Charity IT model is 'outdated'

07 Jun 2018 News

Charities are working to an “outdated model for IT” and need to become more strategic, the former head of IT at Unicef has said.

In an article for Charity Finance magazine, Ian Williamson, former director for ICT at Unicef UK, said that most IT directors report to the finance directors and that “they and their peers at the top table are working to an outdated model for IT”. 

This old model, he wrote, views IT as a “service” department to support other teams’ technology needs. Because of this, he said, charity IT departments are “under-resourced” and “pathologically risk-averse”. 

Alternative 

Williamson outlined his vision of an alternative approach where the IT department is seen as an “equal partner to other departments”. 

This model gives the department a greater ability to “influence others” and leads to better decision making across the charity. 

Subscribers to Charity Finance can read the full article here
 

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