According to the SFHA report on Digital Maturity in the Scottish Housing Sector, 51% of leaders think digital is a strategic priority. What does digital mean and how do you set about developing a strategy and plan to improve your capabilities?
What is a digital strategy??
?A digital strategy or plan is the story of an organisation's digital vision for engaging with digital solutions and technologies. It articulates the opportunities and challenges related to digital activities, governance, management arrangements and risk management issues. It lays out a plan of action to maximise the business benefits of digital initiatives for the organisation.??
A digital strategy states what is to be channelled through the pipes and plumbing, how that is to be managed, why and the interdependencies between people, process, data, and planning and control.
How does a digital strategy differ from an ICT strategy??
?As these strategies emerge, they present a more positive and proactive approach (or mindset) which is different from the risk, governance and value for money approaches seen in ICT strategies.
An Information and Communications Technology (ICT) strategy generally addresses the issues associated with identifying, providing and maintaining the technological infrastructure and applications that enable an organisation to fulfil its vision and goals.?
?Whereas an ICT strategy sets out the technical infrastructure (the pipes and plumbing) that underpins an organisation’s use of digital solutions and channels.
What does good look like?
Golden Marzipan has created a framework of digital strategy components to offer organisations and individuals more understanding through content, structure, and housing association strategy case studies examples. The framework components mirror our Good Digital Governance assessment tool: from business strategy integration to risk management and assurance.
How to build a digital strategy?
Somewhere embedded in your strategy will be a roadmap or a priority list of projects which require completing. We call it a “backlog” – and for good reason. Because this year’s backlog is similar to the last one, if not a little longer. So how will things be different this time?
Our advice is to have a deep dive and organisation-wide conversation about the purpose of the technology you have and what benefits it provides, for example:
Identifying gaps in your operations will be key to developing your digital strategy, but if there is a lack of critical conversations and collaboration between key departments, gap analysis will prove difficult. In there, situations and external influence and neutral consultant can be the ideal solution to stimulate positive influence and discussion that will enable realisation of a digital roadmap for your organisation.
Delivering digital strategies for housing associations
Over the past 18 months, Golden Marzipan has been helping social housing organisations in England and Scotland improve their capabilities to develop a digital strategy. Over the next few months, we will be working with SFHA to share our philosophy on how to achieve digital transformation.
If you would like a copy of our Executive Guide on How to create your Digital Strategy, please contact me at steve@goldenmarzipan.co.uk
We’ll be expanding upon this article through a webinar planned for later this spring. Look out for more details soon.