Jim Kinney

Jim Kinney is currently on secondment from the Scottish Executive to the newly created Improvement Service, where he is responsible for the delivery of the Customer First programme (aimed at delivering 'first time' public services) and working alongside local authorities to develop opportunities for improving public services and for developing shared or managed services.

Jim spent the early part of his civil service career working on the development and review of a number of large government financial and statistical systems including payroll, unemployment statistics, the Retail Price Index and the unemployment benefits system. After a spell teaching computer security, project and risk management at the Civil Service College, he moved to Audit Scotland where he was involved in a number of computer audit and value for money reviews in local government as well as the NHS in Scotland.

As part of the Scottish Executive's public service reform and efficiency division, he was responsible for the Modernising Government Fund (MGF) as well as providing policy advice to Scottish Ministers and offering guidance and support on modernising government and electronic service delivery across the public sector.

Synopsis

The Web & The Empowered Citizen

This session is a case study of one of the largest web-based infrastructure projects to date linking Local and Central Government (as part of The Scottish Executive's Customer First Program). Jim Kinney, Operational Director, The Improvement Service, Scottish Executive, will explain how, through this project, the Internet will change the way in which the Citizen interacts with Government bodies. The session will explore the opportunities created by web-enabled public service provision for an empowered Citizen, and the wider impact these new prospects will have on society. Delegates will see live how the web will be leveraged to provide the Citizens of the UK with a single convenient interface with multiple Government bodies. Mike Futcher, Relationship Manager, Sopra Newell & Budge will then explain some of the key challenges (technical, organisational and 'political') in realising this National Infrastructure Project. Through a discussion of the functionality offered by a web-based interface combined with secure data sharing and automatic transaction histories, delegates will hear how the web is helping government bodies to reduce costs, improve service and meet ambitious efficiency targets. Finally, the session will investigate how the web and information systems must work alongside traditional communication methods, such as the telephone or face-to-face contact, to form a fully integrated 'contact centre', providing effective ongoing relationship management, to the Citizen customer.