Transformation in Government: unlock, don’t overhaul

Three years on since the British Government released an updated National Data Strategy in December 2020, digital transformation continues to sit high on the agenda. In particular, how to ensure it delivers strategic value has been cited as a criteria that’s of most importance throughout the public sector. This is just one of the challenges we uncovered in our new report Unlocking 'Digital Advantage' in Government.

Although technology innovation, ability to innovate and acceleration of digital skills have all been sitting high on the priority list amongst government decision makers, it seems that there are still challenging barriers to progress. So, what can be done to help change course where needed and deliver smarter, faster ways to adapt existing technologies? Perhaps most importantly, how can Government ensure that intelligent data sits at the heart of everything?

But the questions don’t stop there. Agility and productivity are buzzwords you’ll hear on a daily basis if you work in digital transformation. In Government - amidst skills shortages, budget constraints and concerns over strategic leadership - how can this be achieved?

Pushing for change

There’s no doubt the public sector wants to drive digital advantage to unlock greater efficiencies and insights. In our recent research report, 80% of those we spoke to said this was “crucial” or “very important” to their organisation to improve efficiencies and citizen services. In fact, failure to optimise technology investments already made could have a serious knock-on, negative effect for the government and even hamper Whitehall’s ability to solve key societal challenges.

Despite the challenges, there are four key steps to drive progress and unlock digital advantage:

1. Improve cross-sector collaboration, especially with SMEs, in order to tap into a wider pool of talent and digital innovation
2. Break down informational silos across ecosystems to make more intelligent use of data and enhance agility
3. Increase access to STEM talent by working closely with the education sector to create a pipeline of skilled professionals, and providing a more meaningful career path for existing workers
4. Focus on smaller, more frequent iterative advances to meet grander organisational goals

The key point to remember with all this is that implementing meaningful change doesn’t have to involve completely overhauling systems and processes. Instead, the focus should be unlocking new insights and capabilities that can contribute to a more intelligent, data-driven operation.

Half of the respondents we spoke to believe their organisation can be “completely mature” in a decade’s time. The timeline could be faster still if they’re able to leap the bureaucratic roadblocks that so often slow government innovation. Ultimately, the prize on offer is too big to ignore. According to one estimate, there could be a £100bn dividend for the public sector if it’s able to unlock data insights to improve problem solving and decision making.  What happens next will be crucial.

For more insight into our findings and recommendations, the full report is available to download here: Unlocking 'Digital Advantage' in Government.