(as at 31 August 2008)

To cope with the significant IT demand and workload, the OGCIO has also engaged contract staff services through the use of term "body-shopping" contracts. At present, there are 1245 contract staff services of different professional categories engaged in this manner, of which 16% are engaged by the OGCIO and the rest by IT Management Units in other government bureaux and departments.

Separate arrangements for the acquisition of professional services have also been made to further enhance the Office's ability to meet the increasing demand for IT services. Under these arrangements, the contractor is required to complete assignments which could range from a short study to the development of a large-scale system. The contractor is also required to provide a programme management service to ensure that the planning, deployment and management of human resources are organised in a coherent manner to maximise their responsiveness to the diversified demands for IT services.