10 Initially, GDS supported exemplars of digital transformation. In 2012, it identified 25 services across government for end-to-end service redesign. It aimed to show how new approaches could make it easier for people to access services online and help remove unnecessary costs. By March 2015, 15 of the exemplars were providing live online services and a further five were available to the public in trial form. Other services have since become available (paragraphs 3.2 to 3.4).
11 Major transformation programmes have had only mixed success. In a lessons learned exercise in 2015, GDS identified positive net present values for only 12 of the 22 exemplars for which data were available. In nearly two-thirds of the exemplars, GDS found that improvements in online services did not result in existing systems being reconfigured or becoming more efficient (paragraph 3.5).
12 GDS is now adopting a more collaborative and flexible approach to supporting departments. GDS will base its approach on individual departments' circumstances and take account of the importance of managing existing systems. It announced plans in September 2016 to take responsibility for a cross-government digital academy, aiming to train 3,000 civil servants a year. It is trialling work with the Complex Transactions Team and Infrastructure and Projects Authority to offer multidisciplinary advice on areas such as IT contracts (paragraphs 2.4, 2.7, 2.8, 3.16 and 3.17).
13 Roles and responsibilities are evolving. In March 2016, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority established a cross-government Transformation Peer Group to share good practice between departments. It is not yet clear what role GDS will play in relation to the group, or the extent of its responsibility for transformation as opposed to digital services and technology. We also identified areas where GDS might address gaps, including taking a stronger role in managing data-sharing and monitoring security (paragraphs 3.6 to 3.15 and Figure 9).