The new Government Transformation Strategy sets out the vision for digital-enabled public services. It covers three broad areas of focus: transforming whole citizen-facing services; department transformation to deliver policy objectives in a flexible way; and internal government transformation to collaborate better and deliver change more effectively. At the ballot boxes we have seen that citizens are expressing their wish for more responsive government and public services. With many services running out of cost-cutting efficiencies the case for more radical, deep digital transformation is stronger than ever. This conference will explore how to reconnect citizens and the state and rethink policy making and service design so that they are closely tied. Public services need to be agile and flexible enough to implement service design as it forms, to back the best solutions not the costly failures, and to be able to adapt to an ever changing and challenging environment.
The vision for digitally-led innovations to join-up people, their data, and the services they use can help to create new opportunities to tackle complex user needs. Alongside the opportunities of the digital age however we have also seen the damage increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks can cause. In May 2017 the largest cyber-attack in NHS history saw ransomware disrupt over 40 hospital trusts. This was followed by a 'sustained and determined' cyber-attacks on Westminster, with MPs unable to access emails. As well as developing services so that they benefit from digital technology it is just as important to guard against the risks. If citizens cannot depend that the information and data they share with services is safe and secure then public trust in what digital transformation can deliver will become increasingly eroded.
Outdated legacy IT systems and technologies are slowing down public sector transformation, a radical shift is required in service provision, collaboration, digital skills and data sharing. At Digital Transformation: Delivering the Vision for Agile, Flexible and Secure Public Services learn how to embed the latest digital solutions and ways of workings in your organisation and help redesign better public services and user outcomes.
The UK digital economy is one of the most developed in the world, worth around £145 billion per year. 71% of adults now have a smartphone and on average, people spend over two hours a day using them, rising to nearly five hours for those aged 16 to 24. More and more smart devices are being connected together, for example in the home and powerful services can now be assembled quickly by joining multiple data sets and commodity components. The digital revolution is transforming society and creating significant economic benefits worldwide, much of which is being driven by the private market. The pace of change is accelerating, raising citizen's expectations that government will apply the same practices and technologies to improve its services.
The UK is seen as a world leader in digital government. Since 2010 The Government Digital Service have established standards and policies to help ensure that digital services work consistently for everyone. This has included cross-government technology services that provided common hosting, networking and best-in-class workplace technology. In 2016 progress was recognised by the United Nations e-government survey which ranked the UK top in the world for both e-government (ensuring public institutions are more inclusive, effective, accountable and transparent) and e-participation (participatory decision-making). The next steps are focused on creating flexible digital infrastructures, and government services that are responsive to changing environments and enabling leaders to iterate, transform and improve existing services in an agile way. The new government transformation strategy makes clear that across operational departments the business change strategy and digital strategy now need to be considered as the same thing. The idea is for government to have an integrated transformation strategy, one enabled by digital practices and technologies.
Innovation in the private sector may highlight opportunities for government, but some of these do not translate directly into public service provision. Services must work for the whole of society - not just the 77% of people who have basic digital skills, but for the 12.6 million adults who don't. People who are the least online are often heavier users of public services, highlighting the need to design services that do not exclude them. A significant proportion of service users may never attain the digital skills to use and access online services without support, because of disabilities or lack of literacy skills. Key barriers to digital transformation include digital skills of staff and citizens, take-up and inclusion, and investment in new ICT projects and services. The Government Transformation Strategy sets out five main areas of work: business transformation; people, skills and culture; tools, processes and governance; better use of data; and platforms, components and business capabilities.
Digital transformation and new approaches can be harnessed to improve outcomes and make our public services more effective, more efficient and ensure they are provided at lower cost to the taxpayer. This conference is designed to explore the latest digital solutions and ways of workings to help meet the critical challenges ahead.
The Government Transformation Strategy and the work GDS is doing to implement its 5 key themes.
Exploring how to create flexible digital infrastructures, so that government services are responsive to changing environments and enabling leaders to iterate, transform and improve existing services in an agile way.
Exploring the keystones of the future digital society, we’ll consider themes including: the evolving dynamic between citizens, non-profits, and the public and private sectors; the nature of these new partnership models, and their potential to disrupt markets, challenge legacy thinking and act as catalysts for break through innovation, and scalable, sustainable change. We’ll also explore some of the key foundational principles that must underpin the delivery of safe, secure and flexible digital public services. Connecting culture, skills, inclusivity and ethical design into the fabric of our future digital society.
Public interest and greater regulation are driving the need for public sector organisations to improve governance. There are many ways to do this but technology is the natural tool for embedding transparency and accountability within an organisation. As the board is responsible for creating a culture of good governance, digitising the board meeting is likely to be the easiest way to set the wheels in motion for improvements in this area. Using examples, David will share how technology has helped other public sector organisations drive better governance as well as increase efficiency, security, compliance and collaboration across the organisation.
Discussing the ShareLab programme which focuses on how collaborative digital platforms can be used for social impact.
When you are faced with all kinds of opportunities for introducing self-service and automation, which services do you start with, and how do you know? How Wiltshire Council is using Systems Thinking to develop and deliver its digital portfolio.
A case study for how Public Health England is starting to use design research and agile to deliver new approaches to public health. This presentation will provide an overview of our approaches to design research and then focus on two key areas of public health, childhood weight management and mental health, to look at how it has worked in reality.
Digital transformation can help absorb this increased demand without incurring costs with more accurate, faster responses and help drive efficient signposting of preventative services. A key benefit is ultimately improved outcomes, allowing front-line staff and professionals to freed-up to concentrate on more complex service user needs.
Digital technology can be an effective tool or a catalyst for service transformation but key to any successful change is the right culture, skills and people to make it happen.
When the Agile Business Consortium and APMG set out to develop the new Agile Digital Services handbook and accredited training course they made the decision to use an Agile approach. This might seem obvious, but writing and training development have been carried out in a waterfall fashion for too long. Lead author Peter Stansbury will take you along the Agile journey, highlighting the lessons learned, how the approach helped, and demonstrating some of the wider application opportunities for Agile.
America Square Conference & Events Centre brings together the contemporary with the uniquely historic in bright, innovative spaces located in the heart of the City of London's Square Mile. The historic Roman London Wall runs through the venue providing a memorable backdrop to conferences, where delegates can enjoy presentations, mingle with exhibitors and enjoy a hot lunch in a secure, self-contained suite of rooms.
