The power to transform public services in the UK
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Driven by entrepreneurs using modern technology to disrupt the norm and deliver innovative products and services that users really want, Gov.Tech has the power to transform public services, achieve better for less and improve outcomes.
But what is Gov.Tech? There are three important ingredients:
Just as FinTech is a disruptive force in Financial Services, Gov.Tech has the power to transform the delivery of public services, achieve better for less and improve the user experience.
“In a connected world, how the citizen wants to deal with government is changing driven by the possibilities opened up by new technology.”
Government and the public sector, business and tech entrepreneurs and the funding community need to work together to realise the full potential that Gov.Tech driven innovation can have on the relationship between the citizen and the state.
There is a need for purchasers and commissioners – including CIOs and Heads of Digital and Innovation - to explore new ways of bringing small businesses and technology driven innovation to public leaders and policy makers. Similarly officials can open up policy making further and engage earlier with SMEs. And there is a need for a change in culture, to be willing to accept the risks of procuring SMEs (with their smaller balance sheets), as well as a supportive regulatory environment.
Firms like PwC also need to play a part – whether working alongside and/or partnering with SMEs - to nurture and accelerate their growth, helping them to access crucial early stage finance and acting as brokers, introducing innovators to public sector clients to explore the art of the possible and new forms of joined up service delivery.
Venture capitalists, private equity and crowd sourcing platforms have the opportunity to enable Gov.Tech players to access the early stage funding needed to scale up and introduce their innovations to the public sector.
Nick C Jones
Director of PwC’s Public Services Research, PwC United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 7213 1593