User:Surrey2011/Philip Virgo

Philip Virgo (born London, 24th November 1946): Chairman of the UK Conservative Technology Forum in October 2011 - March 2014.

For over 30 years he has been a leading thinker, influencer and campaigner and, since 2007, blogger helping shape IT and Comms policy and awareness by all UK political parties to improve UK public service delivery .

• 1994-2011 First Secretary-General of EURIM (created as the European Digital Single Market Group and later re-launched as the Information Society Alliance)
• Co-founder and organiser of the Parliamentary Information Technology Committee (1981-2005)
• Principle Consultant, National Computing Centre 1982 – 6: Helped formulate national UK policies in IT Skills, and End User computing.
• Founding Director, Federation Against Software Theft
• Co-author of the Conservative Party policy studies for the 1979 election

Personal

Son of Ernest Virgo (Civil Servant who introduced Charollais cattle to UK and in retirement secured refund of £250 million of illegally claimed VAT taxes to voluntary sports clubs ).

Education and Training

Philip Virgo, MA, MSc, MBCS, MIDPM, MIM, FRSA was a London County Council Scholar at Dulwich College and an Exhibitioner at Peterhouse College Cambridge reading History with Brian Wormald as his Director of Studies and Maurice Cowling as his Tutor.

In 1968 he joined the Royal Naval Reserve as a ship's radio operator. He had a narrow escape when he had to drop out of his qualifying cruise on HMS Fittleton (M1136): his replacement was trapped in the radio office when the ship capsized.

In 1973 he gained an MSc from the London Business School where his supervisors included Charles Handy.

In 1975 he attended trade union ASTMS courses on negotiation. .

Professional

In 1968 he joined Standard Telephones and Cables Microwave and Line Division transferring from 1969-1977 to public sector planning and policy roles at ICL. In spring 1977 he moved to the Wellcome Foundation’s group corporate planning directorate, planning, reviewing and vetting major (£50 million plus) projects and investments in over 50 countries.

In 1982 he joined the National Computing Centre (NCC) where he set up a Technology Assessment Service, headed the NCC Microsystems Centre and End-User Computing activities, and developed national IT skills policy. He left the NCC in 1986, but maintained links through his company Winsafe Ltd where he helped lead national UK IT training initiatives and the Women into IT campaign (1988-1992).

From 1993 – 96 he served as a specialist advisor to the House of Common Information Committee inquiries into the computing needs of MPs and of Parliament and how they might be funded and organised

In 1993 he became Strategic Advisor to the Institute of Data Processing Management (later renamed the Institute for the Management of Information Systems) looking at the issues that affected IT managers world-wide, and in 1994, and until 2011) became founding Secretary General of EURIM, the Information Society Alliance.

In 1995 he was asked to brief the Shadow Chancellor, Gordon Brown on the economic and skills implications of Y2K - his 1996 IT Skills Trend report “The End is Nigh” contained the analyses and recommendations requested.

Among the major exercises he organised at EURIM were the study into Partnership Policing (from 2003 – 6), the scrutiny of the legislation to create Ofcom and of the UK proposals for ID cards.

In 2006 he was Chairman of the Real Time Club for its 40th Anniversary.

He was a founder member of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists, a City of London livery company.

Political

He joined the Orpington Young Liberals in 1964 and then Cambridge University Conservative Association (CUCA) in 1965. After graduation he was active with Young Conservative groups and the Bow Group where he set up a study group on the need for a government policy to support of an indigenous computer industry.

That Bow Group study team evolved to become the Conservative Computer Forum (January 1978) with Michael Spicer as President and Philip Virgo as chairman whose publication “Chasing the Chips” , helped form the Conservative IT Policy draft for the 1979 election. The Conservative Computer Forum became an all-party group which merged with the All-Party IT Committee to form PITCOM in January 1981.

In 2007 he started a blog, hosted by Computer Weekly: “When IT Meets Politics”.

In June 2011, became Executive Chairman of the Conservative Technology Forum with a remit to organise policy teams on the technology related issues for the UK Coalition Government to address. Retired in March 2014 after completion of three year term but remained Vice Chairman (Policy Studies).

Publications

• 2008 Why do we never learn: Transformation The National School of Government
• 2007 When IT Meets Politics – Blog hosted by Computer Weekly
• 2001 Business Computing – the Second 50 Years (The Leo Foundation)
• 1996 The End is High 1996 – 2001 IT Skills Trends Report (IDPMS and Computer Weekly 500 Club)
• 1995 Riding the Whirlwind: 1995 IT Skills Trends Report (Institute of Data Processing Management and Computer Weekly 500 Club)
• 1994 The Gathering Storm: 1994 IT Skills Trends Report (Institute of Data Processing Management, Computer Weekly 500 Club and Women in IT Foundation)
• 1993 The Nightmare Unfolds: 1993 IT Skills Trends Report (Women into IT Foundation)
• 1992 Training for Jobs not just Jobs for Trainers (The Bow Group)
• 1987 The IT Skills Crisis: A prescription for Action (National Computing Centre)
• 1984 No End of Jobs (Conservative Political Centre) with Michael Marshall and Charles Christian.
• 1983 Learning for Change (The Bow Group (also published as “Training for Multi-Career Lives” in “Intelligent Systems: the Unprecedented Opportunity”, edited J E Hayes and D Michie, Ellis Horwood)
• 1981 The Big Steal – the Computerisation of PAYE
• 1979 Cashing in on the Chips (Conservative Political Centre)