5/10/2011 Delivering an ICT plan | National Coun…

Delivering an ICT plan

How does ICT link to other plans?
An ICT plan is just one part of the overall mix of plans that are under
way at any time in any organisation, and your decisions about ICT
must help to underpin other plans. Here are some ideas about where
ICT may fit:

Business plan
ICT could help with: management information, financial information,
competitor analysis, operational efficiency, cost effectiveness, service
delivery, logistics, service development, internal communications,
external communications, performance review, stakeholder relations.

Staff development plan

ICT could help with: assessing current skills, accessing training, e-
learning, continual professional development, monitoring and
appraisal.

Fundraising plan
ICT could help with: identifying sources of funds, collaborating on
bids, submitting bids, monitoring and managing funds, managing
donors .

Plans for individual projects

ICT could help with: project management, budgeting, delivering
project outcomes, feedback and review, monitoring and reporting.

What to include in an ICT plan

The following offers a template which can be adapted according your
needs and preferences:

Who is responsible for ICT planning and who else is involved in

decision-making?
The current overall goals and direction of your organisation
A summary of your current use of ICT
Key issues to be addressed
Goals for the use of ICT in next three years
Identify each specific ICT initiative you will undertake:
A brief outline of this initiative (one-paragraph version)
Objective for this initiative, for example:
- “It will save us time by +”
- “It will save us money by +”
- “It will improve the quality of our service by +”
What you think you need:
- hardware, software, network, cables, etc
- money, time, people.
Known training and support issues
Likely suppliers and/or procurement process
Proposed budget and timescale for this initiative

Summary of all initiatives

Summary budget and timescale for all initiatives
Risks as sociated with this plan and what you can do about them
Overall schedule, next steps and roles for carrying out this plan
Links between this plan and other plans

Getting help with ICT planning

Someone from outside your organisation could be a big help in
preparing your plan. New input at any stage may shift your horizons,
provide an extra pair of hands and introduce new ideas. Or you may
want to bring in expert insight or pay for help to speed things up.

They could help identify possible technical solutions, provide ballpark

figures or talk to people who have successfully addressed similar
problems. You may als o find it helpful for them to facilitate
discussions and help resolve problems about conflicting priorities,
as they could be seen as more neutral.

Find out more about getting support with your ICT (/adv ice-
support/ict/f urther-resources) .

Delivering an ICT plan

A detailed ICT plan may take a lot of time and effort to produce but can
still be difficult to actually implement. There will be decision making
delays, budgeting cycles and time needed to select suppliers, by
which time the plan may have grown in size or lost its focus.

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5/10/2011 Delivering an ICT plan | National Coun…
The big secret is to keep it simple.

At every stage produce an overview of what you’re trying to achieve

and help people stay in touch without wading through technical
details. If they understand the direction the plan is taking they are
more likely to support it, explain it to others and provide vital feedback
as it is implemented.

Be sensible about timescales and remember the main purpose of

any ICT plan is to agree a timetable for getting things done. If it is not
yet clear what your team’s ICT training needs are, your plan should
show how you’re going to tackle this issue in the future, rather than
being delayed while you conduct a needs analysis process that could
take months.

Remember these key points:

You don’t need to be an ICT expert to write an ICT plan.

Planning helps you to work out where you want your organisation
to be, before deciding what technology you need to get there.
Focus on key goals and benefits for your clients or community
and identify ICT solutions that deliver those benefits.
Get help when you need it and make sure staff and volunteers
provide their input at regular intervals.
Keep it simple.

Related Pages: Getting started with ICT

Getting started with ICT (/advice-support/ict/managing-ict/getting-
started-w ith-ict)
Ten ways in which ICT can help you work better (/advice-
support/ict/managing-ict/ten-w ays-in-w hich-ict-can-help-you-w ork-better)
Does ICT matter to you and your organisation? (/advice-
support/ict/does-ict-matter-to-you-and-your-organisation)
M aking change happen (/advice-support/ict/making-change-
happen)
Why should I write an ICT plan? (/advice-support/ict/managing-
ict/w hy-should-i-w rite-an-ict-plan)
Who should be involved in ICT planning? (/advice-
support/ict/managing-ict/w ho-should-be-involved-in-ict-planning)
Where are you now? (continued) (/advice-support/ict/managing-
ict/w here-are-you-now -%28continued%29)
Where are you now? (/advice-support/ict/managing-ict/w here-are-
you-now )
Where are you going? (/advice-support/ict/managing-ict/w here-are-
you-going)
Delivering an ICT plan (/advice-support/ict/managing-ict/delivering-
an-ict-plan)
Developing an ICT strategy (part one) (/advice-
support/ict/developing-an-ict-strategy-part-one)
Developing an ICT strategy (part two) (/advice-
support/ict/developing-an-ict-strategy-part-tw o)
Developing an ICT strategy (part three) (/advice-
support/ict/developing-an-ict-strategy-part-three)
Developing an ICT strategy (part four) (/advice-
support/ict/developing-an-ict-strategy-part-four)
Glossary (/advice-support/ict/managing-ict/glossary)

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