2.2 The Cabinet Office and GDS released or updated several strategies between 2011 and 2013 (see Figure 2 on pages 14 and 15). The 2012 Government Digital Strategy outlined how government intended to redesign its services, including 14 actions (later rising to 16) for departments and the Cabinet Office.
2.3 GDS's experience over the last five years highlights challenges relating to the clarity, completeness and interpretation of the strategy:
• Relationship between transformation and technology
The 2012 Government Digital Strategy had a broad vision of transformation driven by users' needs and the better use of technology. But as we noted in our 2015 briefing Lessons for major service transformation, transformation is poorly and inconsistently understood across government and prone to challenges in defining scope and managing performance.12
• Role of existing systems
The Government Digital Strategy set out a commitment to redesign government services and move them online. But it did not guide departments on how to manage decisions relating to legacy IT systems. In our 2013 report Managing the risks of legacy ICT to public service delivery, we highlighted the challenges of transforming services that use legacy systems.13
• Interpretation of requirements by departments
In our 2013 report Universal Credit: early progress, we found that, in the early stages of the Universal Credit programme, the Department for Work & Pensions had taken an unnecessarily strict interpretation of which activities should be conducted online. This led to problems in balancing security with user requirements.14
2.4 GDS has recognised the importance of understanding how to manage the existing environment and systems in transformation. It aims to take a more flexible approach to supporting transformation given the different challenges and levels of readiness in departments. GDS has launched its aim to 'support, enable and assure' transformation via online public communications.
2.5 GDS's new approach is still emerging. It is not yet clear how GDS will prioritise its activities over the next few years, or how it will develop a plan to support its new approach. GDS told us that, in January 2017, it started to work with digital leaders across government to understand the current position and where it needs to get to by 2020. At the time of our assessment, there were no outputs from this process available for review.
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12 Comptroller and Auditor General, Lessons for major service transformation, National Audit Office, May 2015.
13 Comptroller and Auditor General, Managing the risks of legacy ICT to public service delivery, Session 2013-14, HC 539, National Audit Office, September 2013.
14 Comptroller and Auditor General, Universal Credit: early progress, Session 2013-14, HC 621, National Audit Office, September 2013.