NZ public sector ahead of the curve on digital maturity: Deloitte

New Zealand public sector is slightly ahead of the curvewhen it comes to digital maturity, according to Deloitte’s new report, The Journey to Government’s Digital Transformation.

Deloitte’s research team surveyed more than 1,200 government officials from more than 70 countries, including New Zealand, and interviewed an additional 130 government leaders and digital experts.

The report examines the public sector’s ability to use digital to fundamentally transform services to citizens and offers strategies for government leaders to accelerate the rate of their progress.

NZ Deloitte partner and public sector lead, Dave Farrelly, says despite the findings putting New Zealand ahead of the curve, “there are still many obstacles holding us back”.

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“There are still many obstacles holding us back”Dave Farrelly, Deloitte NZ

“In order for digital technology to really take hold government must be willing to collaborate with citizens, corporates and social enterprises to fundamentally re-imagine their services in a digital world,” says Farrelly.

Governments across the world are at different stages in the digital transformation process, but the large majority are still in the early or developing stages, according to a new survey by Deloitte.

Twelve per cent of New Zealand respondents assessed their organisations as being in the “early” stage of their digital journey, while 66 per cent indicated their organisations were “developing” and 22 per cent classified their organisations as “maturing.” This compares to 26 per cent, 60 per cent and 13 per cent respectively from global respondents.

Sixty-four per cent of New Zealand respondents reported that their organisations have increased investment in digital initiatives over the last fiscal year compared to only 44 per cent globally. But only 55 per cent (46 per cent globally) reported their organisations as having a clear and coherent digital strategy.

While 52 per cent of New Zealand organisations identify that citizen demand is the key driver for services, only 20 per cent report high citizen involvement in the design of services. This compares to 37per cent and 13per cent respectively for global respondents.

Capability and culture are also challenges that lie ahead. And only 42 per cent thought that New Zealand’s public sector leaders and employees have sufficient skills to lead and execute a digital strategy.

“Ultimately, government organisations that achieve success with digital transformation will be more flexible, adapting to the one constant of the new digital age: change itself,” says Farrelly.

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To accelerate their digital transformation, Deloitte recommends public sector leaders consider the following five key questions:

Do we have a clear and coherent digital strategy that addresses the key elements of digital transformation?

How can citizens and service users be an active part of our digital transformation?

What have we done to strengthen our organisation’s innovative and collaborative culture?

Have we looked at our talent pool and planned where we can upskill our current workforce and/or where our skills will come from?

Are our organisation’s existing procurement processes suitable to procure digital solutions?”