2020 a year of challenge, discovery and innovation
Guest blog: Nadira Hussain, Director of Leadership Development & Research, Socitm, shares her insight into the rise of technology and digital solutions in public services
The ‘digital by default’ or is it ‘digital by necessity’ agenda continues to permeate within the public sector, at a pace we have never experienced. It is evident that we are in unchartered waters, but the question is, can we capitalise on the response to the adversity of the situation and create a blueprint for public services that makes them accessible for everybody?
More than ever before, we are increasingly also becoming more conversant with the importance of place and the need to strengthen local communities and their ability to support, nurture and develop place-based solutions.
There is no time like the present to build on our monumental efforts and positive experiences in the public sector in response to the pandemic over the last year. We have created an environment and a work ethic that has transformed the way in which we deliver services to the people in our communities who need them most. Our mindset and attitude have had to acclimatise to thinking and behaving very differently; we have become far more receptive to change through the deployment and use of technology and collaborative platforms, adopted agility and flexibility as standard practice, enhanced our approach to working in partnership to deliver better outcomes and targeted and provisioned our services for the most vulnerable people in our localities.
We in local government have achieved a huge amount of change in a relatively short space of time; developing and establishing new services within days rather than months or even years. Surely, we want to build on this momentum and create the means by which we can instil the interest and enthusiasm to do more innovative and transformative work in our sector? We want to encourage our leaders and colleagues to continue to build the trust and confidence within our organisations that we have already achieved, to plan the onward investment in technology, digital services, data insight, skills and service design, and to really focus on creating public services that can be consumed by everybody. We want to emphasise the importance of our places and divert our efforts to creating robust relationships, partnerships and improve local outcomes; to co-design and co-create services that meet the needs of our citizens, champion the health and wellbeing of our communities and address the social inequality that has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
The rapid exploitation of technology and the deployment of digital solutions as the strategic enablers and catalyst for change within the sector, especially during the pandemic, have created the opportunity to think far more creatively and innovatively about how we provision public services. We have seen so many good examples of the use of technology to deliver services and priorities virtually, that otherwise may not have been possible given the circumstances that we have encountered over the last year. It is evidently clear that business continuity has been dependent on establishing technical solutions at pace, the adaptation of key processes and workflows and adopting an agile approach as a given. We reference such areas of focus, exemplars and case studies in our Digital Trends 2021 briefing.
Going forwards, the key aspects for consideration include our response to social, economic and environmental requirements with a sharp focus on inequality, climate change and sustainability, localism and urban redesign. Undoubtedly though, the primary requirement will be the key priority of recovery, ‘building back better’ and how we successfully transition to establishing a blueprint for public services that will overcome the current limitations and enable access for all. The key question is, how do we use both current and emerging technologies and data in an ethical and secure way to enable our ambitious plans and strategic outcomes to be realised?
We are on the cusp of real change. A time to challenge and scrutinise what we do and how we do it more effectively in an inclusive way. An opportunity to share our collective expertise, knowledge, experience in the sector and embrace the technological advancement that we are witnessing to make a difference – what an exciting proposition!
About the author
Nadira Hussain is an experienced ICT and change management leader with 25+ years, and has worked primarily in local government; leading the ICT service, managing wider teams including digital, business improvement, transformation and customer services. Nadira has implemented numerous complex change programmes across shared services to deliver new operating models, efficiencies and service improvement. Nadira is the Director of Leadership Development & Research at Socitm, and sits on the Institute of Government & Public Policy's Advisory Board.
Georgina Maratheftis
Associate Director, Local Public Services, techUK
Georgina Maratheftis
Associate Director, Local Public Services, techUK
Georgina is techUK’s Associate Director for Local Public Services
Georgina works with suppliers that are active or looking to break into the market as well as with local public services to create the conditions for meaningful transformation. techUK regularly bring together local public services and supplier community to horizon scan and explore how the technologies of today and tomorrow can help solve some of the most pressing problems our communities face and improve outcomes for our people and places.
Prior to techUK, Georgina worked for a public policy events company where she managed the policy briefing division and was responsible for generating new ideas for events that would add value to the public sector. Georgina worked across a number of portfolios from education, criminal justice, and health but had a particular interest in public sector transformation and technology. Georgina also led on developing relationships across central and local government.
If you’d like to learn more about techUK, or want to get involved, get in touch.
Programme Manager, Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, techUK
Ileana Lupsa
Programme Manager, Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, techUK
Ileana Lupsa is the Programme Manager for Local Public Services and Nations and Regions, at techUK.
Ileana studied electronics, telecommunications and IT as an undergraduate, followed by an MSc in engineering and project management at Coventry University.
She refined her programme management expertise through her most recent roles working in the automotive industry.
Ileana is passionate about sustainability and creating a positive impact globally through innovation.
Tracy supports several areas at techUK, including Cyber Exchange, Cyber Security, Defence, Health and Social Care, Local Public Services, Nations and Regions and National Security.
Tracy joined techUK in March 2022, having worked in the education sector for 19 years, covering administration, research project support, IT support and event/training support. My most outstanding achievement has been running three very successful international conferences and over 300 training courses booked all over the globe!
Tracy has a great interest in tech. Gaming and computing have been a big part of her life, and now electric cars are an exciting look at the future. She has warmed to Alexa, even though it can sometimes be sassy!
Alison Young is the Associate Director Local Public Services.
Alison has background in International Trade & Investment, with experience in the public, private and third sector, advising on international trade, new markets, inward investment and working closely with UK cities and regions around investment into innovation and partnerships and technology. Prior to joining techUK, she has her own consulting business and was Head of Global Investment with the Connected Places Catapult. This role had a focus on FDI around the built environment and mobility, working across NetZero mobility projects in the UK and globally. She worked closely with the Innovation Districts Group, to foster and network of knowledge sharing and helped set up the Freeport Innovation Network, to foster innovation in the context of freeports with a focus on investment.
She spent six years living and working in the Middle East, with the Department for Business and Trade. Based first in Oman, leading on a number of sectors, from Education to Infrastructure, then based in the UAE, setting up the Technology and Smart Cities sector, with a core focus on AI and Fintech.
She is passionate about economic growth for the UK, to create jobs and opportunities; the green agenda and the decarbonisation of transport. She has a degree in Russian Studies MA, from the University of Edinburgh and is currently learning Arabic.