Government needs flexibility and support from providers, says Atos
Providers of government services must be ready to offer departments more flexibility, even when exiting from a contract, according to a report from supplier Atos.
Birmingham GP and national clinical lead for NHS England’s Patient Online programme Masood Nazir...
Scotland’s cities could improve “significantly” on the way they use technology and innovation to...
Councils urged to work together to challenge big vendors
Local government digital officers have said that councils need to be more honest about poor products from big suppliers and work together to demand change.
GDS says service assurance discovery will report soon
The Government Digital Service has set up an advice and assurance community to discuss issues about digital standards, as it comes to the end of a discovery project on service standards assessment...
Scottish government announces innovation scheme winners
The Scottish government pilot scheme aiming to boost innovation in government has announced the winners of seven challenges aimed at finding digital solutions for public sector problems.
Total G-Cloud sales approaching £1.4bn, government reveals
The latest G-Cloud sales figures show a slight decline in monthly sales in July, with local government sales remaining at just 5% of all-time sales.
MoJ updates ‘painful’ service standard assessment process
The Ministry of Justice has set out plans to continuously review internal products, in an effort “revolutionise” service standard assessment.
Home Office offers £140,000 for platforms director
The Home Office is seeking a director of infrastructure and platforms to develop a “new culture of technical excellence” in the department.
Socitm gives digital services crowdfunding platform the thumbs-up
A recently-launched collaborative platform for co-funding and co-designing public services has won the backing of the association for digital leaders in the public sector Socitm.
MPs slams 'inefficient' ICT in Ministry of Justice’s Transforming Probation programme
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has raised concerns about the Ministry of Justice's efforts to reform the way offender rehabilitation services are run, saying the...
GDS to pay for tampons for staff
The Government Digital Service has decided to provide free tampons and sanitary towels to women workers as part of an attempt to make it a more female friendly employer.
User need and integrated, intuitive systems: How Newham is digitising social care
Newham’s digital delivery could show the way for other councils to make social services more efficient. Gill Hitchcock finds out why.
Expert verdict: Corbyn helps put digital on the map but manifesto lacks ambition
The digital democracy manifesto launched by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn earlier this week has failed to gain the approval of those working in public sector technology.
The Pokemon Go effect: How councils are tapping into augmented and virtual reality
Sooraj Shah looks at the benefits of AR and VR, and asks whether councils should be spending taxpayers’ money on the emerging technologies so soon.
“Our country was like a start-up”: Lessons from Estonia and why true e-government requires trust and buy-in
As the UK government pushes its digital transformation agenda, PublicTechnology looks at how other countries have forged ahead. According to an Estonian e-governance expert, identification systems are crucial. Rebecca Hill reports.
Empowering women: How Socitm wants to boost IT professionals’ confidence
This autumn, the next cohort of women will start Socitm’s empowering women in IT programme. Rebecca Hill finds out how the society wants to promote female tech role models as part of PublicTechnology's diversity in tech series.
Blockchain - don't get carried away by the hype
Adam Cooper from the Government Digital Service says blockchain technologies are not yet the answer to digital identification solutions.
How charities can learn from the Government Digital Service
Digital technology offer charities a wealth of options. But Tris Lumley of think-tank New Philanthropy Capital says that they should heed advice from the Government Digital Service and take user-centric approach to transformation.
Open and shut case: Should digital government be using open standards, open source or low-code?
Jane Roberts strategy director at Toplevel and asks whether more clarity is needed to stop departments from tying themselves in knots over what kind of ‘open’ to use.
Arvato public sector chief: Councils must tap into big data to fill empty homes
Debra Maxwell, chief executive officer for customer relationship management and public sector at Arvato, looks at how big data can help local authorities bring in more revenue.
Wachter review of NHS IT is 'based on an heroic assumption'
Bob Wachter’s recommendations for digitising the NHS are measured, realistic and long-term, but could still fail without doctors’ buy-in, argues David Walker.
Informed, inspired care: Lessons from Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire Health and Care’s Gary James explains how the county’s new integrated Care Portal system aims to transform healthcare for an ageing and widely dispersed population.
Microsoft’s UK data centre signals a turning point for public sector cloud compting
Mark Skilton of Warwick Business School says that the opening of Microsoft’s three UK data centres marks another step on the road to full public sector adoption of cloud computing in the country.