Weeknote 2024.16
As I mentioned last week, I am thinking about bringing the policy work I started in Islington to Digital Services in Enfield. The original work came out of a data breach caused by a simple mistake that had a significant impact and the Council’s decision to request a voluntary audit by the ICO instead of a monetary penalty. (The penalty would have been cheaper but preparing for and responding to the audit created far greater value.)
A series of discussions led me to a knowledgeable security consultant, a diagnosis of our situation, and the decision to invest in a policy led approach to improving our information security. To make the work sustainable, the consultant ran workshops for colleagues, and a small group coalesced to create a quality management system, draft policies, write procedures, and most importantly set up local audit points. Over time the work became a distributed effort across all our teams.
The local audit points tested two things. Are people following the procedures? And are the procedures effective in applying the policy and thus controlling the risks? Local audits were just that, we audited ourselves all the time rather than waiting for and relying on occasional internal or external audits.
Our amusing/embarrassing error was not recording our successful checks, only those which were non-compliant, so it looked like we had 100% failure rate. Easily rectified by ensuring every result was recorded.
It is not that my current team don’t have policies and procedures, it is more about making the creation, maintenance, and use of them a natural part of everyone’s job.
I can’t, and wouldn’t want to, recreate the moment, the organisational impetus that comes from a data breach, the investment in a consultant that was just about possible at the time, and the particular interests of those in my service. So, it will be a unique journey, but with a familiar destination.
Saturday
I joined a large group of Ramblers heading from Stratford to Canary Wharf, a walk I have done a few times myself and with other groups, so I was able to point out a few of the sights along the route.
Sunday
An even larger group of Ramblers, this time strolling from Forest Gate to the Olympic Park, through a corner of Wanstead Flats, pausing in West Ham Cemetery, and cutting through the back streets of Forest Gate, Maryland and Stratford. A gloriously warm day, which may have accounted for the good turnout. True T-shirt weather.
Monday
I had planned the third walk of the weekend, this time in Epping Forest, however had second thoughts about walking in the torrential rain, so stayed home instead.
Tuesday
My role includes chairing a couple of corporate boards, and I adopted a third to help a colleague, and today was my first meeting as the chair rather than an attendee. We covered a lot of ground, made some good decisions, and cleared a lot of actions.
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Later, a virtual introduction to a potential supplier who is based in the borough, lots of opportunity to work together, so arranging a face-to-face meeting next, and hope to explore a specific opportunity that our current partners don’t support.
Wednesday
Started the day with a visit from one of our most important partners, reflecting on the positive changes we have made in the last few months, improved mutual understanding, working closer together, and getting new functionality over the line. Our next steps are to plan for the year ahead, thinking about key events, our priorities, and our combined resources.
Another helpful meeting after lunch, we outlined our desired outcomes for the next few years and asked them to use their industry experience to propose the best way of achieving these. I may have set a challenging timeline.
Thursday
One of those days when I was triple booked at some points and free at others, so a mix of dashing between physical and virtual meetings and catching up on any actions that came my way from meetings I’d missed. If there was a common theme for the meetings, it would be the evolutionary change of my service.
And off to my portrait photography course at the end of the day. Third lesson, and I felt a little less bewildered this week.
Friday
Less meetings than usual today, so a chance to tackle my backlog of actions. Finished the week with nothing overdue.
Track of the week
Dance Hall Days by Wang Chung, and not just because it is on the soundtrack from The Idea of You, but just as much if not more because of the original Derek Jarman video. And looking back nostalgically at a new-wave song that itself looks back nostalgically at dance hall days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-xpJRwIA-Q&list=PLRiZRbPh-qOlhnG2HfITjn6DScYIodH0m&index=1
https://open.spotify.com/track/2JvPJ8ydPuN2NhpH4oti6I?si=6d8745d18aa742e1
