Working in the open – digital government in the U.K. in 2024
This week, I co-chaired the first meeting of the digital advisory board that was recently set up in DSIT.
The group is made up of 12 people with a broad spectrum of different experiences. who have been asked to help the government make better use of technology across the public sector.
Among the things we will be considering are – what a 10 year vision for digital government might be, how public services can be made better for citizens and how to build an amazing talent pool.
In the original letter sent to me, the motivation for such a group was to “advise on international and industry best practice, to ensure we are being as ambitious
and future-thinking as possible”.
It’s a funny moment for me. 10 years ago I had just stopped working in government, having helped create the government digital service and gov.uk. A decade on there is still much to do in order to realise the full potential of a modern Britain powered by good technology.
One of the things I learnt from the team I worked with all that time ago, is the importance of working in the open and telling people what you’re up to. I think that this philosophy has been lost a little over the last few years, so over the next few months, I’m going to try and write about what our new group is doing.
What were my main takeaways from our first meeting?
Firstly it was a pleasure to be in the room with so many expert voices. We have industry, academia, policy and practitioners represented. I struggle to think of a conversation on this agenda I have been part of, that has been more nuanced or thoughtful. There are still plenty of opportunities for us to stray off course, but I feel very confident with the brain power of those who are committed to the work and showing up to help. Among the themes that we touched on were partnership, open data, inclusion, procurement, health, governance and the role of innovation.
Secondly, the civil service team have already done a great deal of work and are quite rightly focusing on outcomes not outputs and relatively speedy timelines. We are hoping to have announcements of progress by Christmas and completion of work mid next year.
Finally, as with everything, I am mindful of how the storytelling of this project is going to be vital. I am sure that the amassed firepower will make good technological choices for citizens but it is going to be very important we keep the political leadership engaged at the highest level – I’m looking at you Sir Keir – and the same has to also be true within the public sector. This work cannot sit in one department, it has to be a joined up part of the story of what we want our country to become over the next decade.
Let’s go!
