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Strategic Plan 2009 - 2012

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MITA Strategic Plan 2009-2012

Minister’s Introduction

Over the past twenty years we have made great strides in the

ICT arena. From being considered as an under-developed

laggard, Malta is today recognised internationally as a

front-runner in the ICT sector. This is tangibly supported

by the excellent results that our country has garnered,

such as the multitude of high rankings achieved by various

e-Government services in recognition of their sophistication,

availability, proven credibility and excellence in delivery.

The achievement in the application of ICT to improve the

way Government delivers its services has not happened

by chance. It is the result of our political foresight and

commitment, ambitious and well thought-out strategies and

plans, substantial investment both in terms of financial and

human resources, and a firm belief that we can do it.

We are on the right track. We will not stop here; we have

a vision that will enable us to address the challenges we

shall be facing and concurrently continue to confirm us as a

leader in the field of ICT application for Government services.

The Prime Minister has declared that ICT will be one of

Malta’s aspiring six centres of excellence which are to be

realised by 2015. Against this backdrop, we shall map the

path for Malta to become one of the leading information

societies in the world through the leveraging of ICT and its

application for social equalization and economic growth.

The application of technologies remains the key protagonist

in our agenda and definitely is the primer to achieve the

quantum leap we envisage for Malta.

Government has set up MITA with the execution of this

vision in mind. Under my stewardship, and together with

the Malta Communication Authority, MITA will execute

the realisation of the key programmes and initiatives of

the Smart Island Strategy which the Government and its

stakeholders launched in 2008. By entrusting the Agency

with the implementation of the activities as established in

this Strategic Plan (2009-2012) and by realising the benefits

from the programmes/projects, we will achieve our vision

and further improve the quality of life of all our citizens.

Hon. Austin Gatt,

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and

Communications

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Chairman’s Introduction

The last two decades have witnessed an unprecedented

rate of technological developments in Malta – what seemed

a distant sci-fi dream today has translated itself into an

ever-growing information society and a vibrant knowledge

economy. The Smart Island Strategy has charted the path for

Malta to become one of the most advanced and networked

countries, hence preparing the pillars for the realisation of

the Government’s 2015 vision.

In this context Government has entrusted us to manage

the execution of the national efforts to realise this vision.

In fulfilling our role, we shall be the central driver in the

evolution of Malta into a world class information society and

economy, nurturing the growth of a strong global knowledge

workforce and transforming public services through

innovation within an incessant aspiration for excellence.

Operationally, we have taken over the responsibilities

previously carried out by MITTS Ltd and a number of other

executive offices and are now converging our efforts into

the delivery of a focused set of programmes and initiatives.

This Strategic Plan defines how we intend to reach our goals:

in our drive to transform public service delivery through the

application of ICT we shall spearhead and enable the growth

of the local knowledge economy; we shall re-invent ourselves

in building an underlying robust, resilient and secure ICT

infrastructure as a critical building block capable to sustain

our national aspirations; we will converge all our efforts into

our ultimate endeavour – to deliver a better quality of life to

all Maltese citizens through citizen-centric applications and

services.

In articulating this Plan we involved our workforce, the

industry and other policy-makers to ensure that it is relevant

and applicable for the wider community rather than just the

Agency itself. We believe that the successful implementation

of this Plan will mark a quantum leap of the local ICT

ecosystem to the next level of sophistication, once again

enabling us to be ahead of the curve in policy-making for

the digital age, nurturing Malta’s global reputation as an

advanced information society and one of the European ICT

pioneers.

Mr. Claudio Grech,

Chairman, MITA

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Background

Governments have been prioritising IT in their agenda

for more than two decades. Over this period, Malta has

progressed in leaps and bounds from its infancy stage

to a fully fledged leader in all aspects of the Information

and Communication Technologies (ICT) spectrum, both

according to local and international standards. A consistent

central pillar of this rapid improvement was public policy and

investment in ICT. The quantum leaps in the sector have led

Government in declaring ICT as one of its aspiring six centres

of excellence to be realised by 2015. The groundwork towards

the fulfilment of this aspiration is set out in The Smart Island –

the National ICT Strategy for Malta for the period 2008-2010.

The Strategy articulates in no uncertain terms the aggressive

determination of Government for Malta to become one of

the leading information societies in the world, leveraging

the ubiquitous presence of technology and its application

for social equalization and economic growth.

The Smart Island Strategy (the Strategy) also sets out the

role of the main driving agency of the measures, namely the

Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA), capitalizing

and building on the legacy and experience accumulated by

Malta Information Technology and Training Services Limited

(MITTS Ltd) in its eighteen years of operation since its

commencement of a journey that had public sector change as

its primary mission. Essentially, MITA is the next evolutionary

step of MITTS Ltd into a wider-encompassing organisation

which now does not only look within the boundaries of the

public sector but also beyond, towards the application of

ICTs across all sectors of society and economy.

The Mandate of MITA

MITA was established by way of a public Statute approved by

the Cabinet of Ministers on 6th May 2008, and was given the

following purpose:

(a) To serve as the central driver of information and

communications technology policy, programmes and

initiatives in Malta.

(b) To deliver and manage the execution of all programmes

related to the implementation of information technology

and related systems in Government with the aim of

enhancing public service delivery.

(c) To provide efficient and effective information and

communications technology infrastructure services to

Government as directed by the Minister from time to

time.

(d) To proliferate the further application and take-up of

information and communications technologies in society

and the economy.

(e) To promote and deliver programmes aimed at enhancing

ICT education and the use of ICT as a learning tool.

The Agency operates under the direction of the Minister

of Infrastructure, Transport and Communications (MITC),

and together with the Malta Communications Authority

(MCA) serves as the Agency entrusted with the execution of

the programmes and initiatives arising out of the Strategy.

MITA was formally set up on 18th August 2008 by way of a

public deed and as of 1st January 2009 has taken over all

administrative and operational activities from MITTS Ltd. All

the former MITTS Ltd employees and the Ministry employees

attached to MITTS Ltd are today employees of the Agency.

The Strategic Plan

TRANSFORMATION • INNOVATION • EXCELLENCE

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The Context

MITA is not commencing its operations in a vacuum or on

a blank page. It does not only follow a legacy of eighteen

years of its predecessors (Management Systems Unit [MSU],

Management Efficiency Unit [MEU] and MITTS Ltd) but it

comes into play within an internal and external context,

the key aspects of which should be taken note of due to

their strategic relevance for the execution of the Agency’s

activities:

(a) The Agency is commencing its operations within

an already defined national ICT vision, strategy and

programme of works. A number of activities are already

underway hence requiring operational adjustment and

possible re-alignment of priorities. This factor calls for

an open-minded approach by the Agency in allocating

resources towards projects with higher national priorities

against those that are of high organisational importance.

(b) The Agency inherits a robust administrative and

corporate structure which has been developed and

refined over time. Corporate governance, human

resources management and financial control are all

functions which have evolved into a mature state

comparable to the best practices in the corporate sector.

(c) Notwithstanding a sizeable turnover in resources over

the last years, MITA is taking over an organisation which

has a strong capacity in terms of complex programme

management of large-scale projects. This skills-set

coupled with the in-house capabilities in managing

and operating wide enterprise-based infrastructures is

the main asset of the organisation and needs to be duly

protected.

(d) The advent of new pervasive (and disruptive)

technologies such as Web 2.0, Enterprise-wide Service

Oriented Architecture (SOA), Software as a Service

(SaaS)/utility computing models and cloud computing

are posing unprecedented opportunities to enhance

delivery and maximise return on investment for those

with sufficient foresight and capacity availability to apply

such technologies.

(e) In today’s stark reality, information security threats

are becoming the order of the day. No one is immune,

irrespective of the strength of the information security

framework used. The Agency must maintain continual

vigilance and state of readiness in all aspects of

information security. When incidents do happen, MITA

needs to be able to respond quickly and effectively to

neutralise any negative outcomes. The public must be

assured that Government protects their privacy through

the use of a robust infrastructure which provides the

highest levels of security. The Agency expects nothing

less than the highest levels of trust, competence,

technology, innovation and excellence.

(f) The Agency is faced with a significant challenge which

single-handedly could make or break its success,

human resources. The ever-increasingly competitive

ICT labour market, the booming of the iGaming sector,

the consequences of the security incident and the

elevated mobility in the international labour market are a

dangerous recipe which calls for immediate, incessant and

incisive action to protect and nurture the organisation’s

human capital from further substantial depletion.

These major contextual factors are critical issues to be given

significant weight when considering the MITA Strategic Plan

(the Plan) set out in this document.

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(a) HUMAN CAPITAL AT THE FOREFRONT: MITA is a

knowledge-driven organisation. Without its people the

Agency cannot be the change and knowledge-economy

driver it aspires to be. The Agency will therefore place

the nurturing of its human capital at the forefront of

its policies and operations to ensure it has the best and

brightest resources available to deliver its programme

effectively and efficiently.

(b) MINDSET SHIFT: The workforce needs to make a shift in

its mindset from being a mere software development

shop to an elite programme management and critical

core service delivery operation.

(c) NEW BLOOD: The organisation needs to open itself to

new blood across all its tiers in order to import new ideas,

new technologies, new approaches, new methodologies

and most importantly new ways of doing things.

(d) RESPONSIVE STRUCTURE: The Agency’s organisational

structure has been based on effective delivery, focused

management, delegation of authority and responsibility,

horizontalisation of services and removal of unproductive

inward-looking activities.

(e) CULTURE OF A TECHNOLOGY PLAYER: MITA will be an

organisation akin to a young, fresh, dynamic cutting-

edge IT services player. This will not only be reflected in

the way the organisation is perceived but also in its day-

to-day practices and interaction with its clients.

(f) FOCUS ON THE CORE: MITA will focus on what is core to

its operations and fundamental to Government’s success

in its national programmes.

(g) PRIORITISE NATIONAL TARGETS: MITA will prioritise

its operations and delivery in line with the national

priorities not its internal requirements. The targets in the

Strategy are the overarching priorities which require the

organisation to align itself to them.

(h) ICT WORKFORCE: The Agency will take a leading role in

the development of the knowledge-based workforce

with the aim of creating a national educational platform

which is sufficiently dynamic to harness the opportunities

created by the global developments in the knowledge-

economy.

(i) INVESTMENT IS A MUST: For the ICT framework of

Government to be sustained and made to match the

aspirations of Government, the Agency will need to invest

to continually refresh technology to deliver effectively

and efficiently.

(j) ZERO TOLERANCE: The Agency will practice a zero-

tolerant approach in its compliance role fulfilment. The

Agency will not over-regulate but will ensure that it duly

fulfils its role as the primary guardian of public data held

within Government. No compromises will be made on

security and the Agency’s actions will be guided by a risk-

averse approach as a matter of policy.

(k) OPEN: MITA will embrace the application of open

standards and technologies as a matter of policy coupled

with the smart application of open source applications

and systems, this approach will ensure that the Agency

is geared towards harnessing its benefits in large-scale

public implementations.

(l) EXCELLENT INDUSTRY RELATIONS: The Agency will build,

nurture and sustain excellent relations with the local and

international IT industry within an aggressive outsourcing

policy framework and programme, wherein the industry’s

capabilities will be used to the largest extent possible.

These principles are the guiding points towards a successful

fulfilment of the Plan set out herein. They are also important

factors to keep in mind constantly in the organisational

transformation journey.

Whilst establishing the parameters on which the Plan was developed and is set to be executed, the following series of key strategic

principles have been applied:


Key Guiding Principles

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The Mission Statement of MITA

The overall vision of MITA is set out in The Smart Island

Strategy, primarily in Strategic Streams 3, 4, 5 and 7. The

Strategy encapsulates the desired state of the various facets

of the Maltese information society and economy, carved

within the overall aspiration of harnessing knowledge to

enhance our citizens’ quality of life, to transform our economy

into one based on knowledge and to take public service

delivery into a new paradigm driven by citizen-centricity.

This visionary backdrop is what defines MITA’s mission

statement.

MITA Mission Statement

“We shall be the central driver in

the evolution of Malta into a world class

information society and economy, nurturing

the growth of a strong global knowledge

workforce and transforming public services

through innovation within an incessant

aspiration for excellence.”

Strategic Orientation

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The Three Institutional Drivers

The Mission Statement of MITA establishes the Agency’s

raison d’être. Underpinning this statement and its effective

execution are three fundamental components which will

permeate the organisation as institutional drivers reflected

in the Agency’s culture and its way of doing business:

Transformation, Innovation and Excellence.

The convergence of these three institutional drivers into a

coherent mission is also reflected in the Agency’s logo with

the three organisational colours representing the three

distinct drivers.

(a) TRANSFORMATION: Since the early days of public

service change in 1989, the Agency’s predecessor – MSU

– played a central role not only in the deployment of

information systems but also in the aggressive execution

of reform in the then beleaguered Public Service. As the

Public Service evolved and MSU was split in MITTS Ltd

and MEU, the transformational role of the organisation

was lost. Since then technologies have evolved and have

now become significant change-enablers, particularly in

citizen-driven settings.

Whilst acknowledging the fact that technology is not

an end in itself but a means to an end, there is no doubt

about the fact that ICTs bring about transformation in the

way services (both those provided by the state and those

by the private sector) are delivered to the public.

MITA will approach programmes and projects with

a view to transform the way services are delivered,

the way they are internally engineered, the return

they provide from the public investment put into

them and the enhancement of all-round value

they effectively provide.

The paradigm shift for the Agency from focusing

merely on technologically sound systems as successful

deliverables to the search for transformed services and

marked performance enhancement as the real result is the

rationale underpinning the modal shift of approaching

the core business of the Agency. In applying this driver,

MITA will utilise technologies to, among others, take

service delivery into a completely new league that

is led by the principles of citizen-centricity, service-

personalisation, multiple-channel delivery, virtualisation

and aggregation. Most importantly this transformation is

accompanied also by rationalisation of resources, process

and costs, to deliver faster, cheaper and leaner services.

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(b) INNOVATION: The Agency will not be engaging solely in

research and innovation activities as part of its operation.

MITA will be aspiring to become the leading

innovator within the public sector and one of the

prime movers in the innovation circuit in Malta.

Innovation will not be merely confined to research and

development projects or to the classical laboratory

approach. MITA innovation has to be part of the mindset

of the organisation and each employee. The need to

think creatively and out of the box, whilst continuously

monitoring and adopting the emerging trends and

technologies is set to become an integral part of the

day-to-day operations of the organisation.

Apart from projects, innovation will be applied to:

• People: By devising innovative ways for the Agency

to be able to equip the workforce with the emerging

cutting-edge skills and to motivate people, as well as

to develop creative ways in order to attract and retain

the best and brightest.

• Technology: By monitoring emerging trends in the

technology and information society fields with a

view of applying them to accelerate and enhance

the execution of the programmes and initiatives

entrusted to the Agency.

• Operations: By detaching from hard-and-fast

technological or methodogical dogmas by

continuously re-engineering the way the Agency

operates to generate more value-added for

stakeholders and to cut back on the net cost to

Government.

The Agency will attain these objectives by adopting

an incremental yet radical approach towards the

horizontalisation of innovation across the public sector

with a view to realising value.

(c) EXCELLENCE: Excellence has been on the organisation’s

agenda for time immemorial as reflected in the

methodologies applied and the administrative

procedures practised by MITTS Ltd. MITA will build on

the successful facets of this legacy and enhance it to

focus more on the external outputs of the organisation

rather than just (albeit necessary) the inward-looking

aspects of it.

As a matter of policy, Excellence will be applied on a 360°

notion, focusing on the following areas:

• Governance

• Project execution

• Human capital

• Service delivery

• Data guardianship

• Infrastructure

• Return on investment

MITA will strive for Real Excellence. This is not

attained through a mere certification process.

Real Excellence is a constant journey based

on an organisational craving for continuous

improvement – from the mundane call centre

notification for email downtime to the effective

management of the most complex programme.

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MITA takes on from where MITTS Ltd and the IT policy

arm of the Ministry left off and therefore the Agency’s

strategic orientation must look beyond the continuation

of the programme delivery of the current activity and

ensuring a smooth transition between the execution arms.

The Agency has to drive through an evolutionary

process which takes ICT policy development and

implementation into a higher level consistent with

the heightened expectations of Government as

a client to the Agency’s services and also to the

increased relevance of ICT in the national social and

economic setting.

With this context in mind, the Agency was allocated five

Strategic Priorities (SP1 – SP5, as depicted in Fig. 1).

SP1

SP3

SP5

SP2

SP4

Fig. 1 – Strategic Priorities

Strategic Priorities


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SP1. To lead ICT strategy development and drive the deployment of an effective ICT Governance Framework within the public sector

SP2. To deliver and sustain a

robust, resilient and secure

ICT infrastructure and IT

services to Government

SP3. To transform public

service delivery through

the application of ICTs

SP4. To enable the growth of the knowledge economy through the engendering of a life-long ICT learning framework

SP5. To deliver quality of life improvements through innovative citizen-centric application of ICTs

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MITA is the central strategic driver for ICT policy

development and execution in Malta and jointly

with MCA is responsible of establishing and

implementing ICT strategies at multiple levels to

duly reflect the wider vision and strategy which

Government wants to attain from ICT development

in Malta.

The Agency will establish and propagate effective ICT

governance as a key tenet of its operations. Mature ICT

environments increasingly require adequate levels of

governance to be deployed across the enterprise and its

information systems. MITA will not only be promulgating ICT

governance within itself but will also serve as the driver for

the framework to be adopted and implemented within the

wider Public Sector. Governance responsibilities will include

the effective regulation of Information Technology (IT) and

Information Systems (IS) related processes and activities

through establishment of standards, policies and procedures

together with the appropriate degree of compliance and

audit mechanisms necessary to enforce the provisions

therein.

Whilst consolidation together with enterprise planning will

be extended across the public sector, MITA will permeate

best practice in the deployment of the ICT Governance

Framework through the crucial capacity building of the Office

of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and the gradual authority

delegation process to empower them to operate within

the new paradigm of decentralised IT and IS management.

CIOs will be built to take up more vertical operational

responsibilities whilst widening their strategic oversight on

their Ministries’ activities in line with the objectives set out

for them.

In its efforts to translate the strategy into results, MITA

will be leading the IT operational and financial planning

processes to ensure the agreed programmes and initiatives

are prioritised, adequately funded and effectively monitored

in the attainment of their intended objectives. The Agency

will also be serving an advisory capacity for the evaluation

of the ICT capital investment and operational expenditure

submissions to the Ministry of Finance, Economy and

Investment made by the various line Ministries as part of the

annual business and budgetary planning process.

The Agency will take the lead in the promotion of enhanced

professionalism in the ICT sector in Malta from both

corporate and individual professional standpoints, with

a view of nurturing the industry and its workforce into a

globally reputable and renowned ecosystem of choice.

The Agency will also establish a new dimension of

consultation and stakeholder involvement as part of its

policy shaping and programme execution activities. It will

interact intensively and continuously with the relevant

constituted bodies, local and international ICT industry, the

key stakeholders internal and external to Government and

the IT student associations. The ultimate purpose of MITA’s

consultative framework is to be in a position to establish,

prioritise, and effectively govern the shaping and execution

of the national and governmental ICT policies, programmes

and initiatives set out for implementation by Government,

from time to time.

As part of its elevated profile, the Agency will take on the

handling of the management of external and international

relations related to the ICT field mainly by adopting a

more proactive and intensive involvement in processes

and programmes related to the European Union, the

Commonwealth, other governments and international ICT-

related institutions. A primary objective in this regard is the

acquisition and organisational adoption of international best

practice in the relevant areas.

Finally as an integral part of its strategic activities, MITA

will establish a Research and Innovation function within

it to stimulate innovation across the organisation and

enable a structured approach through which research

can be adequately conducted and employee ideas and/or

innovations can be nurtured within the right environment.

Strategic Priority 1

To lead ICT strategy development and drive the deployment of an effective ICT Governance

Framework within the public sector


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12Spearhead the establishment of a National ICT Professional Body and the adoption of

rigorous self-regulatory professional and ethical guidelines together with a code of conduct

for ICT professionals.

13 Serve as a primary supporting arm for the Ministry’s effective execution and management of

the operations of the National Information Society Advisory Council.

Ref Strategic coverage

01Develop and monitor the execution of the key ICT strategies, including the National ICT

Strategy, public sector IT/IS strategies, the Information System Strategic Plan, MITA Strategy

and theme-specific strategic plans (e.g. e-Government Strategy).

02Establish, own, drive and sustain the ICT Governance Framework of the public sector by

establishing a comprehensive body of standards, policies, procedures and directives to be

adhered to by public sector entities and employees.

03Adopt and disseminate international best practice in matters related to effective ICT

Governance through knowledge management and other educational techniques.

04Establish rigorous and extensive audit, compliance and enforcement mechanisms to

complement the fulfilment of the objectives of the ICT Governance Framework.

05Jointly with the auditing and investigation structures of Government, engage in a multi-

annual programme aimed at ingraining IS Audits into the normal course of public sector

governance activity.

06Lead the structuring and permanent establishment of a streamlined ‘Office of the CIO’ in

line Ministries and major public sector entities, with the aim of establishing strong nodes of

operational competence in the wider ICT operation of Government.

07Conduct a decentralisation and delegation process of certain IS/IT functions which can

be delivered more effectively in line Ministries by the respective Offices of the CIO. Where

necessary engage in the provision of a finite period of ‘lifecycle management’ services to

major departments and public sector entities adopting a build-operate-transfer approach in

utilising information to generate true business value for the entity.

08Establish a standing mechanism to consider, advise, determine and prioritise the annual

operational and financial IT/IS plans of line Ministries as part of the annual business planning

and budgeting process conducted by the Ministry of Finance, Economy and Investment.

09Consider, recommend terms and approve or otherwise requests from line Ministries or public

sector entities for capital investment in IT/IS projects or sub-projects, in line with criteria

established by the Agency from time to time.

10Devise and execute a review procedure intended to assess the value being derived out

of IT/IS investments in line Ministries and/or public sector entities and recommend value

optimisation programmes.

11Establish transparent mechanisms through which ICT enterprises submit to accreditation

processes to establish their professional standing against set benchmarks of diligence, ethical

conduct of business, effective corporate governance and investment in their workforce.

The Strategic Coverages of Strategic Priority 1 are:

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Establish a structured dialogue process with the key stakeholders in the following three

sectors:

• IT/IS Procurement Outlooks (covering joint industry-Agency positions on subjects

such as Preferred Technologies, Pre-qualification Mechanisms, Vendor Selection, etc).

• ICT workforce (converging thoughts on ICT education and labour supply of public

agencies, educational institutions and industry).

• Research and Innovation (focusing on opportunity identification for industry

partnerships and EU-funded initiatives linked to MITA’s activities).

15Establish an ICT International Relations function and programme of activities related to the

bi-lateral and multi-lateral relations of the Agency and Government on IT/IS-related matters

including the management of relationships with the European Union, other governments,

the Commonwealth and international ICT institutions and bodies.

16Extend the strategic and alliance relationships with major multi-national vendors with a

view to maximising the return on investment which Government makes in products and/or

services procured from these vendors.

17Establish and operate innovative and effective procurement structures for the IT/IS

requirements of the Agency and Government with the ability to realise economies of scale,

swifter and less bureaucratic procurement processes and enhanced competitive offerings

for Government.

18Define and promulgate a horizontal Research and Innovation capacity in the Agency with

an enabling objective for the transformation of employee-driven ideas into applicable and

viable products, services and methodologies for the enterprise.

19Establish a knowledge-management function for IT- and IS-related matters in Government,

encouraging the sharing of information, best practices, research and related materials to

enhance the knowledge and appreciation of decision-makers on the respective subjects.


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Increasingly, the core business of Public Sector and

governance itself are running on information systems

and automated environments which operate on the

ICT infrastructure (previously owned and managed by

MITTS Ltd). MITA will be taking over the complete role

of infrastructure service provider to Government with

the primary responsibility of fulfilling the requirements

of the Public Sector in this regard. Nevertheless it will be

reinventing the way technology deployment is practised in

the Public Sector, delivering a marked departure from the

current modus operandi.

Whilst MITA will sustain the development of the ICT

infrastructure in Government, it will in parallel drive

a fundamental paradigm shift in the organisational

appreciation of technology as a core function in

the organisation rather than as a mere support role.

Complementing this functional concentration, technology

will also be subject to a strong degree of alignment with

the business goals of the Agency and Government at

large. Whilst maintaining their integrity, key technology

decisions need to be taken within the context of the business

goals of the organisation and not within an exclusively

technology-based isolated vacuum.

MITA will strive to deliver an infrastructural and

technological experience to its user community

within the Public Sector which is second to none in

terms of scalability, resilience, security and enabling

of business applications.

Technology will be the driver enabling transformation

through the proactive application of innovative solutions,

both proven and emerging. Technology will also be at

the core of the delivery of electronic public services to

citizens and businesses, hence also transforming the client

experience in a permanent fashion.

At the core of the Agency, the major development will

be the internal aggregation of all technology-related

decision-making activities with the objective of creating a

coherent approach towards the alignment of the enterprise

technology and corporate business strategies. The design

and execution of the enterprise architecture blueprint will

be a central consolidated responsibility – no compromise

will be made on the governance of this function.

A core element of the architecture is the reach, resilience,

scalability and availability of the Government network

– the network managed by MITA will be the vehicle for the

delivery of the transformation. The network infrastructure of

Government has to prepare the path towards the definition

of the roadmap for Fibre-to-the-Unit (FttU) developments

– Government offices, schools, hospitals and health centres

will be fibre-lit by MITA in the pursuit of the effective

implementation of bandwidth-intensive applications which

make a difference in the delivery of Government’s core

operations.

MITA will accelerate and extend the consolidation approach

towards the critical and core components of, primarily, the

strategic and high availability systems and, gradually, the

other information systems. Consolidation will be based

on consistent focus on the reduction of the total cost of

ownership and the maximisation of return on investment

made by Government in the infrastructural assets.

The data centre infrastructure of Government will be taken

into an entirely new dimension, with the primary focus

being on uninterruptible scalability together with easier and

faster integration of new types of technologies in a single

environment. Increased operational efficiency, lower power

footprint, service-oriented predisposition, rapid service

delivery, security and resilience will be the core drivers for

the new enterprise data centre of Government developed

and operated by MITA.

The most rigorous standards of infrastructure and

information security will be pursued by the Agency with a

view of enhancing the clients’ and users’ confidence in the

infrastructure and systems used by Government in its IT/IS

operations. Security will not be merely defined by the internal

parameters but will be largely sized to respond immediately

and effectively to today’s stark reality where information

assets are exposed to ever-increasing threats. Governed by

an overall prudent and diligent risk management approach,

the information security strategy of the Agency will be

driven by this heightened importance which will be given to

the notion of data guardianship.

To deliver and sustain a robust, resilient and secure ICT infrastructure and IT services

to Government


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The execution of the technology operations of the Agency

will be carried out in a re-dimensioned context of setting

open standards as a common technological denominator at

policy and operational levels. The Agency will aggressively

pursue the dissemination and adoption of open standards as

a core IT/IS strategic directional waypoint.

Triangulating with excellence in technology and effective

IT/IS governance will be the cornerstone of quality assurance,

which will be developed into a separate competence with

the objective of transforming it into a strategic pillar of the

performance of the organisation. Quality assurance will not

be positioned as an inconvenient check-box to be ticked; it

will be established as a continuous improvement activity

necessary for the further evolution and maturity of the

Agency and Government’s IT/IS assets.

Overall, the fresh approach towards technological policy

and deployment converges the organisation’s technical

efforts into a single coherent direction aligning

technology to business.

The Agency’s foremost priority will be to transform

infrastructure and services into fulfilment enablers

rather than just mere components in the operational

technology block diagram of Government.


19



20Engage in a process of alignment of the enterprise infrastructure and technology frameworks

with the business goals of the Agency and Government.

21Aggregate the technology ownership and directional activities in Government into a single,

streamlined and coherent function to ensure the effective execution of the enterprise IT

strategy.

22Develop and sustain a consolidated enterprise architecture which is secure, scalable, reliable,

cost-effective and adequately responsive to the IT/IS requirements imposed by the business

activities of Government.

23Deploy, manage, operate and enhance core ICT Infrastructure Services that are key to

Government’s operations to provide increased levels of connectivity performance, resilience

and scalability.

24Lead the development of a Next-Generation-Network based on Fibre-to-the-Unit (FttU)

across Government, serving as a pathfinder in the roll-out and application of next generation

networking in Malta.

25Extend and accelerate the consolidation and centralisation programme with a view to

consolidating those strategic, core and mission critical systems/applications which will realise

efficiency gains through this approach.

26Build and disseminate enterprise-wide programmes aimed at systemising mechanisms that

continuously reduce the Total Cost of Ownership of the infrastructure and maximise its Return

On Investment (ROI).

27Establish a framework through which the industry is aware of the preferred technologies of the

Agency through the publication of a regular Technology Outlook and Roadmap, enhancing

long-term vendor relationship.

28Develop a new Enterprise Data Centre in a cost-effective environment which is sufficiently

scalable, secure and resilient to fulfil the forecasted long-term IS requirements of

Government.

29Lead the conduct of intensive applied research to test the ROI and infrastructural benefits

derived from the application of virtualisation and grid computing, on an enterprise-wide

scale.

30Develop an Enterprise Information Security Strategy and operate and enhance a corporate

information security function focusing on business continuity, data guardianship and

effective governance as the primary tenets.

31Establish a comprehensive enterprise risk management framework for the Agency and the

information assets which are entrusted to MITA’s operations, with a view to continuously

assess present and emerging threats.

32Actively review the capabilities and effectiveness of mobile computing and communications

solutions with a view to establishing a mobile ICT enterprise architecture for Government.

33Disseminate the culture of Open Standards and lead their corporate adoption as a rule in all

technology-related decisions, making proprietary technologies an exception.

34Establish a rigorous enterprise interoperability framework to be adopted as a standard

requirement to be adhered to, across all systems deployment in Government.

35Accelerate the adoption of cost-effective and non-disruptive deployments of Open Source

solutions in Government.

36Expand and operate the quality assurance function of the Agency into a horizontal

continuous improvement process, focused on enhancing the performance and delivery of

IT/IS assets in Government and within MITA.


20

To transform public service delivery through the application of ICTs

ICTs are increasingly offering transformation opportunities

to organisations, not least to those engaged in the delivery

of public services. Technology is increasingly poised to

deliver business and organisational change in complex

public sector organisations, in a climate of heightened client

expectations, increased constituency participation and

unprecedented Government aspirations for transparency,

accountability and good governance.

The Agency will not only serve as the programme

manager for the deployment of information systems

and application of technology but will also be the

driver leading the realisation of transformation

through technology, mainly by adopting a three-

pronged approach in the implementation and

application of information systems:

1. IT/IS for policy-shaping: information systems will

be used to translate data into meaningful business

intelligence, trends and foresight to enable decision

makers to devise proactive policies and rapid reaction to

emerging social and economic conditions.

2. Internal efficiency gains: ICTs drive automation,

process streamlining and simplification which in turn

create opportunities for the realization of internal

efficiency gains and the reallocation of resources to areas

which require more employee attention, such as front-

line positions.

3. Revolutionised service delivery: ICTs and their

rapid and widespread take-up by citizens and businesses

(in particular broadband and mobile devices) created a

new level of public service delivery and better regulation,

driven by ‘Just-in-Time’ public services, personalisation

and aggregation of procedures.

MITA will build on the legacy of the success attained to date

in this field and will strive to define a long-term roadmap

to plot the path of the investments which Government will

be making in terms of core and strategic information systems.

The Information Systems Master Plan will guide Government,

users and industry on how the IS map of the Public Sector

will evolve over the medium term hence enhancing the

visibility of the strategic intent over a longer planning

horizon.

Building on the resilience and robustness of the ICT

infrastructure available to Government, central to the whole

programme will be the development and aggregation of core

information systems into a coherent framework of ‘Clusters’

of stable and resilient inter-related systems which share

common thematic, business or administrative interests. This

approach will not only ensure the execution of a horizontal

approach towards core information systems but will also

ensure tighter integration within and between clusters.

The establishment of the Clusters will pave the way for a

series of waves of technology refresh and upgrade of the core

information systems belonging to them. The new paradigm

of delivering ‘Software-as-a-Service’ (SaaS) will be actively

pursued in the light of the lower capital intensity required

for such deployments on large enterprise-wide scales such

as the Public Sector. The extent and prioritisation of the

deployment will be based on the overall availability of funds,

the mission-criticality of the systems and the overall political

programme of Government.



21


Transferred to line Ministries•

Overall responsibility taken over •

by PS & CIO

MITA personnel handling system •

relocated to Ministries

MITA to provide advisory support •

services to Ministries

Systems have to be associated •

with a System Cluster

MINOR SYSTEMS

Established as a horizontal function•

E-Government 2.0 development•

Web2.0 applications•

Accelerate citizen participation tools•

My• gov.mt - single platform for all

e-Government

E-GOVERNMENT /

WEB SYSTEMS

Based on the Core Services Model•

MITA (+3rd parties) to operate •

shared services

Provision of common services •

required by all entities (e.g. unified

communications and messaging

systems)

Focal points of MITA•

Self-contained groups of professionals •

and technicians

Line Ministries retain ownership•

Cluster takes over management•

Development of inter-related Core •

Information Systems

CORE INFORMATION

SYSTEM CLUSTERS

INFORMATION SYSTEMS

FRAMEWORK

Fig. 2 – The new Integrated Information Systems Framework for the Public Sector

In its endeavours to realise this strategic priority, MITA will

establish a new integrated systems framework (Fig. 2) aimed

at providing the right environment for the engendering of

information systems within the Public Sector. This approach

will strengthen the IS governance, promote structured

interoperability, the attainment of real seamless integration

and the definition of the demarcation of the multiple

stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities in the effective

deployment of information systems.

MITA will also take the established notion of the provision

of ‘core services’ into a higher level of enterprise service

delivery through the implementation of a series of horizontal

‘corporate shared services’ (such as unified communications

and Geographic Information Systems [GIS] services), common

to all Public Sector users which cut across all information

systems. Corporate shared services will be horizontal

platforms which enable the provision of high-demand

services to a large number of users across the enterprise.

CORPORATE

SHARED SERVICES

22

The deployment of these services will serve as a strong

vehicle for effective change management in the way the

Public Sector operates since they are not only intended to

bring about an enhanced quality of working life but also

to open up avenues for the realisation of efficiency gains

through process transformation.

MITA cannot be everything for everyone. From an operational

standpoint, MITA will be gearing itself to focus on complex

and enterprise-oriented activity which is incongruent with

the vertical activity required around the ‘non-core systems’.

In this context, MITA will transfer the knowledge, resources,

operational and administrative responsibilities of both the

current and the new ‘non-core systems’ to the line Ministries.

In the light of the strong impetus being given to the Offices

of CIOs, the delegation for these ‘non-core systems’ will

ensure that the specific requirements, enhancements and

new developments would be decided upon directly by

line Ministries, within the wider direction and standard-

setting environment of MITA. It does not make financial or

operational sense to centralize this operation any further,

hence also avoiding the potential stifling of initiative in this

regard.

In the fulfilment of this strategic priority, the Agency will

partner with industry to develop an enhanced procurement

framework for the acquisition of core information systems,

with the two-pronged objectives of increasing the number

of capable bidders competing for the provision of services

to Government and shortening the procurement cycle

from requirement definition to implementation. Apart

from increased visibility of Government’s procurement

intentions, the Agency will also accelerate the adoption

of ‘pre-qualification processes’, standard contracting

documentation, price cap pre-notification and simplification

of functional requirements.

Equally critical will be MITA’s role in ensuring that

Government’s investment in IT/IS solutions is adequately

protected through a standard effective contractual

framework which needs to be adhered to in all major IT/IS

procurement processes. This framework will determine not

only the standard contractual terms and conditions but

will also cover key value aspects such as service delivery

benchmarks and performance metrics intended to be

derived from the systems.

The radical overhaul of Government’s information systems

framework will require a significant investment to be

effectively delivered and therefore a new financing model

will be put in place. Primarily the model should provide

long-term visibility on how major investments are made

and how the maintenance and support operations are

adequately financed, with sustainability being the common

denominator. The cost of the full lifecycle of a core

information system should be known to Government at the

outset. The model will also take into consideration the need

to cushion the cash-impact of the major capital investments

to be carried out in a relatively short period of time.

Moreover, the new model should gradually entrench into it

the promised direct and indirect benefits and/or return on

investment, including the tangible realisation of efficiency

gains and of revenue generation sources available to the

project.

E-Government is the flag-bearer of the advanced state of the

Maltese information society: The global reputation earned

by Malta in this sector establishes the country as one of the

European pioneers in the advent of fully-transaction based

online public services.

MITA takes on the e-Government leadership role

with a determined resolve to take e-Government and

online public services into a completely transformed

and innovative dimension, wherein the dominant

factor will be citizen-centricity.

The Agency will build a next generation e-Government

environment, which will depart from the current vertical

service-based approach and move towards the establishment

of a platform enabling services to be created in a rapid ‘just-

in-time’ approach through which services are deployed at

source by the public service provider in a streamlined, open

environment. User experience will be simplified through a

‘dashboard-style’ access to all services from one single point

– not merely a portal collecting links but a complete online

service centre fulfilling citizen and business requirements at

the most sophisticated level possible.


23


All current e-Government services will be retro-fitted and

consolidated onto this platform with a view of aggregating

services into meaningful ‘life-events’ which enhance the

association of public services with actual citizen requirements

and not the other way around. The final link in the chain will

be the integration of third party (non-public) services

onto the platform, enabling trusted private and non-

governmental organisations to benefit from this outstanding

online infrastructure to deliver services to their client base.

The platform operating e-Government services will also

be distinctly customised for the provision of Government

to Business (G2B) services. Jointly with the constituted

bodies representing the business community, the public

services provided to businesses will be thoroughly reviewed,

simplified and aggregated with the aim of smoothing

even further the administrative requirements placed on

businesses through regulation and Government procedures.

The flag bearer of this transformation process will be the

e-Procurement framework which will catalyse the way

Government procures products and services from the

private sector.

A fundamental programme of public service transformation

arising from this next-generation e-Government will be the

deployment of ‘Agents’ – individuals or organisations who

can deliver public services in an over-the-counter fashion

to their client bases or constituencies. ‘Agents’ will extend

the value of e-Government out of the digital environment,

where it could be required. This will extend the delivery of

services to more citizen-friendly settings and will also ensure

that those who do not have access to technology may still

benefit from the transformational capabilities of ICTs in

Government.

24

A horizontal technological layer enabling all these services

will be the implementation of the next steps of the National

Identity Management Systems Framework. The further

propagation of the use of digital certificates and digital

signing through the e-ID platform will open a window on

unprecedented opportunities for smart electronic services

through any device and virtually from any point connected

to the Internet. The ultimate link bonding the ecosystem

will be the dissemination of electronic ID cards which will

serve as mobile digital gateways to the citizens’ data, hence

revolutionising the notion of service delivery through

multiple channels and points of delivery.

The Agency shall work on changing the prevalent IT/IS

culture among senior decision makers with the aim of

triggering demand-side mechanisms towards the more

effective deployment of solutions in the Public Sector.

Success in transformation will not be attained by simply

having an excellent Agency operation – the Agency is an

enabler for success to be delivered by line Ministries and

Public Sector entities.


25



37Define and maintain an Information Systems Master Plan for the public sector, articulating

the planned deployment of major information systems in Government over a rolling five-

year period.

38Establish and operate a new information systems framework integrating the implementation

of core information systems, corporate shared services, e-Government systems and minor

systems.

39Set up a number of Business Clusters serving as portfolios of a number of current and/or new

core information systems which are closely inter-related in their business goals, operational

objectives and client-base, irrespective of their administrative distribution. MITA will maintain,

operate and support the core and strategic systems that fall within these clusters. The

initial set of clusters will be:

• Social Policy and Health

• Transport, Environment and Utilities

• Education

• Identity and Property Management

• Revenue, Finance and Administration

40Engage in the procurement and deployment of the first wave of Cluster-based core

information systems.

41Deploy the following corporate shared services on an enterprise-wide basis using the ‘core

services’ model approach:

• Unified Collaborative and Messaging System

• Human Resources Management and Payroll Services

• Geographical Information System Services

• Business Intelligence Services

• Customer Relationship Management Services

• Corporate Document and Record Management Services

42Within the wider context of building the capacity of the Offices of the CIOs, the knowledge

and responsibility for non-core systems currently controlled by MITA will be transferred to

line Ministries.

43Jointly with industry, develop and implement a flexible and robust procurement framework

for core information systems focusing on the introduction of ‘pre-qualification processes’,

standard contracts, price cap pre-notification and simplification of functional requirements.

44Basing on international best practice, establish and operate a common/standard IT/

IS contractual framework for the commissioning of major core information systems in

Government and other ICT frameworks.

45Introduce a new financing model for investment and operational maintenance, and support

of new core information systems and corporate shared services with an emphasis on long-

term sustainability, spread cash-outlay and adequate fulfilment of direct/indirect benefits to

Government.

46Design, develop and operate a state-of-the-art next-generation e-Government platform,

based on open technologies, serving as a unique user experience, pan-European and single

point of contact for all online public services.


26


47Retro-fit all current e-Government services into the new e-Government platform to enhance

the consolidation effect of having a single point of contact for citizens’ access to online public

services.

48Develop a secure, scalable and open technological layer to enable trusted third parties

to integrate their electronic services with the facilities offered by the next generation

e-Government platform.

49Establish a Government-to-Business (G2B) variant of the e-Government platform intended to

aggregate, consolidate and simplify government-related administrative services, processes,

notifications and procedures which businesses need to go through in their relations with

Government.

50Develop and deploy an e-procurement system, allowing the local and EU-based commercial

community to be in a position to be alerted on public procurement processes and also to

submit their tenders electronically.

51Develop a policy framework and implement a mechanism to enrol and enable trusted third

party individuals and organisations to serve as ‘Agents’ for the delivery of over-the-counter

public services through the use of the agent-enabling capability e-Government platform.

52Develop and deploy the next phases of the National Identity Management Systems with

a view to consolidating all identity management databases into a single framework and

enhancing the integrity and non-repudiation characteristics of electronic identity credentials

held by citizens.

53Implement the necessary infrastructure and enable Government to carry out a national

dissemination programme for electronic ID cards including biometric features.

54Deploy the enabling infrastructure and systems to facilitate the secure access to core

information systems and e-Government services from multiple points of delivery via the

electronic ID cards.

55Deliver a corporate skills development programme aimed at disseminating the appreciation

of the transformational capabilities of IT/IS solutions in the public sector.

27


To enable the growth of the knowledge economy through the engendering of a life-long

ICT learning framework

The knowledge-based industry, primarily driven by the ICT

sector, is becoming an increasingly relevant market in the

economy and consistently heading to become a long-term

economic pillar. The value-adding activity which the sector

provides is a timely substitute for the inevitable downturn

in activity in the traditional low-value, high-volume

manufacturing industries. Many streams of activity have

been undertaken over the last years to stimulate interest

in the sector and to provide appropriate training avenues

to students. MITA will now be taking on the leading role in

this skills transformation programme which is vital for the

ongoing growth of the ICT sector and the growth of the

knowledge economy.

The Agency will be building on the experiences and results

attained to date to form a multi-stakeholder public-private

skills alliance to define, provide and nurture the skills sets

required for sustaining a resilient, scalable and competitive

workforce which is adequate for participating at the highest

levels of the industry and which is agile enough to adapt

itself to address the gaps created in the markets from time

to time.

The Agency’s objectives under this Strategic Priority

are to widen and deepen the range of skills sets

available in Malta to cover the complete spectrum of

requirements in the target segments, and to increase

the volume of graduates and specialists qualifying

with the skills sets required in the respective target

segments.

In fulfilling its leadership role, the Agency will provide

direction to the stakeholders on the target segments

which are most congruent to the growth of the knowledge

economy in Malta, with a view to enhancing the focus on

specialization rather than on the generalist approach. In

this mission, the Agency will take up an enabling capacity

whereby it will partner with public educational institutions

and private training industry players to provide programmes

and initiatives to fulfil the overall objectives.

MITA will focus its delivery by pursuing the deployment

of the strategic measures set out in the Strategy, with the

overall view of attaining the annual target of 1,500 qualified

graduates and specialists from public and private educational

institutions by the end of the 2010/11 academic year.

A long-term basic building block which the Agency will

be putting in place is the wide acceptance of an e-Skills

Competence Framework which clearly defines the skills

and competences required for the fulfilment of the various

job categories in the industry with a specific focus on

those sectors which would have been identified as target

segments. This Framework will enable the structuring

of academic and professional paths, certifications and

the development of customized programmes aimed

at accelerating take-up of the specific skills sets. The

Framework will provide the turf on which Malta has to play

the e-skills match. Its absence would mean the perpetuation

of fragmented efforts with possible small successes but no

collective wins.

The adjacent building block to the Competence Framework

is the adequate monitoring of demand and supply of ICT

skills. The Agency will use the Framework to create an

e-Skills Taxonomy aimed at standardizing the method and

interpretation of skills requirements and availability in Malta.

The Agency will then manage the operation of an e-Skills

Demand and Supply Monitor which will gauge the present

and forecasted availability of skills and how this matches

the anticipated demand in the industry. In delivering this

crucial component of labour market intelligence the Agency

will deeply engage the industry to ensure the results are

significantly representative of the real situation.

MITA will strive to enhance and extend the ICT curricula

and training made available to students in primary and

secondary schools. There is no doubt that these are the

crucial years in which the knowledge workforce of the

future has to be developed, nurtured and equipped with the

competitive competence advantage empowering it to reap

the opportunities being sowed today.

The Agency will sustain its long-standing positive

relationship and experience with the ICT Institute within

the Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology (MCAST) by

striving to attract further specializations and investment to

the Institute to enable it to grow and extend its offerings.

Equally the Agency will seek to enter into a strategic alliance

and close collaborative relationship with the ICT Faculty

of the University of Malta with a view of contributing

towards its growth and also of the creation of an applied

research programme, providing MITA-driven research and

innovation opportunities to students.


28

The Agency will be intensely engaging the Private Training

Industry (PTI) for the delivery of these programmes. The

Agency will develop a long-term programme aimed

at identifying mechanisms through which the PTI can

contribute effectively towards the attainment of the goals

set in this Strategic Priority. The programme will provide

incentives to players seeking international accreditation as

well as investors in this area with a view of expanding the

specialization offerings available for the local workforce.

The Agency will also extend its academic relations to capture

the interest and participation of ICT academic institutions

of international repute, with a view to attracting them to

establish satellite operations in Malta. Likewise the Agency

will also engage major global and regional vendors and

service providers to extend the range of specializations

through the proliferation of vendor-driven academic

programmes linked directly to the inherent specialization

requirements of the specific industry and the major

vendors.

Reflecting a central aim of the Smart Island Strategy, the

Agency will devise a plan on how Malta can gradually

transform itself into an ICT campus destination, serving

as a regional hub for ICT training activity. MITA’s role will

be to determine the distinct components required for the

fulfilment of this visionary target and collectively establish

them into a coherent ecosystem along a roadmap agreed

between Government and the PTI.

The supply-side activity will be balanced with demand-side

initiatives primarily aimed at incentivising students and

employees to take up knowledge-driven specializations and

academic programmes through fiscal or other incentives.

The Agency will work with Malta Enterprise to enhance the

‘myPotential’ scheme with a view of taking it to a next level,

also including potential assistance to employers along the

lines of the current international trend in this regard.

Equally the Agency will sustain its efforts to enable the

unemployed or those at risk of unemployment to be provided

with the foundation ICT skills necessary to start a career in

the industry, whilst it will develop conversion programmes

aimed at enabling graduates in different disciplines to

migrate their career into an ICT stream. A cornerstone of

these programmes will be the incessant efforts required to

accelerate female participation in the ICT industry.

MITA is the largest IT organisation in Malta and will

spearhead the development and engendering of the

ICT profession in the economy through an aggressive

enabling suite of measures aimed at consolidating the

local ICT workforce into a mainstay of our knowledge

economy.

MITA will lead this educational impetus; the public

educational institutions will provide the platform for long-

term growth; the private training providers will catalyse

the challenges into the creation of a niche market; and the

workforce will live up to the opportunities being made

available to translate them into quality jobs and economic

growth.


29



56Converge the ICT educational and workforce-related efforts of public and private

stakeholders into one streamlined programme (promoting life-long ICT learning) led by a

National ICT Skills Alliance, driven and supported by MITA.

57Develop an e-Skills Competence Framework aimed at establishing the job categories in

the ICT industry and target segments identified together with the skills and competencies

required for the adequate fulfilment of the requirements in the said job categories.

58Deploy the necessary structures at national administrative and also commercial levels

to introduce an e-skills taxonomy which will enable the common interpretation of skills

requirements on the basis of the e-Skills Competence Framework.

59Develop and operate an e-Skills Demand and Supply Monitor regularly releasing updates

and analysis on the availability of skills and the projected demand by the industry on the

basis of the defined taxonomy.

60Engage intensively with public, Church and private primary and secondary schools to

enhance and extend the intensity of the ICT educational curricula.

61Seek further vertical specializations (both vendor-driven and vendor-neutral) to be integrated

in the offerings of the ICT Institute within MCAST, whilst devising programmes to attract

further investment and industry assistance for the further expansion of the Institute.

62Establish a long-term strategic alliance with the ICT Faculty in the University of Malta aimed

at supporting the expansion of the Faculty, establishing an applied research programme for

its undergraduates and post-graduates and to offer work placements and/or traineeships.

63Jointly with the University and Malta Enterprise, devise a Clusters Framework primarily aimed

at creating the core competences in the specific clusters.

64Develop an incentive programme for the private training industry to encourage investment,

international accreditation and the augmentation of specializations delivered through local

institutions.

65Partner with major ICT educational institutions of international repute to establish satellite

operations in Malta providing academic offerings to local students and employees.

66Define a framework and a supporting roadmap for the development of a national ecosystem

aimed at establishing Malta as an ICT campus destination.

67Jointly with Malta Enterprise and the Private Training Industry, review the ‘myPotential’

scheme to extend it into variants with coverage for employers, ICT educators and parents.

68Sustain the delivery of basic ICT educational programmes aimed at enabling employees in

the manufacturing/low-value industries who are at risk of unemployment to acquire basic

ICT skills essential for participating in the industry.

69Lead the development of ‘conversion programmes’ for graduates from other disciplines to

migrate into the ICT career stream, primarily through the adaptation of their specialization

for the knowledge-based industry.

70Increase female participation in the ICT industry by developing and operating ICT training

programmes; and partner with the industry to offer job placement to all those ICT students

studying at level 5 of Malta’s National Qualifications Framework for life-long learning.

71Engage into collaborative efforts with educational institutions and teacher representative

bodies to enhance the career prospects and overall conditions of ICT educators.


30

The Agency has been entrusted with the exciting

and challenging task to map the path through the

realisation of these aspirations into programmes and

initiatives translated into tangible improvements

in our citizens’ quality of life through the pervasive

application of ICTs.

The practical application of ICTs offers tremendous potential

for improvement in the quality of life of citizens across all

sectors of society and economy. Indeed, this technological

application is mooted to become a protagonist in Malta’s

forward-looking posture, portraying the quantum leap in

Malta’s aspirations and serving as a basic building block for

the accomplishment of the 2015 vision.

To deliver quality of life improvements through innovative citizen-centric application

of ICTs



31


This Strategic Priority portrays the complete rationale for

the transition towards the national role of MITA and the

apex of its mission. The fulfilment of this Priority will impose

a cultural change towards an out-of-the-box mindset

wherein the dominant factor is the positive impact on the

daily activities of citizens – in essence, applying ICTs to

realise better living: bringing to fruition the underlying

notion of the Smart Island.

Capitalising on the widespread take-up of technology in

households and businesses together with the pervasiveness

and cultural absorption of the mobile digital technology,

the Agency will take the lead to implement the measures

set out in Strategic Stream 4 of The Smart Island Strategy.

This will be achieved by integrating ICTs with citizen-centric

everyday activities, which go beyond the conventional online

administrative services.

Among the myriad of initiatives the Agency shall be taking

up, there are four central programmes around which this

Strategic Priority revolves:

1. E-Health

2. Smart Learning

3. ICT in transport

4. Enhanced citizen participation and e-Democracy

MITA played a central role in the delivery of the first phase of

the Integrated Health Information System.

Through the e-Health programme, MITA – jointly

with the Ministry for Social Policy and the healthcare

professionals – will make healthcare more accessible,

transparent, efficient and patient-centric for citizens.

Patients will have secure electronic patient records that will

enable them or their trusted practitioners to access their

personal clinical data anytime and anywhere. Moreover,

healthcare professionals will be able to make more effective

decisions as they will have highly reliable and more

immediate access to their patients’ medical records.

In partnership with the educational authorities, MITA will

take the lead in pursuing further the Smart Learning strategy

of Government with the clear aim of extending education

beyond the boundaries of the classroom and of making

learning more engaging for students, parents and teachers.

The Agency will sustain the efforts to extend access to the

latest technologies by students in their classroom through

the deployment of new computing equipment and a

Fibre-to-the-School network, enabling bandwidth

intensive applications to be accessed by students. On top

of this infrastructure and leveraging the advent of Web

2.0 and 3.0 technologies, the Agency will lead the

deployment of an innovative e-Learning platform

which will transform teaching and learning into an

unprecedented value-added experience, providing

content, tools and applications to complement the

classroom-based educational framework.

The national reform in public transport is one of the foremost

priorities of Government in the next years. The Agency will

play a key supporting role in this reform by spearheading

development of programmes and initiatives aimed at

using ICT as an enabler in the wider reform process which

is underway. The application of technology in transport

offers tremendous opportunities for realisation of efficiency

gains, enhancing road safety and security, addressing

environmental issues, improving public transport user

experience and relieving traffic congestion. Jointly with the

transport authorities, the Agency will develop an e-Transport

strategy and implement a set of complementing initiatives

aimed at supporting the business, environmental and

societal goals of the reform.

Basing itself on the power and take-up of Web 2.0 solutions

and eventually Web 3.0 technologies, the Agency will also

engage in the proliferation of services aimed at enhancing

citizen participation and e-democracy-oriented applications.

MITA will seek to build communication and interaction

bridges between policy makers and constituencies with

a view to using technology to complement the public

dialogue and consultative policy-shaping process adopted

by Government on a wider scale.

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A central development in the propagation of these citizen-

centric programmes is the availability of a next generation

access infrastructure across Malta and Gozo, namely the

Fibre-to-the-Unit (“FttU” or “Fttx”) network. Fttx will allow

the delivery of high speeds over the national network,

hence enabling the effective use of bandwidth-intensive

applications required for most of the programmes under this

Strategic Priority. The Agency will be actively contributing

towards the policy development in this regard and will adopt

an application viewpoint to enhance the definition of the

value to be derived from the network.

A key tenet which MITA will pursue – jointly with MCA – is

the need to ensure that the benefits of these programmes

are accessible to all. Accessibility for persons with disabilities

will be at the core of the Agency’s activity, not only for public

services but also on a national basis. In fact, MITA will partner

with the National Commission Persons with Disability (KNPD)

and the Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility

(FITA) to spread the best practices adopted in the Public

Sector to the national access environment. Equally important

is the Agency’s role to popularize the use of ICT and make

citizens aware of the opportunities for quality of life

improvements arising from the application of technologies

– MITA will go into local communities to educate, explain and

empower people to use what Government is investing in.

The Agency will deploy these national-scale programmes on

the basis of the results derived from the initiatives set out in

the other Strategic Priorities. These measures will build on

the high availability of scalable and resilient infrastructure,

on the successfully operational core information systems

as back-end systems for consumption by these services

implemented and managed by a highly competent

workforce operating in an effectively governed and secure

IT/IS environment.

In delivering these activities, the Agency will simultaneously

put into play the three institutional drivers of Transformation,

Innovation and Excellence – the deployment of these

improvements will not only have a local impact but

will also elevate the country’s global positioning in

terms of competitiveness, technology readiness and

quality of living.

These are key determinants to enhance Malta’s investment

destination credentials, going forward in an increasingly

global competitive environment.


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72Jointly with the Ministry of Social Policy, develop an e-Health strategy with the provision of

widespread electronic patient-centric services and improvement in the cost-effectiveness of

healthcare services delivery as its core objectives.

73Building on the effective deployment of the core information systems in the ‘Social Policy

and Health Cluster’, implement an e-Health layer of technological services revolving around

electronic patient records at hospital and primary levels.

74Jointly with the Ministry of Education, lead the deployment of new computing equipment in

primary and secondary schools based on the ratio of one computer for every four students.

75Deliver an FttS (Fibre-to-the-School) project, providing real broadband facilities to all

students in Malta and Gozo.

76Lead the development and implementation of a highly engaging e-Learning platform for

primary and secondary school students, aggressively adopting Web 2.0 solutions, allowing

the facility for the development of ancillary applications and solutions interfacing with the

platform to provide specific content and services to students, parents and teachers.

77Implement an Intelligent Transport Management System that comprises a suite of ICT

applications aimed at supporting the business, environmental and societal goals of the

public transport reform led by the transport authorities.

78Develop an open platform to serve as a tool for the proliferation of electronic services

aimed at encouraging and facilitating citizen participation in Government-led consultative

processes.

79Contribute effectively to Government’s policy development process on the deployment

of a nation-wide next generation access infrastructure, providing primary focus on the

exploitation of the network capacity by MITA-driven applications and programmes.

80Partner with KNPD and FITA to extend the best practices adopted in the public sector on

‘accessibility for all’ to the wider national community to ensure that the benefits of the

programmes are adequately accessible to persons with disability too.

81Engage Local Councils, non-governmental organisations and special interest groups to

deliver awareness and educational programmes on the better-living opportunities that can

be derived from the programmes under this Strategic Priority.

82Set up a permanent programme to establish links with third parties and engage in projects

funded by the European Union, with objectives in line with the ICT applications under this

strategic priority.


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Institute the key ICT

strategies, policies and

technological standards

that will direct National and

Governmental ICT priorities

and operations, and use

the established targets to

monitor MITA’s performance.

Work with the key

stakeholders to establish,

monitor and re-calibrate ICT

budget requirements and to

find innovative methods for

a long-term funding of the

ICT priorities.

Develop, operate and

enhance a corporate

information security

setup focused on

business continuity, data

guardianship and effective

governance.

Design and develop a new

Enterprise Data Centre and

a scalable, secure, reliable

and cost-effective ICT

infrastructure to sustain the

long-term IS requirements of

Government.

Continue to provide

enhanced core ICT

Infrastructure Services

which are underlying for

Government’s operations.

Implement Core Information

Systems (including the

replacement of the

Government’s Financial

Management System and

Utilities and Transportation

Systems) which are strategic

and critical for Government

operations and which will

be instrumental for the

continued transformation of

public services.

12 Key Deliverables


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Rollout innovative Corporate

Shared Services (including

Payroll and Human Resource

Management Systems)

across Government as an

enterprise.

Establish a state-of-the-art

next-generation

e-Government platform, and

implement systems, which

will serve to deliver more

citizen-centric services and

an effective platform for

easier interaction between

Government and businesses.

Deploy an innovative

e-Learning platform which

will transform teaching

and learning into an

unprecedented value-added

experience for students,

teachers and parents.

Implement the necessary

infrastructure to enable a

National dissemination of

electronic ID cards that will

allow the secure access to

core information systems

and e-Government services

from multiple points of

delivery.

Implement an e-Health layer

of technological services

that will facilitate the

widespread use of electronic

patient-centric services and

an improvement in the

cost-effectiveness of

healthcare services.

In collaboration with

University, MCAST and

private sector ICT industry,

enable the growth of

the knowledge economy

through a number of

projects to foster the further

growth of an inclusive

information society.

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ProfessionalismWe believe that we should adopt a professional attitude in all of our transactions with clients,

suppliers, employees and management. As an Agency we will cultivate and project a professional

image of transparency and honesty.

The Agency’s Values


Client FocusWe believe that our clients and suppliers are partners in our success. As an Agency we will provide

added-value in all that we do, excellent customer-care and products and services of the highest

quality within an environment of cautious cost-containment.

PeopleWe believe that our people are central to our success. As an Agency we will engender respect for

one another through the management of diversity, we will honour our commitments with our

employees, work co-operatively in the spirit of team work, promote open communication and value

individual ability and equity.

EmpowermentWe believe that our managers are professionals and as such they should be given autonomy to take

decisions that drive the Agency forward. As an Agency we will provide the necessary support for

effective and high-quality decisions where we would be able to exceed our limits in an environment

of complete accountability.

Continuous ImprovementWe believe that we must promote continuous self-improvement and cultivate innovation and

creativity. As an Agency we will encourage life-long learning and on-going development and aim to

develop and harness the potential of our people.

Strategic Plan 2009 - 2012 - MITA Home Strategic... · 2010-06-09 · 3 MITA Strategic Plan...

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