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Strategic Direction and Guidance 

Document code: Security level: Effective date: ICT Governance 

PRO-0027.06 Internal 15/01/2019 

ECHA’s IT work is an integral part of implementing the Agency’s mission and achieving its strategic business goals. The governing regulations (REACH, CLP, BPR and PIC at the time of writing) form the legislative foundation for using IT as the basis for legislative tasks and for supporting ECHA’s operations. T he key guiding strategic documents for the IT work are the Single Programming Document  (SPD)  covering the period from year N (the ongoing year) to year N+2, the annual IT Master Plan  (as part of the SPD) and the Target IT Enterprise Architecture  document covering the years N to N+2. 

In a largely digitalised Agency, information technology is also key to implementing compliance to some of ECHA’s policies, especially what comes to security, data protection, transparency and information management policies. In this regard, ECHA’s internal policies  are also key guiding documents giving direction and priorities to IT work. 

The Agency Key Performance Indicators  (KPI), as set in the SPD, are also one of the important drivers for the IT work. 

Initiation and Closure of IT Investments 

Proposals for new IT investments are of strategic nature and therefore presented for discussion and approval in the IT DPB (Directors’ IT Programme Board), which is the key strategic decision making body for IT in the Agency. When approved, these proposals may result in a combination of new IT Products, changes to existing IT Products, new IT Services, and / or changes to existing IT Services. 

One of the Directorates (normally Business) initiates an IT investment proposal in the form of an IT Investment Vision document. The Directorate of Information Systems and the ExO / R1 Evaluation Coordination Function (ECF) support Business in the preparation of the Vision. 

The IT Investment Vision concentrates on the business case and describes, amongst other things, the business need, business benefits, the overall IT solution encompassing the Products and Services to be created, as well as the impacts on existing Products and Services. 

The IT Investment Vision can outline a Product Roadmap to be implemented by more than one project and, as requested by the Financial Regulations applicable to ECHA, an indicative estimation of the lifetime cost of the products and services covered by the Vision (the so called “ex ante” analysis). If later the IT Investm ent Vision changes in a significant way, an updated Vision will be submitted to the IT DPB for approval. 

Decommissioning of current products and services is a strategic decision and therefore discussed and decided in the IT DPB. A Vision document can propose such decommissioning as part of the implementation of the Vision. 

One of the tasks of the IT DPB is to ensure that the IT work in general, and specifically proposals for both initiation and closure of IT investments, are in line with the strategic direction and guidance. 

