A big year for elections – and for innovation in government

This year, more voters around the world than ever before are heading to the polls. More than 60 countries (plus the European Union) – representing a combined population of around half the world’s people – are scheduled to hold national elections in 2024.

Against this backdrop, the work of governments everywhere has never been more important, and more in the spotlight.

In part, this is because of the elections, and the competing ideas for governing that they highlight and test.

But it is also because, I think, the scale and complexity of the challenges that governments are grappling with are among the defining themes of our generation.

How do we decarbonise our economy in the race to limit climate change? How do we respond to a darkening geopolitical climate? How do we harness technology in ways that benefit people and communities? How do we manage demographic shifts and new patterns of migration? How do we meet increasing demands for public services when low growth seems to be a feature of the modern global economy.

Another factor that sharpens the challenge for governments is that citizens now have heightened expectations that governments can and should act to improve their lives.

Governments took decisive action during the Covid-19 pandemic to subsidise people’s jobs, businesses and livelihoods, while rolling out complex vaccination programs.

They also moved exceptionally quickly to deliver some public services digitally, when previously they had only been provided in person.

People have seen what governments can achieve. And – although they don’t necessarily want government to be bigger – they do want it to be better at delivery.

For example, a survey of government CIOs in the United States revealed that 94% saw a surge in demand for digital services that was directly related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A set of generation-defining challenges combines with a heightened sense of expectation. How are governments to respond?

The good news is that governments have tools that they can use. Some of this century’s trends have prepared the ground for innovation in the public sector.

In the year 2000, just 5% of the world’s population used the internet. Now, two-thirds of our 8.1 billion people are online.

In the EU, the percentage of populated areas with 5G network coverage increased from 14% of households in 2021 to 82% last year.

Then there’s the explosion in the amount of data created – with 90% of the data the world has today generated in the last two years alone.

This expansion of technology, connectivity and data allows us to reimagine how we provide services to citizens.

But these capabilities can only provide an answer to governments’ challenges if they are applied in innovative ways to address real-life problems: to better manage public finances so there is enough money to invest in public services and programs; to help fund, speed up and manage infrastructure projects; to help decarbonize our economy; to make public services more responsive and personal.

It is crucial that public sector departments and agencies come together in this moment to share, debate and refine ideas about how to innovate – so that the organisations themselves, and the services they provide, are improved for the benefit of citizens.

This is why I am looking forward to travelling to London on March 19-20 to take part in the Government Innovation 2024 conference.

I am delighted that EY is platinum sponsor of the event, which is organised by the Global Government Forum and co-hosted by the UK government.

Public sector leaders from around the world will gather to explore innovation in areas such as service delivery, skills, AI, sustainability, and digital and data.

The connections made at Innovation 2024 will mean that ideas, knowledge and best practices are shared across borders.

And this can only accelerate the process of successful innovation that will lead to better services for people and communities around the world.

Click here for more details of the conference and here to register.