CGPN recognises the remarkable strides already made in digital government, as evidenced by the successes of initiatives like GOV.UK. Such achievements underscore the potential for digital platforms to significantly enhance citizen engagement and service delivery. Yet, the journey ahead requires an upheld commitment towards continuous improvement, navigating complexities of legacy systems, fostering cross-departmental and private collaboration, while balancing the promise and perils of AI and automation.

Overcoming the barriers to digital adoption is not solely a technological endeavour but also a people and leadership challenge. It calls for visionary thinking and bold decisions, despite competing tasks. Embracing a new way of creating change might seem like a tall order for leaders when there is already so much flux, but now is an ideal time to explore new ways of working. When everything’s up in the air anyway, why not take the chance to think about how things could be better once they settle back down?

We set out the agenda for seizing new opportunities, providing an open forum for reform through digital transformation, making the case for a new public service playbook in which central departments unite to focus on prevention, personalisation, and productivity in public services, using drivers of improvement to achieve those goals.