in the e-Government Division at The City of Edinburgh Council, expressed her approval of Neil’s achievement: ‘We are very pleased that a member of the team here at Edinburgh has won this award. Neil’s knowledge will undoubtedly be broadened from having the opportunity to investigate how a different business culture approaches the use of technology to achieve similar objectives.’