Image source: Lauren Hurley, No 10 Downing Street, CC BY 3.0
The UK Government is planning to develop new training and guidance for departments in their approach to funding on digital initiatives.
It also intends to develop new metrics and evaluation plans for relevant programmes, along with the implementation of a new approach to funding.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones confirmed the plans to Parliament while announcing the publication of the Performance Review of Digital Spend, which highlights the need for new measures to ensure that investments achieve value for money.
His announcement came shortly after the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology went public with details of the plan for a structured funding approach for digital projects, with four funding streams for: small scale pilots: live services; a portfolio of projects based on a multi-year business case; and risk reduction in areas such as technical debt and cyber security.
Jones said the training for departments and teams in the spending approvals process will be provided as supplementary guidance for digital in HM Treasury’s Green Book, and focus on building better evidence bids for Spending Reviews and how to use agile approaches.
'Digital first' decisions
The Government is also taking a ‘digital first’ approach to decisions in the Spending Review, expected later this year, to ensure strategic judgements on digital needs inform departmental allocations.
This will be accompanied by an effort to develop improved metrics and evaluation plans for major digital programmes. They will be enabled by a support package from the Government Digital Service, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority, the Evaluation Task Force and HM Treasury.
In addition, strategic digital, data and technology (DDaT) priorities for new business case development will be agreed by ministers at least six months before future Spending Reviews to provide a robust evidence base for decisions.
Jones said: “Many departments face the dual burden of managing growing reliance on legacy IT systems while being constrained by funding models that prioritise the control of inputs rather than long term strategic impact and delivery against outcomes.
“The absence of agreed upon metrics to measure project outcomes also limits the ability to demonstrate value for money in digital spending.
“The review also found that current approaches to policy making can inadvertently narrow delivery choices early, limiting the range of options considered during investment appraisals and prevent a full exploration of potential solutions.
“Furthermore, misunderstood guidance and the unsuitable application of appraisal methods by departments risks hindering digital investment.”
Funding shift
The performance review emphasises the need for a significant shift in the funding, management and tracking of digital initiatives. It says that current processes are too complex, which delays decision making and service delivery, and it essential to simplify governance for smaller projects while maintaining rigour for larger ones.
It also finds there is often insufficient funding for service maintenance and improvement, with short term savings prioritised over long term investments. This results in mounting technical debt with outdated legacy systems and hampers progress, which is all compounded by the absence of agreed upon metrics to measure outcomes.
There is also a need for the earlier involvement of digital experts in policy making to provide a wider range of options in investment appraisals, and for more technical support for spending teams to properly assess DDaT bids.
The conclusions have prompted a series of recommendations in the review that have been largely accepted in the plans announced by Jones and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle.
