The future holds three blocks of challenges for Valencian public administrations that must be supported by ICT teams. Public informatics, along with the women and men who support them, are called upon to design an institutional nervous system that will be crucial for organisations and for the citizens as a whole. These challenges could be defined as regulatory, security and integrated into a third, overarching challenge of digital transformation.

CHALLENGES

1. The regulatory challenge

Recent regulatory developments will have a significant impact on the compliance and security needs of Valencian administrations. These impacts include Laws 39 and 40/2015 on Administrative Procedure and the Legal Regime of the Public Sector, and the General Data Protection Regulation.

These standards require a new approach by the Administration in defining objectives and ways of doing things.

2. Security

For the Administration, dealing with information security is a necessity, a legal requirement and a commitment to people's rights.  It is necessary to establish whether the distribution of security tasks, the provision of resources and the level of maturity in the performance of these tasks is in a position to reach the material, operational and normatively required level. Accidents happen, instruments fail, humans make mistakes... and sometimes mischief. “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail - Benjamin Franklin.”

SECURITY will undoubtedly constitute an essential pillar to support the digital transformation of the Administration, and an indispensable requirement for reliability and guaranteeing rights.

3. Digital Transformation

Technology is changing the world at breakneck speed and at an accelerating pace. Regulations. What is the speed of public administrations? This is a matter that requires direct intervention at all levels, but particularly at the level of those who govern the organisations. Moreover, the current situation demands new professionals and new ways of facing the challenges that are transforming the way of understanding professional practice. This requires reflection on training and performance.
It is necessary to reflect on this scenario of change in the context of the profound digital transformation of public administrations. And this transformation involves substantial challenges:

• A more productive, efficient and environmentally friendly administration.
• An administrative procedure at the service of, and tailored to, those who need it.
• New forms of care and service provision (APPS, tele-assistance, Internet of Things, Smart cities).
• Generating value at the service of people (Open Government, Open Data).
• New forms of citizen participation and interaction (transparency, accountability, participation).
• New ways of understanding essential public policies: health, education, social services.

This list, which could be longer, highlights the scale of what is on the horizon in terms of digital transformation. At the same time, it raises the need to adopt crucial strategic reflections for IT support. Traditionally, an external, even outsourced, view is offered. And yet, it is a time when an internal view is essential. What challenges do the services that support IT infrastructures face? How do organisations perceive them? Is it necessary to identify, plan and execute strategic change management policies? What role should they play in Valencian public administrations?
In addition to this internal view, a projection into the future is also necessary: Are we ready for digital transformation? What is required for it? What commitments and challenges must organisations take on? What kind of commitment must society and business make? 

PONENTS

SCHEDULE

9:15 Introduction to the Conference

• Jesús Albert
  Principal's Delegate for Academic Management Processes at the Digital University.

9:30 Regulatory, organisational and security challenges for the digital transformation of the Valencian Public Administrations.

• Carmen Serrano
  Head of Security Service (General Directorate for Information and Communication Technologies), Department of Finance and Economic Model of the Valencian Government.
• Fuensanta Domenech
  Director of the Information Systems Service of the Universitat de València.
• José Benedito
  Head of the Information Systems Service and e-Administration Service of the Diputació de València.
• Juan M. Signes
  Head of Information Security. Information Security Office of the Health Department of the Valencian Government
• Vicente Andreu
  Technological Innovation Technician, Innovation and IT Auditing Unit (Universitat Jaume I).
• José Cuevas Aparici
  Deputy Director General of Production and Consolidation of Corporate ICT of the Valencian Government.
• Ricard Martínez
  Director of the Privacy and Digital Transformation Chair Microsoft-Universitat de València.

For further information about the conference "Challenges for Valencian administrations in security, regulation and digital transformation" visit its website..

Headquarters of the Generalitat Valencia / Credit: www.gva.es