Digitising government is a team game
Insights from Paul James’ keynote at the Innovate Aotearoa Showcase 2024.
Digital government services
- Delivering user-centric, innovative and trusted digital government services is integral to a more efficient and effective public service.
- Enabling digital technologies is better for business, government and most importantly for New Zealanders.
These were 2 of many insights that Paul James, Secretary of the Department of Internal Affairs and Government Chief Digital Officer made during his keynote speech at the Innovate Aotearoa Showcase .
“We’ve been on the journey of digitising government in the New Zealand public service. We’ve made really good progress. We don’t always stop to recognise that, but we do need to do more — especially around providing a consistent and coherent user experience of digital government.”
Driving digital transformation
New Zealanders’ satisfaction with digital government is relatively high, Paul noted. The Public Service Commission’s Kiwis Count survey recently found that people who exclusively used digital channels had higher levels of satisfaction than those using non-digital or mixed channels.
Kiwis Count: Providing insights on public services — Public Service Commission
Paul pointed out New Zealand’s level of digitisation of government services is comparable to the UK, Australia and Canada — “however, access to digital services is still very agency-centric, not customer-centric”.
“Channels are organised around agencies, not citizens. We’ve struggled to make progress on integrating services across agencies and around customers. There’s a real opportunity for innovation here.”
Unified customer service experience
One of the primary goals is to provide a seamless, unified customer service experience across all government services. This requires consistent adoption of digital standards, robust digital foundations, and interoperable systems that work together to serve the public efficiently.
As Paul noted, public service agencies need to recognise they’re just one touch-point for citizens among many others. Given this interconnection, digital government is a team game, and we’ll all benefit if agencies continue to work together.
The Minister’s priorities for digitising government
Paul reiterated the points made by the Minister for Digitising Government Hon Judith Collins KC MP in her opening address to this conference.
The Minister’s focus on delivering modern digital services supported by strong digital foundations includes:
- customer service experience
- reusable digital components
- digital foundations
- digital investment
- digital identity
- artificial intelligence (AI).
Service Modernisation Roadmap
A significant step forward is the All-of-Government Service Modernisation Roadmap. Over a 3-year horizon, the roadmap sets out high-impact digital initiatives that will contribute on our journey towards a ‘unified customer service experience’.
An example of such an initiative is the FormBuilder Tool on the MBIE Business Connect Platform. This tool will help government departments and local authorities create simpler and more consistent digital forms, making it easier for businesses to interact with government.
Delivering digital applications for government funding and grants
Investing in digital innovation
Paul also highlighted the need for deliberate digital investment in the current economy. Government agencies must break out of silos and invest jointly in interoperable platforms to achieve better value for money and enhance the overall customer experience.
The strategic direction for digital investment involves using investment pipeline data to inform decisions, encouraging collaboration and investing in standardised digital assets.
“An example of the support we’re providing is work we’ve got around Back-Office Digital Transformation. This will require the core public service agencies to, over time, align their back-office systems with common business rules and processes. We’re starting with a focus on finance systems.”
Role of artificial intelligence
“AI is an exciting opportunity. Most New Zealanders are deeply interested in it. It’s going to play a growing and disruptive role in the delivery of public services.”
“It is about utility. What’s the value here to customers? And let’s not forget the discipline and capabilities of doing digital well. The things that help us do digital well are the things that help us do AI well.”
As the Public Service lead for AI, Paul encouraged agencies to pilot, trial and experiment with AI. He is keen to see AI uptake and innovation, while noting the importance of embedding security, privacy and other protections.
By leveraging AI and other digital and data-driven technologies, government agencies can tailor services to meet the specific needs of individuals, communities and businesses. This personalised and targeted approach can ensure that services are relevant and easily accessible.
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