The Cabinet Secretary launched a new leadership framework for the senior civil service (SCS) on 13 March this year as part of the Professional Skills for Government (PSG) programme. The new framework emphasises the need to deliver results that meet the needs of citizens and customers, to build organisational capability through cultivating innovation and to provide direction, seizing opportunities for improvement. PSG also prescribes core skills for the SCS including programme and project management, strategic thinking—including the potential impact of information and communication technology—and communications. All of these skills will be key to ensuring that the SCS provides effective leadership for transformational government.
The PSG framework requires members of the SCS to meet additional skills criteria relevant to their area of professional expertise. For IT professionals within the SCS, nine additional skills critical to the successful delivery of large-scale IT-enabled change have been identified in areas such as the development of strategic relationships, management of risk and commercial management.