Tag Archives: channel shift

Gov.uk beta site launched

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By Martha Lane Fox

gov-uk screenshot

gov.uk

Late last night gov.uk launched – I urge you to have a look and give feedback to the team. It’s a beta site but it is an indication of how much change is happening in central government. I started working on the way central govt uses websites in 2010 and with the help of Transform wrote a report calling for a revolution in how government thinks about the Internet . We tried to shift the emphasis onto us, the user, by asking for simpler, more open, cheaper and more beautiful website design.

After the establishment of the Government Digital Service and the installation of Mike Bracken as Executive Director of digital these ideas are now becoming a reality. There is a long way to go but it would be easy to underestimate the sea change without knowing the amount of talent being built up and the plans ahead. Mike has recruited a band of warriors to help including Tom Loosemore, Mark o’Neil and Felicity Singleton and I am so proud of my small role in their work.  Have a look at the cabinet office blog and please get involved – all of these services get better when we all help improve them.

The prize is big – massive savings, more people online and the UK in a world leading position.

Channel Shift in the Public Sector

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""With ever increasing demand on the public sector to increase efficiency while maintaining high standards of customer service, don’t miss your chance to attend ‘Channel Shift in the Public Sector’, a Capita conference focusing on the challenges and benefits of moving towards ‘Digital by Default’.

Taking place this Friday, the conference will highlight emerging and established best practice in the management and provision of multiple channel service delivery, including social media, while also tackling the critical issue of promoting our agenda in communities and the variety of models for successful channel integration.

The best bit?  Race Online 2012 MD Leigh Smyth is only one of the fab speakers lined up. Delivering the keynote address, she’ll be discussing ‘moving towards a networked nation’ – motivating the transition to digital, making services available for all and cutting transaction costs through channel shift.  Other speakers include Amanda Derrick from the Department for Education and Programme Director for ‘Connect Digitally’, and reps from police, housing, health and local government.

Directgov 2010 and Beyond: Revolution not Evolution

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Today Government has responded to Martha Lane Fox’s strategic review of Directgov, which advises how the Government can use the internet to both communicate and interact better with citizens whilst also delivering significant efficiency savings from channel shift.


Martha’s recommendations were set out at the end of September this year.  The report and the Government’s initial response, argue for a channel shift that will increasingly see public services provided digitally ‘by default’.
The report recommendations argue for the simplification and strengthening of digital Government to improve the quality and consequently use of Government channels.

 

Summary of Key Recommendations:


  • Make Directgov the government front end for all departments’ transactional online services to citizens and businesses, with the teeth to mandate cross government solutions, set standards and force departments to improve citizens’ experience of key transactions.
  • Simplifying the user experience of digital public services by making all of government’s transactional services available through Directgov.
  • Ensuring online government information and services are available wherever people are on the web by opening up applications and services to other organisations
  • Appointing a new CEO for Digital in the Cabinet Office to drive change and bring together existing teams working in this area.
  • Asking  Directgov and Business Link to create a plan of what would be involved to converge the sites into a single domain

 

Shifting 30% of government service delivery contracts to digital channels has the potential to deliver gross annual savings of more than £1.3 billion, rising to £2.2 billion if 50% of contacts shifted to digital.  In line with this move, there will be radical improvement to government Internet services to provide higher quality and more convenient 24/7 services to users.

 

Martha Lane Fox said: “Government should take advantage of the more open, agile and cheaper digital technologies to deliver simpler and more effective digital services to users, particularly to disadvantaged groups who are some of the heaviest users of government services.”

In his response to the report, Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude said “The shifttowards online services also has the power to transform the relationship between Government and individuals. As Martha Lane Fox’s insightful report shows, there is no excuse for not making quality online services the default solution for providing services for people needing Government services. Not only are services more convenient and cheaper, but they can be better and more personalised.”

 

  • For full Directgov Strategic Review report click here
  • To see Francis Maude’s official response click here