Making digital transformation happen in government: from the ‘why’ to the ‘how’

In this second episode of Global Government Forum’s new podcast, Government Transformed, Kevin Cunnington, the former head of the UK’s Government Digital Service. Delves into how governments can make progress on digital transformation with podcast host and former UK senior civil servant Siobhan Benita.

Cunnington describes his work creating a digital transformation strategy at the Department for Work and Pensions as covering “from the very basic philosophy of how to run the department, through to the change to the organisation and processes, and how it affected citizens”.

Cunnington also shares his reflections on the common mistakes governments make in implementing their transformation vision, including the biggest pitfall – under-investment in people.

He also covers major considerations such as transformational leadership, accountability, collaboration and engineering capabilities, and explains why he believes civil services should hire creative “crazy people” who will question the organisation’s orthodoxy. 

Touching too on the mistakes the UK made in trying to introduce a national digital ID system, why he believes AI won’t be the dominant force in government digital transformation in our lifetimes, and why it’s vital never to lose sight of the problem you’re trying to solve, this is an episode brimming with practical advice on how to achieve true transformation in government. 

In this episode we refer to:

The UK government’s 7 Lenses of Digital Transformation

The UK Department for Work and Pensions 2020 vision

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