PublicTechnology.net

The government’s industrial strategy has emphasised the importance of data-sharing by Whitehall, as well as a push to improve digital skills training and boost funding for technologies like robotics and 5G.

MPs have called on the Home Office to step up its contingency planning in case a new emergency communications system for the police, fire and ambulance services is not ready in time for its planned December 2019 switch-on.

Mark O’Neill, one of the founders of the Government Digital Service, has been appointed chief digital officer at the Department for Education.

Regional NHS bodies could soon be asked to collect patient information to create a ‘data-lake’ for use at a national level, according to an NHS England consultation document.

Civica is large enough to take on big transformation government projects but small enough to be seen as “part of the team”, chief executive Wayne Story has said at the launch of its dedicated digital division.

The Scottish government is recruiting for a director to expand its digital public services accelerator scheme CivTech, at a salary of around £68,000.

The Socitm Better Connected survey has revealed that more than half of English county councils are not providing a good online service to help people sign up for e-resources.

Geoff Connell took up his role of CIO at Norfolk County Council in August last year. Rebecca Hill asks him how he found the change from the London Borough of Newham, and finds out what’s on his to-do list.

The Government Digital Service has upgraded the public Application Programming Interface for GOV.UK Notify based on the results of user research carried out during its private beta.

As the New Year approaches, PublicTechnology takes a look at what we might expect in the world of digital government in 2017. 

Jos Creese, independent digital consultant and principal Analyst for Eduserv, says that technology should promote fundamental change in our care services – and argues that this is the responsibility of everyone from local providers to central government. 

A secure cross-Whitehall WiFi service will be available in government buildings in early 2017 as part of private beta testing, the Government Digital Service has announced.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is best known for its nautical history, but the council’s digital team is now setting its course for super-fast connectivity and cutting-edge technologies. Gill Hitchcock reports.  

Three-quarters of GOV.UK content is looked at by less than 10 people a month, according to figures from the Government Digital Service.

The contract for BT’s network for integrated voice and data communications across Surrey and Berkshire has been extended until 2021, as Surrey County Council claims it is on track to save £3.5m.

Artificial intelligence could transform the public sector, but adoption has been slow. As the Government Office for Science publishes its report into the subject, Richard Sargent, director of ASI and former performance lead at the Government Digital Service, says leadership and culture will be crucial for success.

The Government Digital Service has started addressing accessibility issues with PDFs on GOV.UK following a survey of assistive technology users.

Soctim, the body that represents public service ICT professionals, has announced which digital services it will review in the next round of its survey of councils’ online performance.

The government must proceed with caution when considering regulation of the Internet of Things and realise a one-size-fits-all approach may not be appropriate, an academic from a leading IoT research group has said.

Scott Moore, business analyst for the Scottish Improvement Service, won a Socitm scholarship to research digital public service trend in Seoul during the summer. Here he looks back on he learnt during his summer investigating the city’s digital transformation.

Local government needs to move away from piloting digital services on the periphery of their work and focus on building digital in from the start, a conference has heard.