Is the UK still a digital powerhouse?
Mohammad J Sear
Digital Gov. & Public Sector Consulting Leader, Middle East and Africa (MENA) at EY
For many years, "digital government" was the punchline to a joke that wasn't really funny. People who were trying to deal with government departments used their phones or sent letters rather than experience the trouble of going online. But as technology progressed, governments started using different tools to make the interaction faster, more efficient, and intuitive.
The UK Government has been one of the most digitally advanced in the world. They've developed gov.uk and opened its code, allowing other governments to replicate it as well. This portal is based on the principle "build once and reuse," which has become one of the world's most popular concepts for service provision. The Government Digital Service (GDS) has been one of the leaders in digital transformation, and local authorities have also expanded digitally with various initiatives, from chatbots to AI and responsive web chats.?
Making revolution, not evolution
The Government Digital Service (GDS) was established in response to Martha Lane Fox's report, 'Directgov 2010 and beyond: revolution not evolution. It became the central team in the Cabinet Office in control of the overall user experience across all digital channels. Some of the responsibilities of the GDS include:
That GDS team was set up in 2011 with a brief from the then Cabinet Office minister, Francis Maude, to haul the public service into the digital age. This was a good start for the digital transformation of the government. The new website, gov.uk, was way cheaper than its predecessors and even won design of the year. Some new online services were introduced, such as setting up a power of attorney, and booking prison visits, among many others really made a mark among citizens. Some entrepreneurs even described GDS as "the best startup in Europe'. Then, five years after the team started, the UK led the entire world in digital government, according to the UN. Many other governments took note and tried to replicate their efforts and results.
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What made GDS successful was that it realised that it wasn't about changing websites but about changing the government. The digital team saw that some public services were being developed separately by public organisations without considering what people needed. And, this was done at a high cost to the public purse making systems harder to use. By 2015, GDS had rebuilt some of these common components to be reused across the entire public sector. The team wanted to give everyone an incentive to raise the game; that's why they published patterns and code.
In February 2017, the country launched a new digital transformation strategy for the 2017-2020 period, complemented by a solid legal framework. It ensured that all citizens had access to e-Government services with personalised digital identities while highlighting the importance of protecting their data privacy. In 2019, the government published the Technology Innovation Strategy - a roadmap for government innovation. And in that same year, GDS and the Office for Artificial Intelligence (OAI) of the UK published guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in the public sector.
Concerns about the future
Despite many successes of the UK's government in digitalisation, it seems like its purpose has drifted. The GDS - once respected by all departments - is now peripheral, and many of its responsibilities have been curbed. Several international reports have also noticed this. For instance, in 2020, the UN announced that the UK had slipped to seventh in its world e-government rankings, falling six places in only four years. While according to the 2020 DESI index, it ranks eighth out of the 28 EU Member States, falling three places behind from a year before. The government needs to update its government services, addressing some legacy issues, the lack of experts and professionals, and the many cybersecurity and privacy challenges. While GDS did something else that no other team had done before, it still needs to create services that work for everyone and are safe, functional and accessible. If the UK wants to be a leading digital government again, it needs a digital team that can disrupt it self and lead with purpose driven innovation.
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Agree with this: I'd started signalling concerns way back here: https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Searching-for-the-signal-of-open-standards-amid-the-growing-noise-of-agile... and here: https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Government-as-a-platform-or-a-platform-for-government-Which-are-we-getting Not sure I yet understand that things are changing for the better but let's see how Tom Read gets on in his new post, and how effectively he works with Joanna Davidson...
Métier for Transforming Businesses | Management Consultant | Strategy Expert | 2x Startup Founder | 20+ years of management exp.
3 年In many respects yes it is.