R.E.S.P.E.C.T. - ICT is about attitude

What does a three-day training course have in common with Aretha Franklin? Well it isn't sultry vocal delivery but one of Aretha's anthems underpins the central theme of the course - RESPECT.

The Centre for Charity Effectiveness (CCE) at CASS Business School are running a short course for senior managers in the voluntary sector on Strategic Use of ICT. "What's new?" you might ask. Well, this course addresses ICT strategy as attitude as much as planning and technology and focuses on the needs of senior managers in their role within an organisation. It also illustrates, with real examples for each organisation attending, how important ICT strategy is.

I've worked as a consultant in the voluntary sector for five years and have also been the Director of a charity. My view is that if a senior manager has a positive and proactive attitude to ICT and engages their colleagues and staff, the more general aspects of ICT strategy and technology planning (what do we do about this, what piece of kit/software do we need for that) follow naturally. The course is about enabling an organisation and it's individuals and creating an environment where ICT becomes natural, and where strategic planning around ICT becomes fundamental to everything staff do.

Or as one Chief Executive put it at the end of the course, "I now trust what my ICT Consultant tells me!"

We start at first principles - what is information, what is communication? Although seemingly trivial, it begins the process of 'choosing whether you SHOULD walk instead of running before you CAN walk'. A number of organisations on the most recent course used the sessions to take their organisations' IT and business planning back a few steps - almost invariably with positive results. The final impact will not be known for some time.

So why do managers (and particularly those at Chief Exec and Director level) need training and support in ICT planning and strategy? ICT is now at the heart of every organisation and the promised benefits of communications and technology are available and being used by others to achieve 'competitive' advantage. (We may not like the 'competition' word but as not-for-profits we're always competing for funding from somewhere.) Any organisation which could be 10-20% more effective is surely going to jump at the chance of being that way and ICT really can deliver that when planned and implemented properly. What the CCE course illustrates is how to develop attitudes and expertise in particular techniques that make ICT fit with people and activities. It won't make a Chief Exec an ICT expert but it will give them the expertise and confidence to plan and manage ICT in relation to their organisation and people (and let's not forget those trustees).

ICT is pervasive. It's everywhere from how you communicate (email), how you store information (often badly in poorly defined databases) to presentation (reports and flyers) and reporting to funders (statistics - more database and spreadsheet horrors with supplementary pen and paper exercises). Used well, ICT can save time and money, provided you apply common sense, strategic planning and some hard cash up front. It doesn't cost the earth but do you really want your staff to spend a third of their time on mundane paperwork or being slowed down by a system that doesn't work? Is it really that difficult to spend a few thousand pounds on ICT if your administrative overhead in wasted staff time is running into tens of thousands?

What managers do well and don't do well

Managers and directors are there to manage and direct. They allocate resources, plan, juggle and make things work. With ICT a core component of everything a charity does, any 'blinker' or lack of information is a real threat to effective planning.

As one delegate put it "Now I know what I don't know, at least I can find it out!" How can you consider ICT (or anything) if you don't know about it? The course also helps to structure problems - "I've gained some of the tools and knowledge to prioritise what I needed to do. I understood clearly that I had a significant task on my hands but it was totally undefined. Since the course I have a better understanding of the priorities."

Strategic ICT enables anyone with ICT management and strategic responsibility as part of their remit to be more proactive, questioning and investigative around ICT, particularly around changing what is wrong. If you don't know what is wrong and have no framework for the questions, it's very difficult to know whether you're succeeding or failing. One organisation has been able to massively reduce its support costs through 'proactive questioning'.

Strategic ICT promotes respect for both technology, the people who manage it and the degree of business planning that goes into making ICT fit for purpose within the activities and objectives of an organisation. A Finance Director comments, "I have a greater respect for ICT strategy, and an increased understanding of the application of ICT to business planning. I know more of what is required and understand the need to elevate ICT to the same level as the other core functions within the organisation rather than remaining at the technician level. I no longer see ICT as simple and 'on tap'. We are now rolling out improvements in ICT month by month within our organisation."

All of this takes time and has its drawbacks as well as some quick wins. A strong grasp of strategic ICT helps directors, managers and organisations 'get a hold of' ICT, develop controls and implement the policies, procedures necessary to take things forward. The course has helped organisations to "highlight opportunities to save money in the long run although initial spending may increase".

Well, there's no such thing as a free lunch…

Developing the training

What really works for this course are the combinations of expertise, experience (delegates and tutor), tools and attitudes. The course follows a three-day format; Day One is an introduction with basic concepts, gets the delegates thinking and stirs up some issues and agendas in relation to their own organisations. It creates more problems than it solves - deliberately. It's followed by a two-week break enabling managers/directors to go back into their organisations, find out what really happens and look at ICT with a 'new view' in their own organisation. The remaining two days run back to back and at the end of it, each delegate has an 'ICT radar map' of issues and needs affecting their organisation (from their own, and other people's perspectives) and an outline framework for an ICT strategy.

The course itself is a mix of interactive seminar (there are 24 seminars of approximately 45 minutes each) with activity sessions where delegates work through course material in small groups within the context of their own organisational and people issues. The course also depends strongly on the expertise (in organisational terms) of the delegate. Having open, experienced managers willing to learn and contribute their successes (and as importantly, their past failures and future plans) to fellow delegates fosters a wonderful learning experience. No one comes here to be taught. They come here to learn and to contribute.

Strategic ICT in Three Days?

The format was untested when the first Strategic Use of ICT course began. A number of organisations provide training on ICT strategy but this doesn't always attract the seniority of staff required and the sessions are normally a few hours to a day. When the CCE course was in development, we were very clear about the amount of time needed. The decision to have an 'introduction' day, send the attendees back into their organisations for a couple of weeks and then bring them back for the final couple of days also worked well. The 'gap fortnight' (who needs gap years?) served to illustrate the issues raised in the course and gave the attendees the opportunity to see real life impact of ICT and also to appreciate that ICT projects affect a lot more than ICT.

But does three days solve your strategic ICT problems? Of course not. You don't learn how to lead a charity in three days and strategic ICT is that important. It provides you with a framework to build on.

The first course group have now been working three months since their course. The benefits are there to see. Change has been challenging and demanding but it's helping to permeate the strategic ICT message throughout organisations, rather than simply sitting in the Chief Exec (or Finance Director or IT Manager) lap.

Expanding the course

Although the current course is set in a business school in London, there is no reason why strategic ICT learning experiences can't be rolled out more extensively. All you need is the course content, a committed leader and interested delegates willing to learn, share experiences and get involved. Strategic ICT can be dry - the CCE course overcomes this by taking real life examples from the participants, mixing in experience from other projects, applying (a dash of) theory and providing clear opportunities for action. We call it the Strategic ICT cocktail. CCE participants get down and dirty with their ICT strategies, right here, right now.

It's important to get senior managers involved - the more senior the better but Chief Execs and Finance Directors will do fine. IT Managers looking for a bit more strategic steer can also benefit. Having a real mix of participants makes the learning experiences a lot more fun for everyone, tutor included.

The final word goes to a delegate: "The Strategic Use of ICT course is about developing a respect for, and elevating the role and status of, ICT within a charity, in the face of scarce resources and competing challenges. I would especially recommend it to Finance Directors wearing multiple hats and to Chief Execs and trustees where there is no great understanding of ICT and where the organisation is relying on technical support."

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it means to ICT.

Further Information

Dr Simon N Davey is Managing Associate of the preponderate network (www.preponderate.net) and course tutor on the Strategic ICT Course at the Centre for Charity Effectiveness, CASS Business School, London. More details can be found at http://www.centreforcharityeffectiveness.org/ShortCourses.asp

Dr Simon N Davey
Managing Associate
Preponderate.network
2005

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