Continuing to Innovate in a Difficult Economy

An increasingly difficult challenge for many government IT leaders is how they’ll continue to innovate during difficult economic conditions. The challenging economy doesn’t slow the need to stay ahead of the relentless pace of change – it demands practical innovation to continue to deliver the most valuable public-service resources. Many IT departments still expend 80 percent of their budget maintaining day-to-day operations, leaving only 20 percent for new initiatives. But the high achievers find ways to break out of that rut by establishing a lean infrastructure that creates room for innovation and operational breakthroughs. You are invited to participate in an energetic and informative discussion of these issues with leading experts and peers, brought to you by Canadian Government Executive and Smart Enterprise magazine. You’ll hear new ideas for creating a more agile and innovative IT organization. This Smart Enterprise Exchange – held exclusively for the benefit of IT leaders from government agencies – will examine current economic trends, their likely impact on IT strategies, and how IT continues to optimize the infrastructure for high-quality and efficient on-line services for citizens.

Among the topics that will be discussed:

* Establishing leaner IT with improved processes and services
* Focusing on IT, information management, and IT security for government IT leaders and their teams
* The economic outlook for the next 12 to 18 months and the likely impact on the IT budget
* Leveraging IT efficiencies to refocus the public sector on practical and achievable innovation
* Streamlining public-facing technologies like Web sites and call centres to optimize the citizen experience
* Best practices for continuing to foster a culture of innovation
* Managing risk and protecting privacy while leveraging innovative technologies