The Resources of the CDO
The Chief Digital Officer is provided with essential resources crucial for accomplishing their responsibilities, including:
- Human resources
- Financial resources
- Tools and technologies
Human resources:
The Chief Digital Officer is supported by various IT specialists. The CDO of a sector has a team composed of Business Analysts, Senior software developers, Network specialist, System Administration Specialist, developers, Database Administration Specialist, IT Help Desk Officer. The provision of the different profiles in terms of number largely depends on the needs, the size and the organisation of the particular sector. Also, there is a need to add specific IT talents such as cyber security experts, data engineers, devOps and data scientists. Such new positions can be hired as contractual, outsourced, or directly added to the existing structure in the future.
Financial resources:
Each sector's IT department has two distinct types of budgets available, tailored to the sector's priorities and budget constraints:
- Operational Budget: This budget is allocated for acquiring, maintaining, and updating the IT infrastructure within the sector. It covers expenses related to hardware, software, networking, and ongoing maintenance to ensure smooth and efficient IT operations.
- Development Projects Budget: This budget is designated for digital transformation initiatives aimed at enhancing and modernizing the sector through digital solutions. It funds projects that drive innovation, improve digital capabilities, and support the sector's strategic objectives.
The Chief Digital Officer (CDO) is responsible for the entire budgeting process. This includes:
- Budget Planning: The CDO meticulously plans both the operational and development projects budgets, aligning them with the sector’s strategic priorities and goals.
- Submission: The CDO submits the detailed budget proposals to both the sector leadership and the Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA) for review and approval.
- Management: Once the budgets are approved, the CDO oversees the allocation and expenditure of funds, ensuring that the budget is used efficiently and effectively to achieve the intended outcomes.
By managing these budgets, the CDO ensures that each sector can maintain its IT infrastructure while also pursuing transformative digital projects that enhance its performance and service delivery.
Tools and technologies:
In terms of tools, some tools are developed or acquired by RISA and made available to IT teams in the public sector.
The reader can refer to the Standards, Methodologies, tools and technologies in the section 4 of this Handbook to learn more about this topic.