Bob Crooks - Green ICT Programme Leader, DEFRA
Bob has worked in public sector IT since starting his career back in 1975. On leaving York University with a degree in Physics and Philosophy, he trained as a programmer with MAFF and went on to run its programmer training school. He became a systems designer and trained as a PROMPT/PRINCE project manager. He was then sponsored by the department to attend the LSE Information Systems Management and Design MSc course, and on his return worked on developing and implementing IT strategies for the Intervention Board, and Plant Varieties and Seeds, before tackling the development of MAFF's IT strategies in the late 1980s.
In 1993 he moved to Fisheries where he headed up their Business Services unit providing finance, IT, project management and personnel services. He returned to mainstream IT work as a Business Relationship Manager as part of the Intelligent Customer function tackling the difficult transition involved in DEFRA's outsource of its IT services to IBM. Recently he has been involved in the provision of IT services to support the DEFRA Renew programme, moving the department from a hierarchical structure to one based on programmes and projects.
A Project Manager by trade, he is now leading the Green ICT programme for DEFRA and its Executive Agencies. This is seeking to reduce DEFRA's IT carbon footprint and, by evolving working practices, to make better use of Information and Communication Technologies to help reduce the energy consumption of other activities and services within the department, e.g. by reducing the need for paper, business travel and office space. He represents DEFRA on the HMG CIO/CTO Council's Green ICT Development Unit that developed the HMG Green ICT strategy launched by the Cabinet Office Minister Tom Watson in July 2008, and is Chair of the new BCS Green IT Specialist Group, contributing to the BCS development of Green IT qualifications and guidance materials for BCS members on Green issues.
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