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UK Digital Roadmap: steady progress made, but roadblocks remain

28th September 2023

  • GovTech leader Civica and Total Politics survey 550+ civil servants one year on from launch of landmark ‘Roadmap for Digital and Data’ 
  • Insights reveal that majority of departments are making some progress on Roadmap missions
  • Data sharing, lack of skills and legacy IT are stymying progress in key areas, say civil servants

Whitehall departments are making steady progress on the ambitions set out in the landmark Roadmap for Digital and Data, but significant roadblocks are slowing progress in key areas.

This is the view of civil servants of all grades, as revealed by a survey published today by GovTech leader Civica in partnership with Total Politics. One year on from the launch of the Roadmap, Civica and Total Politics interviewed over 550 civil servants to understand what progress had been made against the six ‘missions’ set out in the Roadmap.

Mission One (transformed public services that achieve the right outcomes) has seen the most headway, according to civil servants, with over two-thirds reporting that progress had been made in their department.

Mission Two, on the other hand, (GOV.UK One Login) saw the least amount of advancement with 16% of civil servants reporting no progress at all within their department.

A reliance upon legacy technologies for business-critical systems was amongst the top five barriers to progress identified by civil servants. Other key barriers include silo working and a lack of skills and knowledge to exploit the full potential of data.

Steve Thorn ,

Executive Director (Central Government),

Civica

The 2022-25 Roadmap for Digital and Data was a critical waypoint on the digital journey for our public services. Amongst civil servants of all levels, there is a strong appetite for the digital journey, but also a common understanding of the roadblocks which sit in the way. Legacy IT, data and skills are significant – but surmountable – challenges. In our report, we set out some key recommendations to help government clear the way for greater progress.
 
The digital transformation journey across our public services is fundamentally about ordinary citizens and we must never lose sight of that. Every day wasted on the digital journey is a missed opportunity to improve or save lives. Conversely, the faster we go, the greater the impact we can have for citizens and the efficiency of government.

To view the full report by Civica and Total Politics, Click here