A detailed review of public sector Information Technology (IT) projects and how they compare with other jurisdictions was announced by Associate Minister of State Services Maurice Williamson today.

"The review will involve a detailed analysis to ascertain New Zealand's public sector IT record of successes and problems," said Mr Williamson.

Once this analysis has been completed, the outcomes will be compared with:

* The outcomes achieved in New Zealand's private sector.

* The outcomes achived in public and private sector IT projects in comparable jurisdictions, such as Australia, UK, USA and Canada.

"This analysis and comparison will show us how the public sector is performing and provide opportunities to improve its effectiveness," said Mr Williamson.

"It's not intended to review the guidelines developed for public sector IT, but to be informed by the record of successes and problems to date.

"It's important to see how these other areas are performing, and whether there are lessons we can learn from them."

Mr Williamson said the review, which would be funded within the baselines of five portfilios, should be completed by February 28, 2000.

ENDS

Terms Of Reference

Review of Information Technology Projects in the Public Sector

The purpose of this review is to:

1. Undertake a detailed analysis to ascertain New Zealand's public sector IT projects record of successes and problems and to identify key contributors to those successes and problems.

2. Compare the outcomes of our public sector IT projects with:

the outcomes achieved in our private sector

(b) the outcomes achieved in public and private sector IT projects in comparable jurisdictions, such as Australia, UK, USA, and Canada

3. Based on that analysis and comparison, identify opportunities to improve the outcomes of our public sector IT projects.

4. This review should be completed by 28 February 2000.

Note:

This review is a research based project to empirically assess how New Zealand public sector IT outcomes compare with the New Zealand private sector and relevant international benchmarks. It is not intended to review the guidelines developed for public sector IT.

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