[LINK] Report of the Gov ICT Procurement Taskforce

[Tom Worthington]

On 28/08/17 18:29, Stephen Loosley wrote:

> ... The Government is also frustrated that its considerable
> investment in ICT is not delivering its digital transformation agenda
> quickly enough for the benefit of the Australian economy and society.
> ...

What is needed for digital transformation is people skilled in, and 
allowed to do, digital transformation. This does not take much money or
equipment: it is a people problem.

> 1.    Lack of centralised policies, coordination, reporting,
> oversight and accountability ...

Centralisation is the last thing you need for digital transformation. 
Otherwise public servants have to spend extra time working around the 
central rules, so as to get things done.

> 2.    Limited capability and the risk adverse nature of the
> Australian Public Service ...

To a large extent, risk aversion and compliance is inherent to
government. Do you want the military taking risks with explosives, or 
armed police failing to comply with the law? What we want is a measured 
approach to risks and a workable compliance regime.

> 3.    Practices that do not reflect contemporary procurement best
> practice ...

So train the staff in contemporary practice and ensure new hires have 
these skills. One way would be to run staff through the innovation 
workshops run at the Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN). These were 
originally designed for private enterprise start-ups, but have adapted 
for unveirsity researchers (ANU IT students do similar training). They 
could be further adapted to help public servants think about producing a 
quick result for their customers: 
http://blog.highereducationwhisperer.com/2016/07/innovation-workshops.html


-- 
Tom Worthington, MEd, FACS CP.  http://www.tomw.net.au t +61(0)419496150
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Honorary Lecturer, Computer Science, Australian National University
https://cecs.anu.edu.au/research/profile/tom-worthington