Swee Leng Harris’ Post

Matthew Evans makes some interesting observations here on the first Machinery of Government changes the new The Labour Party government has made. I expect techUK to be a vital conduit between the government and the tech supply community, so my colleagues (Gordon Morrison Henry Rex Vincenzo Rampulla et al) and I on the Central Government Council will follow developments with interest and seek to clarify how best to work together for mutual benefit. #PublicServiceTransformation

New Government moves quickly to bring together digital policy functions all under one roof. Sensible move to add further linkages in policy making and emphasises that DSIT has a key role in digital government as the well the digital economy.

It’s hard to underplay what a significant move this is – I really hope that it both reinvigorates Government digitisation and continues to push the UK’s tech and science superpower agenda but that will only be evident as it beds in. In the meantime, a couple of questions and observations (mostly from a Government digitisation perspective). 📈 Firstly, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is about to get a whole lot bigger – it currently has around 2000 direct staff and bringing in Government Digital Service alone will bring another 750 employees. This is a Department that didn’t exit 18 months ago. It is also a department that has, broadly, outsourced its delivery to executive bodies. Being both a Policy and Delivery Department will need new skills and a mindset shift – but hopefully there will be real benefits to brining together practitioners and policy leads together; particularly around AI. Of course this means there will be increased interest in requests to DSIT which will cover everything from Chips to .Gov.UK Clicks. 💻 Secondly, will GDS, CDDO and i.AI move over intact and with their current remits? Industry has questioned whether there are gaps between them and this is an opportunity to present a more integrated approach to digital Government. Some of their ability to attract (and retain!) talent has also been driven by recruiting outside of Civil Service paybands… something potentially easier to do when under the Deputy Prime Minister but harder potentially harder in a ‘normal’ Whitehall Department. Who will lead, and be the Minister for this area? And how will DSIT work with the Mission Boards and leads for the Government? 🏛 Thirdly, what does this mean for the Cabinet Office? If digital Government is deemed to have a better chance of success in a Department then that asks big questions about the ‘centre’? But also, where does that leave the digital elements of Crown Commercial and procurement. Digital Playbooks were the successful result of collaboration between CDDO, Crown Reps and procurement teams – is that harder or easier under the current set-up? Lots of questions! But there are some real prizes too – say on AI safety alignment and use in the public sector or on joining up R&D with public procurement in a far more integrated way; something which Sir Patrick Vallance has advocated for previously. techUK will be working hard with our members to make sure that this is a success - if you want to join us then get in touch: https://lnkd.in/ekiqyCps

I sometimes wonder whether machinery of government changes make any meaningful differences to public service delivery. With the folding in of GDS, CDDO, and i.AI into DSIT, we are poised to find out. Matthew raises some interesting questions about what these changes might mean for digital government.

To all colleagues as invested as we to see improvements in responsible AI production and usage, it is encouraging to see a focus on the removal of data sharing barriers being high on the agenda … will be interesting to see how GDS educate the user community, share their learnings and apply principles. Will be watching this one closely to see how experiences and more representative data can better support the sector Altair Ltd #ethicalAI #socialhousing #techforgood Toju Duke

Really interesting development with huge potential, bringing Digital and Data expertise, best practice and guidance together like this. It also helps to clear up confusion that was beginning to take hold and risk delivery… #digitaltransformation #data #designstandards

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) will expand in both scope and size bringing experts in data, digital and AI from the Government Digital Service (GDS) the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) and the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (iAI) to unite efforts in the digital transformation of public services under one department. This move will drive forward the digital changes needed to overhaul the British public’s experience of interacting with the government, so it becomes personalised, convenient, and timesaving – for example, by providing people with just one way to log in and prove who they are so they can quickly access the government services they need. It will also help remove roadblocks to sharing data across the public sector.

The first indication that The Labour Party 🌹 is serious about developing policy in lockstep with digitalisation. Equally important is the appointment of Darren Jones MP as Chief Secretary to HM Treasury - the erstwhile leader of Labour Digital. Exciting times lie ahead for #publicservices - our team of analysts at GlobalData Technology will keep subscribers abreast of developments #digitaltransformation #UKGovernment

The European Commission launched today the AI@EC communication and the #AI innovation package. The latter contains a broad range of measures, such as an amendment of the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) Regulation to setup AI Factories, the setting up of two European Digital Infrastructure Consortiums (EDICs), establishing a new AI office, the GenAI4EU initiative, financial support, the acceleration of the development and deployment of Common European Data Spaces, and much more 👇🏻 You can find the AI@EC communication document below and the link to the AI innovation package here -> https://lnkd.in/eybKFQez #aiact

AI + DPI Artificial Intelligence The next frontier in Digital Public Infrastructure Optimizing DPI by processing vast amounts of data at lightning speed, enabling governments to make real-time, data-driven decisions. It helps anticipate citizen needs, detect inefficiencies, and continuously learn for improved services. Great Read @ https://lnkd.in/gsNwPJXm DPI playbook for nations, which provides a comprehensive framework for nations to understand, assess, and implement DPI effectively !