After months of industry debate and speculation, Hong Kong finally appointed its first government CIO in February, U.K.-born Howard Dickson, who earned his stripes in Canada"s e-government circles. Computerworld Hong Kong"s Sheila Lam met with the new Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) GCIO to talk about his view of the local IT industry and the Hong Kong e-government vision.

CWHK: There were concerns within the industry about having an overseas expert as Hong Kong"s GCIO. What are the advantages, as you see them, of having an expat take up this position?

Howard Dickson (HD): I was reading some of the questions the industry had about this position in your publication. In terms of the personality required for the position, I found myself comfortable with most of the comments. For those who think we need a local technical person as GCIO, I obviously don"t fit. As to why the appointment of GCIO went to somebody like me, I believe it"s because of my passion to understand business problems. I think what this position should be doing is to identify opportunities for change and initiate improvements. Not being local, I"m not so deeply "programmed" into the "right" way of doing things.

Nevertheless, there"s often a requirement to give up some stability for change. This position needs to strike the right balance.

At this government I see many people who are on the right path and are ready to make progress. I see the GCIO as a helping hand and resource for these executives as they fight for change.

CWHK: You grew up in the UK and worked in Canada. How did you end up moving to Hong Kong?

HD: Every change involves an adjustment. Despite commonality in language, when I first moved from the UK to Canada, I immediately discovered many differences. Very big cars, wide-open spaces, everything seemed big.

I"ve worked in a number of cities and provinces of Canada, and each one of them involved adjustments. In the Department of National Defence, I had the honor to be their first CIO and also the first member of the Defence Management Committee to be neither a civil servant nor a military officer.

Six years later, after I finished the second term with the military, I started my consulting business in other areas of government and soon I found myself talking with the Hong Kong SAR Government. So here I am.

Hong Kong is obviously a fascinating high-energy city with a high population density. Certain things are easier, but some are more difficult. But as I go through the transition, I realize this is another government situation.

CWHK: What do you see as the major challenges for Hong Kong"s first GCIO?

HD: A CIO will get it wrong when he or she becomes too technology-driven. I think the challenge we face here is how to transform the organization and make it citizen-centric.This is not an easy challenge, because senior executives are extremely busy people who tend not to have any spare budget. Many find their most talented and communicative folks are assigned to existing commitments. So when we come along and say "please invest in e-government," we are asking for money, people, and time. These are the three components that are most scarce for senior officials, and they need a good reason to invest them differently.

We have the Digital 21 Strategy and my role is to ensure its completion. The approach that has worked for me is to understand the challenges of the senior colleagues, instead of just getting to their doors and offering new solutions and widgets. Unless they know that they are talking with somebody that understands their challenges, we will not have earned their confidence. Only by relating to their business priorities and indicating how e-government might help address their challenges, will they support change. That"s the way for e-government to move quickly.

Although we have an online version equivalent to most of our government transactions and services, what we have neither integrated those services nor made their processes truly citizen-centric. There are organizational and attitude changes ahead of us-the path is steep.

CWHK: So you see yourself as having more of a consulting role within the government?

HD: Well, if you have time constraints, direction is very much required. Let me give you an example: when I was with the Department of Defence, we had only six months to change the entire payroll system within the military in time for Year 2000. To succeed within those parameters, we had to be very direct.

Occasionally, when time is of the essence, you do not have the luxury to be as consultative as you might wish. It is important to be ready and know when to switch gears.

CWHK: In a certain sense, budget means power. What budget will you have control over?

HD: Some people seem to be pondering whether this job will have enough power and budget. I have a budget to carry on the existing Digital 21 strategy.

But my observation is that significant change requires significant support. Nobody is printing money. On any new initiative, I will have to get our colleagues to agree this is a priority.

I don"t see any constraint in budget at all, because the only way to get those funds is to get a wide base of support. I don"t know any other way.

I feel pragmatic about this role. The more assistance and understanding my colleagues sense they are getting from this office, the more influence we will have.