Intellect Responds To Government ICT Strategy

IT trade body Intellect has responded to the UK government’s new IT strategy, with a series of initiatives designed to help the government understand the tech market better.

Launched this week, the Better access to the tech market and better skills for government scheme comes in response to government’s strategy to overhaul its use and procurement of IT.

Reach out and touch

“As the trade association for the technology sector, Intellect is committed to accelerating progress. We see our role as helping the government to reach out to the tech market – drawing on the skills, knowledge and innovation that exist in abundance but are not being accessed effectively,” said Intellect public sector director, Sureyya Cansoy, in a statement.

Intellect’s programme will focus on two areas, market access and skills, and will appear in stages between now and March 2012.

Market access

The market access portion of the initiative is supposed to help the  government reach the sources of innovation, and get the market and its supply networksrunning more effectively.

A “Market Radar”  map shows where the tech sector is strongest, while a “Market Dialogue” idea is supposed to get government talking openly with tech companies, outside of formal procurement activity.

Intellect is also providing a “Market Information”  initiative, which is supposed to give technology businesses “information and guidance on the public sector as a customer, and ensure that companies are channelled to the best routes to market,” Intellect said.

Intellect also has a partnering portal called “Market Collaboration”, which is also supposed to help the supply chain.

Given the difficulties of the government’s plan to  do more business with SMEs (small to medium businesses), Intellect is offering regular market health checks to examine how much public sector business tis actually passed on to SMEs. The body will also use its Business Professional Certificate to help SMEs develop and demonstrate their professionalism.

Skills and capability support

Intellect also wants to boost skills with schemes it calls Bring Tech To Life and Talent Swap. These will provide free technology training to civil servants, organise site tours and work shadowing, and facilitate employee exchange programmes between technology companies and government.

Through these efforts, Intellect hopes to help the government deliver better public services at lower cost – and boost the UK’s tech sector at the same time.

“A more vibrant market and better skills will also have a powerful side effect,” said Sureyya Cansoy: “technology-led growth in the UK.”