By 2015 digital processes and thinking should infuse all aspects of DFID’s work - driving greater efficiency and transparency and improving DFID’s influence in an increasingly networked world.
The key areas of this strategy deal with:
This is with a view to the future when we as an organisation will be well equipped both to use digital technologies in our own programmes, and also to negotiate for improved conditions which will support the access to and diffusion of digital technologies worldwide.
By ‘digital’, we mean content or communication that is delivered through the internet – whether the user is on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, mobile phone or a digital device not yet invented.
We aim to transform our organisation to become digital by default. This means ensuring digital is the first way that is considered when carrying out a transaction – whether that be requesting a service, transferring money, monitoring a programme or sharing data/information. It does not mean excluding those who have limited or no access to the internet – alternative means of accessing services and information must also be provided where appropriate. Above all, it means an integrated approach to delivering a service or tackling a problem in the best way, using the most appropriate channels and technologies.
We propose a simple approach for realising the benefits of digital based around being better connected in a fast moving world:
To achieve our vision of an organisation where the digital culture is user-centred, innovative and responsive, we have identified six priorities:
1. Providing greater transparency to our activities
Transparency is vital in everything we do. We are committed to providing greater transparency in our work so that the public can hold us to account. Transparency is critical to improving the effectiveness and value for money of aid. Making information about aid spending easier to access, understand and use means that both UK taxpayers and citizens in poor countries can more easily hold DFID and their own governments to account for using aid money wisely. Transparency invites better feedback from beneficiaries to donors and taxpayers, and helps us understand what works and what doesn’t. Our approach is to encourage governments to be more open and this helps reduce waste and the opportunities for fraud and corruption.
2. Open policy making
The Civil Service Reform Plan makes a commitment that open policy making will become the default. We will build on the relationships and networks that already exist among the leading members of the development community and we will explore a range of technology enabled mechanisms that will help us bring in new voices and make the whole process more transparent. We will learn what works, what tools to use, how to evaluate, and how to do this consistently for different types of consultation. We will use the next year to carry out specific exercises, evaluate, and share results.
3. Improving the digital elements of programmes
Using technology can change people’s lives and increase citizen feedback and participation. This will in turn improve the delivery of vital services that people most want, such as health or water, and boost economic opportunities. By giving citizens access to information and services quickly and affordably, we can ultimately make them self-sufficient.
We will use digital networks to identify and share best practice, helping us to develop better programmes. We will explore how technology can support all stages of the programme management process, including more effective ways of gathering feedback (in particular from beneficiaries), investigating confidential ways of reporting fraud and corruption, enabling close to real time reporting which should highlight if things are going wrong.
To inform our decisions we will convene a digital advisory panel which will invite experts with a range of different technical and implementation experience to share their knowledge. We also aim to recruit a non-executive director with experience in the technology sector.
In practical terms, we will test how digital can offer value for money solutions for the implementation of aid programmes, for example pinpointing the distribution of anti-malarial bednets using geolocation tools, using mobile phones for distribution of cash transfers to poor communities, or giving health workers access to instant online training via their mobile phones.
We will make sure these approaches are people-centred and that they are designed and delivered in the country they are intended to benefit. We will establish which approaches are effective through a variety of methods such as pilots, seed-funding and challenge funds, not forgetting the importance of continued evaluation. We will look for opportunities to use digital analytics to monitor and improve the effectiveness of our programmes and share the results online.
4. Improving the capabilities of our staff: listening, networking, influencing and engaging
The Civil Service Reform Plan acknowledges that we need to develop the right capability and skills in our staff. To reach our objectives we need to ensure not only that our programmes are designed and delivered in the most effective way, but also that all our people are fully confident and competent in working with digital tools and channels. This will both enable them to be both effective in carrying out the processes associated with their job, and to participate effectively in the international development community – whether that be engaging with key stakeholders or reaching new audiences who have an interest in how international development works.
In order to build on the good practice that already exists in pockets across the organisation, we intend to deliver revised and invigorated training for staff in order to attain the required levels in the Civil Service competency framework and our IT skills framework. We will include digital in core training for senior management and equip them with the expertise to lead by example. We will identify and support a network of digital innovators who will work across the department with the goal of sharing best practice.
5. Getting access to resources and the right tools
To make sure we have access to the best expertise and advice on how digital can support development, we will build relationships with and seek advice from experts around the world. This will ensure our ministers and senior management team have the best evidence on how using technology can accelerate development.
We already have a Digital Leader on DFID’s executive management committee. We will establish a digital operations unit, reporting to the Digital Leader, which will coordinate the current activities of communications, systems delivery and programme design, and take responsibility for overseeing the delivery of this strategy.
Many of our staff are already digitally literate and active at home and in their communities. We want them to be equally engaged with digital in their work. We will encourage staff to use their digital skills and experience in the workplace, and ensure they have the appropriate tools to access digital channels.
6. Improving the quality and consistency of transactions
Dealing with DFID at any level should be as easy and efficient as possible - whether you are a multinational organisation that needs to understand our policy priorities, a small NGO that wants to obtain funding for a particular project, a student looking for a scholarship, a teacher looking for support in teaching global citizenship, or a citizen of a developing country who wants to know the practical side of what has been promised so you can hold your own government to account. You should be able to find the information you need or access a service as efficiently and effectively as possible, for example by using an application on a mobile phone.
Better interfaces with partners and more efficient processes will save time and money, which will in turn mean more resource for the front line to save lives and achieve an end to absolute poverty.
Next section: Scope
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What is at stake isn't just great technology and innovation, it's about helping people to build their own future
Prime Minister David Cameron