Councils should revisit their procurement and delivery strategies in order to better integrate digital and physical planning, according to public sector ICT organisation Socitm.

A briefing released this week says that data should be used to address a number of new drivers, including pressures on public finances and demographic changes.

It said that using such data will give councils a better chance of creating “smart places, where information and technology can increase the well-being of citizens.

The briefing said: “Taken together, these drivers suggest a need to revisit strategies. Sourcing for services and the means to integrate them need review.

“Data needs to be released to enable new service developments.”

Socitm said that the new drivers include economic restructuring following the downturn, pressures on housing and transport, concerns over climate change, the need to compete globally, the ageing population, pressures on pubic finances, in addition to opportunities to exploit information and technology.

It added that education along with governance and management were also important areas where data could be used to create “smart places”.

The briefing said: “The focus is on  the enabling processes by which innovative use of  technology and data coupled with organisational  change help deliver local visions in more efficient,  effective and sustainable ways.

“That means using  ICT to enable people to conduct their lives and  business in order to increase their quality of life at  the lowest cost without adverse impact on others  either directly or indirectly.”

Chief information officers and heads of ICT should think now about how to exploit their information assets to address the drivers it identified, the briefing said.

It recommended that they study a new framework produced by standards organisation BSI which “provides a basis for a discussion about the role of information and technology in delivering against the drivers identified”.