Dr Simon Davey

Preponderate.network

FromNightmaretoNirvana

An ICTsurvival guidefor trustees

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Acknowledgements

ICT Governance has the potential to impact oneverything an organisation does in society. It cansupport more effective working, better servicesand provide better value for money, and greaterimpact for beneficiaries. ICT Governance is atthe heart of good ICT planning and management,and we need trustees to get involved, take onthe challenge and reap the rewards.The material in this guide is taken from a widerange of sources, not least the experiences of trustees working with small to medium sizedvoluntary and community organisations over anumber of years. The more they put into ICTGovernance, the more they were rewarded. Ihope this guide helps inspire others to see ICTGovernance with a passion, not for its own endsbut for the impact it has on staff, beneficiariesand the mission of their organisations.Thank you to everyone who contributed casestudies, the reviewers and the reference group,especially Tony Okotie, Michael Dickson andDiana Parkinson for helpful feedback, advice andsupport.A special thank you to Louise Brownand Sarah King for feedback and support withediting – this publication is all the better for it.

Dr Simon N Davey

Preponderate.netMarch 2008

About the author

Dr Simon Davey has worked in the voluntarysector with trustees and managers for eightyears. He works as an independent consultanton a range of issues including organisationaldevelopment, leadership, ICT strategy,information management, project managementand volunteering. Simon also leads thepreponderate.network, a group of ethicalconsultants ‘making it easier for you to dowhat you do’. For more information, pleasevisit

www.preponderate.net

FromNightmaretoNirvana

AnICTSurvivalGuideforTrustees

Introduction

Youwon’thavefailedtonoticethattechnologyiseverywhere.Wecan’tdriveourcars,useourphonesorbuyourshoppingwithoutmakinguseofatleastoneofthelatestdevelopments.Voluntaryandcommunityorganisations(VCOs)aresavingtime,moneyandresourcesbymakinguseoftechnology,butwiththatcomesanincreasedresponsibilityforseniormanagersandtrustees.Asatrusteeyouareresponsibleforguidingthedirectionofyourorganisationandthatincludesmakingstrategicdecisionsabouthowyouusetechnology.Youdon’tneedtomanagehandsonbutyoudoneedtounderstandenoughtobesurethat,havingfullyconsideredthefinancialandlegalimplicationsofintegratingtechnology,youaremakingtherightdecisionsforyourorganisation.Thisguidewillgiveyoutheknowledgeandconfidencetosteeryourorganisation’suseofICT(informationandcommunicationtechnology)effectively.Youwillstartbyassessingyourboard’scurrentactionsaroundICTandwillthenbeledthroughputtingtogetheranICTplan,comingtogripswithICTriskandensuringyouhavetherightpoliciesandproceduresinplace.FinallyyouwilldiscoverhowtouseyourICTtohelpyougovernmoreeffectively.Don’tbeputoffifyourboardhasneverdiscussedICTbefore;we’veincludedallthebackgroundinformationyouwillneedandchecklistsandexercisesforyoutocomplete.Sowhydon’tyouscheduleyourfirstdiscussionandstarttothinkaboutyourroleinmanagingyourorganisation’sICT.