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The growing importance of digital in government – are you ready for the challenge?

Yvonne Gallagher | Information and Digital Team | July 2013

Digital governance | 2

Our role

The National Audit Office (NAO) scrutinises public spending for Parliament

We help to hold government departments and the bodies we audit to account for how they use public money

Our work helps public service managers to improve performance and service delivery, nationally and locally

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Background

• Government published its digital strategy in November 2012 • It established 11 principles for departments to conform to as

they transform their services to digital by default • The main objective is to provide user-focused, cost effective

and maintainable digital services that enable central government to maintain quality of public services whilst reducing their cost and reducing manpower

• The move to digital channels is a fundamental shift for many departments

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Source: McKinsey

Definition of Digital Enterprise

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Source: McKinsey

The next 10 industries set to ‘go digital’

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Companies are focusing on digital at the highest levels focusing on how to :

• Increase pace and frequency of key decision making, setting specific digital targets, use of agile

• Reshape business portfolios, re-evaluating business and assets in digital context

• Investment at scale – alignment of investment quantum and focus to value, build of platforms not point solutions

• Upgrade digital capabilities across the entire value chain to deliver seamless experience that customers now expect, transform processes end-to-end

• Nurture digital talent; establish digital leader; infuse fresh talent and mindset; protect scarce skills set (IT architects)

• Address Cyber threats growing within the digital landscape

Digital trends occurring outside of Whitehall

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Government is starting the journey, but there are other challenges:

• Budget pressures and investment constraints

• Civil Service reform

• An extensive legacy ICT installed base

• A vast range of services and customers

• Cultural challenges

• An increasing cyber risk

• Government making changes to the way it manages ICT:

• Strategies published in the core areas of ICT including digital strategy; use of SMEs and agile developments prioritised; quicker more centralised procurement; stronger central governance

Government’s changes in line withchanges in wider context

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Operational performance

Resourcing andInvestment commitment

Expectations of Digital Services

Governance, accountability,

ownership

Change management

Risk management

Business structure

Culture

Digital Services

Key business factors identified as having potential impact on the effectiveness of digital services

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Using an agile approach for digital transformationFour principles of governance for Agile delivery

National Audit Office, Governance for Agile delivery, July 2012

Assessors have high-end

delivery experience

Observation is main method of evidence

collection

External assessment focus on teams’

behaviours not just processes and

documentation

Light touch and proactive

Focused on activity underway and value of products & services

Mirror the Agile philosophy – only do

it if it brings value and does not

introduce delays

Senior managers

agree quality of service

upfront

User involvement in assuring value

Everyone is a collaborator in

delivering quality

Fail fast learn quickly

Improve certaintyteam have on quality they will produce

Delivery teams select empirical

performance metrics and self monitor

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• Digital transformation has huge implications for value-for-money in delivering public services; it will be a feature of what we have to assure for many years

• Assessing the progress from a governance perspective is an important first step

• To maintain the wider perspective in the cyber, digital and ICT arena, it is important that we have good knowledge and understanding of what is happening in this area in departments

• It reinforces our commitment to help government with the digital agenda and putting users first

Why should the NAO look at digital governance?

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• We have reviewed leading industry frameworks and brought together current thinking to develop an analytical framework

• We have updated it to include digital features and highlight cyber risk

• With clearer paths to evidence to look for regarding emerging digital thinking and action

How we will do it: our analytical framework

Organisation

analysis

Financial and performance

analysis

Enterprise analysis

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To fully identify and describe the components of the organisation under examination and define the scope of the study

Organisation

analysis

To fully identify and describe key organisation financial and performance information

Financial and performance

analysis

To assess the ability of the organisation to plan, implement and manage digital services

Enterprise analysis

Our framework approach

Current Planned Evidence

1. Vision and Strategy 5 3 HCurrent Planned Evidence

2. Governance and Architectures 4 2 MCurrent Planned Evidence

3. Change and Implementation 3 1 LCurrent Planned Evidence

4. Service and Performance Management 2 2 HCurrent Planned Evidence

5. People 1 3 MCurrent Planned Evidence

6. Process 2 4 LCurrent Planned Evidence

7. Technology 3 5 H

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Benefits of the framework approach

• It aids engagement, many departments already adopt this perspective

• Helps develop an understanding of organisation perspective

• Provides a framework for consistent and comprehensive analysis

• Supports repeatable and cross government comparison

• Enables a deeper operational view of how services are delivered

• Allows an assessment against good practice

Organisation

analysis

Financial and performance

analysis

Enterprise analysis

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We reviewed five major Central Government Shared Services, representing c.50% of central government.

We highlighted challenges, and analysed how they have been commissioned, and how well government performed as a customer.

Source: NAO report ‘Efficiency and reform in government corporate functionsthrough shared service centres’ 7 March 2012, http://www.nao.org.uk/shared-services-2012

An example of cross-government comparison:Efficiency and reform in government corporate functionsthrough shared service centres

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Our studies this year will include…

• Reviews of how well departments are positioned to increase the delivery of their services digitally in accordance with the government digital strategy, by examining their digital governance

• Consideration of governance, the over-arching management arrangement to support the move to digital services

• Reviews of business, ICT and cyber activity, looking at departments’ ability to embrace the digital agenda on a ‘whole business’ basis

• Examination of departments’ ability to bring the digital strategy and other strategies together in a cohesive way

• A review of the digital exemplars

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And we will deliver a range of outputs in 2013-14

• A series of presentations outlining the organisational landscape of selected departments

• Detailed organisational analysis

• Assessment of capability of organisation to govern digital services and transformation enabling cross government comparative analysis

• Highlights of Gaps / Risks / Issues

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