Key questions for GDS

1.18 As we showed in our reports on the centre of government, central functions like GDS can work with wider government in different ways.10 In this report, we consider what the experience of the last five years tells us about the role of GDS and how it might better support transformation:

• In Part Two, we look at how GDS has shaped government's digital strategy, and the challenges for defining its own role and prioritising its activities.

• In Part Three, we consider how GDS supports transformation, and the challenges in approaches to transformation and technology.

• In Part Four, we review GDS's use of standards and controls, and consider the balance between support and more formal enforcement activities.

1.19 Figure 7 shows how our report covers the wide range of roles that GDS has had within government since 2011.

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Figure 7
Summary of Government Digital Service activities

Source: National Audit Office. See Glossary for fuller explanation of abbreviations
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10 Comptroller and Auditor General, The centre of government, Session 2014-15, HC 171, National Audit Office, June 2014; Comptroller and Auditor General, The centre of government: an update, Session 2014-15, HC 1031, National Audit Office, March 2015.