1.1 Running digital government well: what does good look like?

Estimated read time: 5 minutes

Effective digital government relies on robust governance structures that ensure consistent strategic planning, interdepartmental coordination, and strong regulatory frameworks. Based on OECD Digital Government Index benchmarks, the following characteristics represent best practices for running digital government effectively:

Clear and unified vision

Successful digital governments articulate a compelling, unified vision that aligns digital transformation goals across all levels of government. This vision should:

Reinforce leadership: Develop and support the vision by both political and civil service leaders, ensuring continuity over time. Leaders at all levels should promote and reinforce the vision, aligning it with the broader mission of government.
Provide strategic direction: Serve as a guiding star for all digital initiatives, setting clear priorities and defining outcomes that digital transformation should achieve. Emphasise a user-centred approach to ensure that government services are relevant and responsive to citizen needs.
Drive consistency across departments: Prevent fragmentation by setting common digital goals across departments. Foster a collaborative environment where all agencies work toward shared objectives, reinforcing digital transformation as a collective effort.

Strong governance structures

A centralised digital authority, such as a Digital Transformation Office or Government Digital Service, provides clear direction and standards for digital initiatives. Effective governance structures include:

Establishing a centralised body with broad authority: Act as a steward of digital transformation, setting and enforcing policies, fostering collaboration, and removing obstacles for departments. Oversee and coordinate digital projects to ensure alignment with national priorities.
Defining well-structured roles and responsibilities: Assign distinct roles to key governance bodies, preventing overlap and confusion. Ensure each agency understands its specific responsibilities, promoting a collaborative environment that leverages each department’s strengths.
Balancing decentralisation with central coordination: Empower departments to innovate within a framework established by the central body. Allow for local adaptations while maintaining alignment with national priorities.

Strategic planning and performance measurement

Effective digital governance includes comprehensive strategic planning at both national and departmental levels, which is supported by regular performance measurement:

Creating national and departmental strategic plans: Develop strategic plans aligned with the unified vision. Regularly review and update these plans to reflect new technologies, evolving user needs, and shifts in government priorities.
Setting clear KPIs and ensuring public accountability: Establish and monitor high-level Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure progress against strategic goals. Make KPIs publicly available to foster transparency and accountability.
Making data-informed adjustments: Use feedback and data to make evidence-based adjustments to digital initiatives as part of a continuous improvement approach.

Coordinated policy and resource management

Successful digital governments excel at coordinating digital policies across ministries and agencies, promoting the sharing of resources and best practices. Key elements include:

Fostering cross-agency collaboration: Harmonise digital policies across government to create coherence, reduce duplication, and maximise the impact of digital investments. View digital transformation as a shared mission among all actors.
Facilitating collaborative budgeting and resource allocation: Implement resource management frameworks that support cross-departmental collaboration on budgeting and procurement. Encourage resource sharing to reduce redundant investments and maximise efficiency.
Engaging senior leadership: Have senior leaders champion cross-agency digital missions, driving strategic alignment and accountability. Advocate for projects focusing on impactful service delivery and scalable digital skills.

Procurement mechanisms that support innovation and agility

Traditional procurement processes can be too rigid to support dynamic digital needs. Successful digital governments adopt flexible procurement mechanisms to foster innovation and ensure timely service delivery.

Implementing outcome-based procurement: Focus on results rather than compliance and adherence with pre-defined processes. This approach prioritises solutions that meet user, fostering a more innovative approach to problem-solving.
Engaging with the GovTech ecosystem: Partner with startups and smaller tech firms to tap into a wealth of innovation. Simplifying procurement processes and creating “sandbox” environments mean solutions can be tested on a small scale before full deployment.
Encouraging agile development through pilot projects: Pilot projects enable experimentation with new technologies and approaches. Successful pilots can then be scaled, promoting a cycle of innovation and continuous improvement.

Adaptive regulatory frameworks

Digital transformation requires regulatory frameworks that respond flexibly to technological advancements and societal changes. Characteristics of effective regulatory frameworks include:

Encouraging innovation through adaptive policies: Reduce administrative barriers and provide guidelines that allow for experimentation and innovation. Use regulatory sandboxes to enable safe testing of new technologies within a controlled environment.
Prioritising security and privacy: Balance innovation with the protection of citizens’ data and public trust. Implement policies that safeguard security, privacy, and interoperability.
Incorporating ethical guidelines: Guide the use of emerging technologies with ethical frameworks aligned with public values. Include principles for transparency, fairness and accountability.

Transparency and accountability

Transparency and accountability are essential to public trust in digital government initiatives. Best practices include:

Providing open access to information on digital projects: Make decision-making, spending, and performance information readily available to the public. Use public dashboards, reports, and websites to provide transparency.
Implementing accountability mechanisms for digital initiatives: Include routine audits, transparent procurement practices, and regular evaluations to ensure compliance with standards. Assess the performance and impact of digital projects and make adjustments as needed.
Engaging with citizens and stakeholders: Enable citizens to provide feedback and use engagement channels, such as public consultations or satisfaction surveys, to encourage a two-way dialogue that strengthens trust and provides insights for continuous improvement.