How Digital Transformation Is Revolutionising The Government?
We are witnessing immense digital transformation.
People are expecting digital convenience everywhere, so there are heightened expectations also from the government.
In response to this, the government has launched various digital services.
One of the UK government’s initiatives toward digitisation is the Government Gateway.
The Government Gateway is an IT platform designed for individuals to register for various online services the UK Government offers, including tasks like applying for a driving license and completing HMRC self-assessment.
It serves as a replacement for the traditional method of submitting paperwork in hard copy format.
How is digital transformation impacting governance?
Here is how digital transformation affects the overall governance:
Automation
Government bureaucracy tends to require a lot of paperwork and administrative tasks, which can take time away from workers’ more productive undertakings. Nonetheless, recent developments in automation are changing this. Governments are using work execution platforms that make operations smoother and automate legal proceedings from beginning to end.
Enhanced citizen engagement
People can voice their opinions on various subjects using social media and mobile applications to engage with government officials through websites. A change like this toward greater engagement makes democracy stronger by ensuring that government efforts and public policies reflect the interests and desires of the people.
Internal collaboration
The government’s digital transformation has encouraged cooperation across financials firms, departments and agencies. Digital platforms for exchanging shared information and data exchange systems have made a seamless link between the entities responsible for governance possible, resulting in more coherence and effectiveness.
Enhanced crisis management
During a crisis, digital technologies can improve coordination, response time, communication, and other aspects of operations. Governments use digital platforms and communication channels to coordinate emergency response efforts, convey timely information, and assist impacted populations. Use of digital tools like predictive analytics to foresee and reduce the risks associated with natural catastrophes, public health emergencies, and other emergencies are helping the government greatly.
Internal collaboration
The government’s digital transformation has encouraged cooperation across departments and agencies. Digital platforms for exchanging shared information and data exchange systems have made a seamless link between the entities responsible for governance possible, resulting in more coherence and effectiveness.
Enhanced crisis management
During a crisis, digital technologies can improve coordination, response time, communication, and other aspects of operations. Governments use digital platforms and communication channels to coordinate emergency response efforts, convey timely information, and assist impacted populations. Use of digital tools like predictive analytics to foresee and reduce the risks associated with natural catastrophes, public health emergencies, and other emergencies are helping the government greatly.
Strengthened democracy
Transparency and accountability are cornerstones of democracy. By guaranteeing that information is available to the general public, digital transformation promotes transparent governance. Government portals and websites that maintain open records of budgets and decision-making processes are a few examples; these websites help to increase public trust and accountability in government organisations. In addition, digital tools like blockchain can improve transparency by creating immutable records for transactions and activities.
UK Government and digital revolution
The UK government is doing whatever it takes to meet citizens’ demands regarding digitalisation, as best illustrated by Government Gateway.
The UK digital transformation market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 27.7% from 2023 to 2030.
✔️ The government introduced “The Transforming for a Digital Future” initiative, which has a roadmap for 2022-2025. This initiative aims to transform public services, advance tech infrastructure, and attract top talents in digitalisation. It defines priorities focusing on the most impactful areas for development within digitisation.
✔️ Development Strategy 2024‑2030: The government also introduced the Digital Development Strategy 2024‑2030 to achieve following objectives:
✔️ Digital transformation: Propelling the economy, government, and society through digital technologies.
✔️ Digital inclusion: Ensuring no one is excluded in the digital realm.
✔️ Digital responsibility: Creating a safe, secure, and resilient digital environment.
✔️ Digital sustainability: Utilising digital technologies to support environmental goals and combat climate change.
Through these, the government aims to achieve several goals. By 2030, the aim is to establish or expand at least eight research laboratories focusing on responsible AI within African universities. Similarly, the government plans to integrate 50 million women into the digital world by 2030.
✔️ Green Digital: Digital technology carries environmental implications but also offers opportunities to address climate change and biodiversity loss. The government plans to establish a new Digital Sustainability Programme, which will emphasise the utilisation of digital platforms to foster a sustainable economy, manage e-waste, and implement renewable energy solutions for connecting remote areas.
Conclusion
Digital transformation offer benefits to the government, and it continues to do so. For instance, Government Gateway has enhanced citizen participation.
The UK government aims to bolster its digital development capabilities to match the rapid pace of technological advancements and proactively anticipate the emerging benefits and risks associated with digital transformation. This entails investing in new research focusing on digital technologies and inclusive business models to enrich the global knowledge base, facilitate the exchange of insights, and enhance knowledge management across its portfolio of digital development and technology initiatives.
