Output 1.4 Digital Strategy

Overview

The directorate, through the Office of the Chief Digital Officer (OCDO), drives digital transformation across the Service by providing strategic direction and advice on WoG digital and ICT strategy.

The directorate sets the framework for digital transformation with the ACT Government Digital Strategy. Strategic governance is overseen by the Digital Services Governance Committee, which provides guidance over technology architecture, standards and practices and governs several measures to ensure that the digital portfolio aligns with the government strategic direction.

CMTEDD provides support and guidance to Strategic Board in respect of the alignment of technology initiatives in the budget planning process.

Highlights

Against this output in 2017-18, the directorate led two strategic projects:

driving a citizen centred, mobile first approach to digital service design and delivery across government. The iConnect program delivered a platform that offers core digital capabilities, including citizen identity, to assist directorates in providing digital services. The iConnect platform provides the foundation for a future where Canberrans will be able to easily transact with a range of government services from their mobile device; and
the newly announced ACT Centre of Data Excellence which will enable the government to make better evidence-based decisions and deliver better services through improved use of data and analytics. The directorate developed the business case based on the outcome of the
Data Warehouse and Analytics Framework pilot program, and to date has implemented the core data platform and recruited the team, ready to support directorates in 2018-19.

In addition, the directorate:

provided support and guidance for the Digital Services Governance Committee:
- ensuring alignment of budget proposals with digital strategy through the budget assessment process, in collaboration with Treasury and WoG representation on the Budget Assessment Sub-Committee;
- implementing the Common Capabilities framework. This is key guidance material for aligning investments in technology across the Service;
- completed the trial of the Digital Initiatives Program. Results include an updated agreed Single Public Face for ACT Government websites, and a second year of WoG digital research and analyst access for all ACT Government employees; and
- completed the development of the Application Portfolio Management tool which enables improved technology road-mapping across government and worked with Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Shared Services to map out the future application of tool;
through iConnect, continued to promote digital service delivery, including:
- the ACT Digital Account which was released to the public in May 2018, establishing a digital service delivery channel that will enable people to personalise and customise their interaction with government. Available as both a browser experience via www.myaccount.act.gov.au and as a mobile app, the ACT Digital Account will provide access to a growing number of services across government with identity verification and a single username and password; and
- as at 30 June 2018 is the ACT Digital Account is being utilised by the Community Services Directorate for the ACT Diversity Register and My Family service. This is a significant step towards realising the government’s vision for digital service delivery.
continued to promote the value of government data, including:
- finalising the Data Warehouse and Analytics Framework pilot;
  - completing the five project pilots, demonstrating the value of a WoG data management practice;

establishing of the Centre of Data Excellence;
- with the first version of the ACT Data Lake, which went into production in April 2018, becoming operational;
- recruited the team for the Centre of Data Excellence which will be on boarded during July 2018; and
promoted Open Data for both government and the community through sponsorship of GovHack 2017. The ACT Government sponsored seven local and two national prizes in the 2017 competition. The ACT competition weekend had the second highest number of competitors from across Australia and over 50 projects were submitted. The ACT Government was also awarded the ‘Best State/Territory Government Participation Award’.

The directorate met all its 2017-18 accountability indicators against this output.

The one target that was exceeded was:

Common Capabilities Framework - sign off of the Common Capabilities Framework in June 2018, was an additional initiative that was completed, taking the total number of accountability indicators under this output to four. The Common Capabilities Framework is the key guidance material for aligning investments in technology across the Service.

Future Direction

In 2018-19 the directorate will continue to:

work with the Digital Services Governance Committee to provide timely, clear and valuable advice to Budget Committee of Cabinet on digital/technology budget bids;
deliver the iConnect Program that will:
- in partnership with directorates, deliver value to the community through the use of the ACT Digital Account; and
- drive the delivery of citizen centric, mobile first design in the digitisation of services across government;
operate/oversight the Centre of Data Excellence which will:
- deliver the next version of the data technology platform which can scale to the needs of directorates;
- develop governance frameworks for a whole of government data management practice;
- support data sets from each directorate being ingested and available;
- apply sophisticated analytics to at least one complex policy question;
- establish a Community of Practice to build data and analytics capability across government; and
- increase the ability to publish de-identified data through open data;
promote cyber security awareness and resilience within Government, and work closely with Shared Services ICT Cyber-Security branch to identify and communicate the pathways for cloud assessment and enable timely self-assessment where appropriate; champion a national approach to promote innovation, integration and use of public sector data for administration, policy development, service delivery, and regulatory functions, through participation in the Deputy Senior Officials Working Group;
drive digital transformation through the support of the Digital Services Governance Committee and its work program;
promote the value of open data for community and economic development through sponsorship of a community hackathon (GovHack 2018); and
develop a Smart Cities Framework, providing principles and guidance on how to utilise the Internet of Things and Big Data to improve policy and services.

Further information can be obtained from

Bettina Konti
Chief Digital Officer
Office of the Chief Digital Officer
+ 61 2 6207 2242
cdo@act.gov.au