Agencies must develop a strategic plan for the agency's ICT resources as outlined in section 22, division 3, part 2, of the Financial Management Standard 1997 (FMS). This plan must:

"(a) be consistent with the targets stated in the GEA;

(b) demonstrate how the agency aligns with the targets stated in the GEA, including for example by -

(i) meeting a target within the period stated in the GEA for the target; or

(ii) qualifying for an exception for a target; and

(c) be consistent with the mandatory principles of each Information Standard; and

(d) cover a timeframe of at least 4 years."

The key elements for inclusion in the plan, as detailed in section 23, division 3, part 2, of the FMS are:

"(1) Each ICT resources strategic plan for an agency must provide for the following -

(a) stating the timeframe to be covered by the plan;

(b) stating the goals of the plan and how the goals assist in -

(i) delivering the agency's outputs; and

(ii) achieving the Government's social and fiscal objectives;

(c) stating how the agency intends to support the whole-of-government policy about information and communication technology;

(d) evaluating the needs of the agency and its clients for the agency's existing ICT resources and any additional ICT resources;

(e) stating how the agency will optimise the use of, and fund, existing and future ICT resources;

(f) evaluating the effect on the agency's operations of relevant external factors, including, for example, changes to the agency's business environment.

(2) Asset implications arising from the agency's ICT resources strategic plan must be disclosed in the agency's assets strategic plan developed under part 2, division 4.

(3) The accountable officer or statutory body must ensure the ICT resources strategic plan is developed and available before the start of the timeframe to which the plan relates."

An ICT Resources Strategic Plan assists agencies to assess their ICT resource goals and determines and documents the agency's ICT needs and funding requirements over a 4 year period (minimum) and needs to be reviewed and updated annually. As well as being a requirement of the Financial Management Standard 1997, ICT resources strategic planning has significant agency benefits. ICT resources strategic planning is primarily an internal management tool for the benefit of the agency and as such must be closely integrated with other agency planning processes.

An ICT Resources Strategic Plan Template can be found in the ICT Resources Strategic Planning (IS2) - Restricted Toolbox (Government employees only).

There are a number of issues that will influence the content and direction of the agency ICT Resources Strategic Plan and it is important that they are taken into consideration in the preparation of the plan. In an integrated approach to ICT planning, well established links should exist between:

• Agency business priorities, the agency Strategic, Corporate and Business plans and agency Financial and Asset Strategic Plans; and
• Whole-of-Government ICT directions and strategies including the Government Enterprise Architecture (GEA) targets and the mandatory principles of Information Standards.

As outlined in the Smart Directions Statement for ICT within the Queensland Government agencies are to progressively align with the Queensland Government Information Architecture (GIA). The GIA has been further defined and is now known as the Government Enterprise Architecture (GEA). The GEA aims to promote the interoperability of communication and information systems and sharing of information assets across agencies. The FMS now mandates that the agency plan for ICT resources must be consistent with the GEA and demonstrate how the agency aligns with the domain targets stated in the GEA Position Papers (Government employees only).

As outlined under Principle 2 - Optimisation of ICT Resources the Strategic Information and ICT Board require that a GEA Self-Assessment Alignment Report (Government employees only) be submitted to the Queensland Government Chief Information Office on an annual basis. Agencies should also use this alignment report as an appendix to the agency's ICT Resources Strategic Plan to demonstrate their alignment with the targets stated in the GEA as per the FMS requirements.

Agencies are required to prioritise and plan for the implementation of all mandatory principles listed in each Information Standard through a risk assessment process. Agencies need to prioritise and conduct ongoing detailed risk assessments to ensure that any additional measures are identified and implemented as required.

Agency Risk Management methodology should be used to guide the development of a risk profile for mandatory principles of the Standards. Where agencies have no formal process for risk management in place it is strongly recommended that the Australian Standard AS/NZS 4360:2004 - Risk Management is used. Further information regarding Information Risk Management can be found in the Best Practice Guidelines located on the Information Standards Website.

To meet the requirements of the FMS in relation to planning for the implementation of the mandatory principles, agencies should consider documenting their processes to show evidence of consistency with the information standards. Appendix F of the ICT Resources Strategic Plan template, located in the ICT Resources Strategic Planning (IS2) - Restricted Toolbox (Government employees only) can be used as a guide.

Effective long-term human resource planning, recruitment and training are critical elements in ensuring the development of a pool of skilled and experienced information managers and information technology professionals within the Queensland public sector. The Financial Management Standard 1997 defines ICT as including each agency's human resources. Therefore, agencies need to address human resource requirements within their ICT resources strategic plan.

Agencies are encouraged to provide adequate resources for the planning, recruitment and management of appropriate training for employees. Agencies may wish to consider conducting an analysis of existing skill "gaps" that will need to be addressed to support the implementation of the overall ICT vision, strategies and priorities. These could include:

• Professional training for information managers; technical training for IT personnel; end user training and planning; and policy training for executives and user management; and
• How the agency plans to fill the gaps identified above. These activities may include outsourcing; recruitment of additional/temporary personnel; training of existing information services and ICT personnel; and sharing of resources with other agencies.

The ICT Planning Methodology and associated resources and tools have been developed to complement this Standard and provide guidance to agencies in aligning and optimising their ICT activities and initiatives within the agency outputs and business strategies. The ICT Planning Methodology may be used to complement an agency's existing ICT planning methods, or may be used where agencies do not currently have in place an ICT strategic planning methodology. The methodology is able to be used at whatever scale is required, from a whole of agency basis to a single business area.

At the highest level the ICT Planning Methodology consists of the following four phases:

• Prepare - prepare and initiate the planning project;
• Gather - Profile the Business, Applications and Technology;
• Analyse - Consolidate and Refine the Program of Work; and
• Review - Assemble and Approve the ICT Resources Strategic Plan.

• Queensland Government ICT Portfolio Assessment Methodology;
• Assessment Methodology Worksheets;
• Queensland Government Business, Application and Technology Taxonomies;
• Queensland Government ICT Planning Spreadsheet; and
• Agendas and Presentations.

Agencies need to establish processes and procedures to ensure that their existing and future ICT resources strategies and plans remain current and up-to-date. The review, assessment and prioritisation of agency strategies and plans need to be undertaken on an annual basis to ensure:

• Emerging technological and business trends are reflected in the agency's plan;
• ICT resources are still being used efficiently to meet agency outputs;
• Changing business needs are considered when making ICT investments;
• Accuracy of estimated resources and funding required by the agency;
• Changes in agency strategic, business and corporate plans continue to remain aligned;
• Future opportunities for investments, funding or savings can be identified and captured;
• Legislative requirements continue to be satisfied; and
• Continued alignment with agency business objectives and whole-of-Government directions.

The agency's ICT Resources Strategic Plan is a document which should be used only for internal purposes. However agencies may wish to develop an ICT Strategic Plan, which can be used as an external marketing and communications tool. This is generally a short, high level document, based on the agency's ICT Resources Strategic Plan. The ICT Strategic Plan outlines the ICT goals for the next four (4) years (minimum) and identifies objectives and strategies to meet emerging challenges and agency values which are considered essential to the achievement of goals. The published ICT Strategic Plan should omit any references to costs and resources.

The ICT Strategic Plan should look like other corporate documents to enable it to have the full support of the business and management. When developing the format of the plan the agency should consider the audience for the plan, the level of detail the plan will cover, and the presentation of the plan (electronic/hardcopy). Agencies should also internally communicate the ICT Strategic Plan to employees, to assist with decision making, supporting agency goals and with external communications with other agencies and industry.

Agencies should consider detailing their enterprise architecture to logically organise agency processes, data, application and infrastructure. This can then be utilised in policies and assist in making technical choices to achieve desired business and technical standardization and integration. Enterprise architecture can also:

• provide an understanding of how the enterprise functions or needs to function (including the ICT support for that);
• provide a structured mechanism to understand the nature and impact of proposed modifications to the enterprise, be that the ICT support or the business itself;
• align ICT projects and investments to business objectives and strategies;
• maximise the potential of ICT investment within the agency; and
• identify the relationship between business, applications and technology.

ICT Resources Strategic Planning reporting requirements, not only assist with the sharing of ICT resources at a whole-of-Government level, but can:

• provide a holistic view of ICT investments across Queensland Government agencies;
• optimise ICT resources to achieve agency business goals;
• provide an opportunity to collaborate with other agencies to save money;
• save time and effort by leveraging work already underway or completed in other agencies;
• learning lessons others have learned through sharing knowledge to improve the way Government uses ICT; and
• identify whole-of-government purchasing opportunities where a licensing arrangement or a panel arrangement may be established or where an existing licence could be shared; and
• Enhancing operating efficiency and capability.

Action 3.4 of the Smart Directions Statement recognises that the establishment of better information on the current state of ICT investment across the Queensland Government is essential if better ICT decisions are to be made and opportunities for rationalisation of ICT investment are to be recognised.

To progress this initiative, the Strategic Information and ICT CEO Committee has mandated that all agencies complete a baseline pass of the current and planned state of their ICT investments and submit this information to the Queensland Government Chief Information Office. The information from this ICT Planning Baseline is to be analysed and disseminated across Government by the Queensland Government Chief Information Office to improve multi-agency and whole of Government initiatives and decision-making as well as to provide a baseline for future collections. To ensure that the information is kept current, the collection and analysis will be repeated on an annual basis.

Further information on the Baseline, including the Baseline Worksheets can be found on the ICT Planning Baseline GovNet website (Government employees only). Agencies can submit the "Baseline Worksheets" via the qgcio@publicworks.qld.gov.au.

The Financial Management Standard requires that agencies align their ICT with the GEA domain targets. In March 2005, the Strategic Information and ICT Board endorsed the alignment and associated domain targets for agency alignment with the GEA. The reporting process for this alignment requires that agencies submit a GEA Self-Assessment Alignment Report (Government employees only) to the Queensland Government Chief Information Office on an annual basis. This report can also be attached as an appendix to the agency ICT Resources Strategic Plan to demonstrate their alignment with the domain targets as per the FMS requirements.

Alignment with the GEA means having achieved (or having the intention to achieve) consistency with the direction stated in priority domains by the specified deadline. An alignment target is a specified set of domains for which a particular direction and associated deadline has been specified and agreed.

To facilitate the reporting of alignment the GEA Self-Assessment Alignment Report template is provided for agencies to complete and forward to the Queensland Government Chief Information Office via the qgcio@publicworks.qld.gov.au.

Please refer to Government Enterprise Architecture GovNet website for updates and access to the:

• GEA Framework (which provides further information on GEA alignment); and
• List of domain targets stated in the GEA Position Papers for the current calendar year.

The Program of Work should be based on the agency's ICT Resources Strategic Plan and the results of the GEA alignments and ICT Planning Methodology - Baseline assessments. As with the ICT Resources Strategic Plan, the agency's Program of Work should be reviewed annually, but cover a timeframe of 4 years (minimum).

Agencies not using the full ICT Planning Methodology to complete their planning activities should submit the following:

1. An analysis of the agency's business and technology drivers.
2. A list of ICT initiatives/projects that may be undertaken to address the current business needs and current ICT shortcomings.

When establishing effective governance arrangements for ICT resources strategic planning, agencies should refer to the "Governance Framework" located on the Queensland Government Chief Information Office Govnet website. In addition, agencies should consider adopting the following six guiding principles for good corporate governance as listed in Australian Standard 8015-2005 "Corporate Governance of Information and Communication Technology":

1. Establish clearly understood responsibilities for ICT;
2. Plan ICT to best support the organisation;
3. Acquire ICT validly;
4. Ensure that ICT performs well, whenever required;
5. Ensure ICT conforms to formal rules; and
6. Ensure ICT use respects human factors.

When undertaking ICT resources strategic planning, a variety of stakeholders should be involved to ensure the process is successful. It is important to identify all the stakeholders in the project, and understand their impact on a project, or the impact the project has on them. This can be used as the basis of further stakeholder analysis and project planning.

Stakeholders could include (but not limited to) the following areas or roles but will be dependant on the structure and complexity of the agency business:

• Chief Executive Officer and Chief Information Officer;
• Information Steering Committee (or similar forum);
• Executive Management;
• Information Management and Infrastructure Directors/Managers;
• Agency and ICT Planning Staff;
• IT Areas;
• Finance and Human Resource Areas;
• Communications and Marketing Areas;
• Corporate Development and Planning Areas;
• Business Representatives, Analysts and Experts;
• Application Experts, Technology Analysts and Solutions Architects; and
• Shared Service Providers.

The establishment of an Information Steering Committee (ISC) is a fundamental element in determining the strategic direction of the ICT resources and to assist with ICT planning within the agency. The size and complexity of the agency and the type of risks associated with the agency will determine the size and format of an Information Steering Committee. Representation from external organisations and or other agencies should be considered regardless of the organisation structure or size.

The following should be considered (but not limited to) when establishing the responsibilities of the ISC or similar forum:

• authorisation and direction for the development of the strategic and operational plans for ICT resources;
• ensuring that agency ICT resources strategic and operational plan align with agency and whole-of-Government directions;
• recommendation of agency ICT resources strategic and operational plans to the CEO for endorsement;
• reviewing and approving business cases to ensure that ICT resources are optimised;
• determining and monitoring agency ICT policies, practices and significant projects on an ongoing basis to ensure that they continue to remain relevant and complete;
• monitoring and reviewing the agency's implementation of Information Standards and risk management practices;
• Regularly monitoring and reviewing the Agency's program of work to ensure consistency with the Agency's ICT Resources Strategic Plan; and
• Identify and consider strategic information management approaches aimed at delivering whole-of-Government benefits and optimising potential gains.