DfE's actions in response to the Government Digital Strategy
Updated 16 January 2015
© Crown copyright 2015
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-government-digital-strategy-actions/dfes-actions-in-response-to-the-government-digital-strategy
Action 1: Departmental and transactional agency boards will include an active digital leader
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Department for Education (DfE) has a digital leader in place to orchestrate digital direction throughout the department and ensuring alignment with the broader government objectives through a DfE investment board. The board is a sub-board of the DfE executive management committee providing governance over the totality of IT deliverables with a view to ensuring continued alignment with business strategy, policy implementation and business operational priorities.
Progress during 2013
DfE has a digital leader in place as well as a digital board sponsor. There are programmes of work reporting to the IT strategy board to align digital and IT programmes of work where possible. A digital community has been commissioned to bring together digital expertise (both delivery and policy) and share standards and good practice.
Planned activities in 2014
The DfE digital leader will meet with all directors to engage with them on all aspects of digital and their individual policy/delivery areas. The digital leader will review organisational structure and roles within teams, with the aim of optimising digital by default delivery.
Progress during 2014
DfE had a change of digital leadership in 2014 and a departmental digital sponsor from the board has been nominated.
Planned activities in 2015
The DfE digital leader is establishing a strategic view of digital activity for the next 2 financial years, to help co-ordinate planning and implementation of new digital services.
Action 2: Services handling over 100,000 transactions each year will be redesigned, operated and improved by a suitably skilled, experienced and empowered service manager
Service managers will be in place for new and redesigned transactions from April 2013.
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
The DfE has identified the immediate transactional services that will be redesigned to move the department to a more digital by default organisation. The department is considering how to resource the required service managers to ensure their success and ongoing development.
Progress during 2013
DfE has trained 3 service managers on key digital projects.
Planned activities in 2014
An organisational review of digital skills will be undertaken across the digital community. DfE will ensure that all important digital projects will have a service manager appointed. Members of the digital community will be invited to attend training where appropriate.
Progress during 2014
Service managers were assigned to a number of departmental digital projects.
A service manager was accredited within the Digital Transformation Unit and a product manager delivered the Get into Teaching website.
Planned activities in 2015
New integrated digital governance is being put in place to ensure that service managers are identified at an early stage of a digital redesign project and are appropriately trained.
Action 3: All departments will ensure that they have appropriate digital capability in-house, including specialist skills
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
To maximise the benefits of becoming a digital by default department it will need colleagues to become more digitally savvy and capable. DfE will create a digital culture within the department with increased capabilities, new specific digital job roles and with digital embedded in their day-to-day business.
Progress during 2013
A presentation was given to the directors by the director general responsible for transformation at Ministry of Justice. DfE is working with human resources and internal comms to put together a campaign to raise awareness of digital standards, digital by default and open policymaking for staff throughout DfE.
Planned activities in 2014
DfE will work with human resources to raise the profile of using digital to find better ways of working. DfE will bring in external representatives of virtual expert bodies (teachers groups on Twitter, etc) to bridge the gap in the department between policymakers and their audiences. Presentations will be given by open government data colleagues on open policymaking.
Progress during 2014
DfE established a small multidisciplinary technical team to provide specialist development capability. User experience and research capabilities are currently supplied by a partner supplier.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE will assess current skills and knowledge and establish a programme to ensure all specialist digital staff have the skills and capabilities to perform effectively and also can help train others across the wider department. The department will increase civil servants’ level of understanding to at least level 7 on the digital inclusion scale.
Action 4: Cabinet Office will support improved digital capability across departments
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Not applicable but will form part of the work to support Government Digital Strategy action 3.
Progress during 2013
DfE has supported the work by Cabinet Office to raise digital capability across departments.
Planned activities in 2014
DfE will continue to support the work by Cabinet Office to raise digital capability across departments.
Progress during 2014
DfE worked with the Government Digital Service (GDS) and the Cross-Government Transformation Working Group to identify the digital and transformational skills required for its departments.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE will:
- undertake a survey to measure the awareness and understanding of digital by default in DfE and its agencies and arm’s length bodies (ALBs)
- hold a digital learning month in February
- establish a departmental digital skills and capability building plan
Action 5: For transactional departments, 3 exemplar services will be selected. Redesign starting April 2013, implemented by March 2015 (to be included in relevant business plans). Following this, departments will redesign all services handling over 100,000 transactions each year
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Amongst others, DfE has instigated 2 key projects which will support the government’s commitment to becoming digital by default. Firstly, there will be the Schools Performance Data Programme which will for the first time bring together school spending data, school performance data, pupil cohort data and Ofsted judgments in a parent-friendly portal, searchable by postcode. Secondly, there will be a redesign of the DfE customer contact channels where it will be moving to further digital channel engagement over more traditional methods.
Progress during 2013
The Schools Performance Data Programme contract has, with the approval of GDS, been awarded. The company has worked with DfE and GDS to ensure a common agile approach to development and broader adherence to the Digital by Default Service Standard. DfE has commissioned a supplier to help re-engineer all of its online forms, including its Customer Contact Hub. The Academies Conversion Process and the Online Marketplace are currently in alpha development.
Planned activities in 2014
The Schools Performance Data Programme customer-facing portal will be launched in the first quarter of 2014. The DfE Customer Contact Hub should also be delivered by then, although this will be dependent on the findings of the channel shift programme which is currently with the department. Further iterations of the Academies Conversion Process and the Online Marketplace will continue within 2014.
Progress during 2014
DfE reassessed and re-scoped the School Performance Data programme to focus on changing priorities.
Planned activities in 2015
Following the re-scope of the School Performance Data programme, the Digital Delivery Unit will work with the business to design and implement new services in an agile and user-centred way.
Action 6: From April 2014, all new or redesigned transactional services will meet the Digital by Default Service Standard
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
Digital by default service standards now form part of the design requirements for any transaction or information service being designed.
Progress during 2013
DfE has communicated the Digital by Default Service Standard widely across the department, with particular focus on all service managers.
Planned activities in 2014
DfE will promote the Digital by Default Service Standard during its digital month in February 2014.
Progress during 2014
DfE piloted its digital by default assessment panel with beta assessments of the Education Funding Agency’s Information Exchange programme and Get Into Teaching website.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE will extend the use of its departmental digital by default assessment panel. It will promote digital spend controls and governance processes. To support implementation and raise awareness of digital services and skills DfE will run a digital month in February.
Action 7: Corporate publishing activities of all 24 central government departments will move onto GOV.UK by March 2013, with agency and ALBs’ online publishing to follow by July 2014
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
DfE is aligned with GDS’s corporate publishing move to GOV.UK. On launch of GOV.UK, the department moved some of its content on to the new site, but work will continue with GDS to continue the transition of further content to GOV.UK for the whole DfE group by March 2014.
Progress during 2013
DfE used the user needs workshop, run by GDS, to prepare its content for transition to GOV.UK.
Planned activities in 2014
The remainder of content on www.education.gov.uk will transition to GOV.UK by March 2014. The domain will remain to support its legacy services.
Progress during 2014
All agency and ALB websites were migrated to GOV.UK.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE will build on the successful transition of all ALBs to GOV.UK and continue to develop and improve content, working with GDS to refine the proposition for its main audience groups.
Action 8: Departments will raise awareness of their digital services so that more people know about them and use them
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
As new or redesigned services go live, the launch and communication activities that support them will be planned by the specific project teams to meet their specific target audiences. The department is also undertaking a channel shift strategy which will result in improved signposting to information and services as part of the move to an enhanced self-serve offer.
Progress during 2013
DfE has ensured that all services are being developed in an agile way, driven by user needs.
Planned activities in 2014
The channel shift strategy will be delivered in the first quarter of 2014. It’s expected to reduce avoidable contact and see more users using the online services and benefitting from a better user experience.
Progress during 2014
DfE established a new ‘contact us’ form, which pulls together all the individual forms previously used to correspond with DfE, including freedom of information requests, school complaints and general comments, feedback and issues. It is a single entry point for the customer to engage with DfE and its agencies, improving the quality of service and generating significant efficiency and cost savings.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE will continue to develop and implement a channel shift strategy, and to promote it as part of wider work to raise awareness of digital services across the department and its partner organisations.
Action 9: We will take a cross-government approach to assisted digital
This means that people who have rarely or never been online will be able to access services offline, and we will provide additional ways for them to use the digital services.
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
DfE recognises that not all of its customers and audiences are online, and that not everyone will be able to use these services independently. They are therefore aligned with GDS’s cross-government approach to assisted digital, with this central to the Customer Contact Channel Shift project.
Progress during 2013
The DfE channel shift strategy has been commissioned and will include assisted digital in its scope.
Planned activities in 2014
The channel shift strategy, which includes assisted digital, will be implemented in the first quarter of 2014. DfE expect to see a reduction in avoidable contact and more users using online services, benefitting from a better user experience.
Progress during 2014
DfE worked to provide inclusive services that meet the diverse needs of its user base.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE will continue to work on providing inclusive services that meet the needs of its diverse user base, ensuring all new or redeveloped digital services have an assisted digital plan in place.
Action 10: Cabinet Office will offer leaner and more lightweight tendering processes, as close to the best practice in industry as our regulatory requirements allow
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
DfE will align to government defined procurement processes. It will continue to rationalise its IT estate to make sure that it is getting the most out of the technology. It will also make better use of government IT procurement best practice through using the new G-Cloud procurement framework.
Progress during 2013
DfE has already used the G-Cloud framework when procuring agile suppliers.
Planned activities in 2014
The department will use the new Digital Services framework as well as G-Cloud.
Progress during 2014
The department used the recommended government procurement frameworks for the procurement of digital services.
Planned activities in 2015
The department will continue to use the recommended government procurement frameworks for the procurement of digital services. DfE plans to work with procurement, commercial and Crown Commercial Service colleagues to increase awareness of these frameworks across the department.
Action 11: Cabinet Office will lead in the definition and delivery of a new suite of common technology platforms which will underpin the new generation of digital by default services
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
DfE is nearing the completion of a significant IT rationalisation programme following the ALB reform programme. It intends to source a set of strategic platforms that include CRM, business process management, collaboration and business intelligence to standardise shared IT services, remove legacy ALB platforms and applications and make associated cost savings.
Progress during 2013
DfE has worked with GDS and other departments to develop common platforms to provide information and services.
Planned activities in 2014
DfE will continue to work with GDS and other departments to develop common platforms to provide information and services.
Progress during 2014
DfE continued to work with GDS and other departments in the development of common platforms to provide information and services.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE will continue to work with GDS and other departments in the development of common platforms to provide information and services.
Action 12: Cabinet Office will continue to work with departments to remove legislative barriers which unnecessarily prevent the development of straightforward and convenient digital services
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
DfE is not aware of any significant legislative barriers to achieving digital by default for its services. It will work with Cabinet Office to identify and amend any legislative barriers, in particular as it rebuilds services to be digital by default.
Progress during 2013
DfE is not aware of any significant legislative barriers to achieving digital by default for its services.
Planned activities in 2014
DfE does not anticipate any significant legislative barriers to achieving digital by default for its services.
Progress during 2014
DfE did not encounter any significant legislative barriers to achieving digital by default for its services.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE does not anticipate any significant legislative barriers to ensuring its services are digital by default. Where any are identified, it will work with Cabinet Office and interested parties to remove them where it can.
Action 13: Departments will supply a consistent set of management information (as defined by the Cabinet Office) for their transactional services
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
DfE’s Digital Intelligence Team is fully engaged with GDS colleagues to ensure a complete set of management information is provided.
Progress during 2013
DfE has been working with GDS to agree standards for the Performance Platform for various digital projects.
Planned activities in 2014
DfE will increase its user testing of both the content sitting on GOV.UK and its legacy services.
Progress during 2014
DfE used a management information tool to guide the development of user-centred services.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE will continue to use the management information tool and analytics to guide decision making and the development of user-centred services.
Action 14: Policy teams will use digital tools and techniques to engage with and consult the public
Departmental digital strategy commitments (December 2012)
The DfE will initiate a digital literacy programme to improve the skills of staff who will have a new requirement to use digital tools and techniques as part of their work. Broader engagement with the public will be made through social media channels. The department is engaging with GDS and other departments on how to best implement open policy development (ie crowd-source models).
Progress during 2013
DfE’s Digital Transformation Unit worked closely with the department’s Continuous Improvement Team, human resources and internal communications to launch a campaign of digital awareness-raising within the department. This focused on how it could help staff improve their productivity. The department’s social media team worked with relevant policy teams to help them use digital engagement techniques to develop better policies.
Planned activities in 2014
The awareness-raising exercise will increase in 2014 as the department looks to move to a more digital by default model. The Digital Transformation Unit will work with the social media team to identify more policy teams to pilot digital engagement techniques in policymaking.
Progress during 2014
DfE and its agencies launched 3 GOV.UK blogs. In addition DfE created and deployed a number of public-facing tools such as a ‘contact us’ hub and a live chat facility.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE will continue to develop blogs so it can better engage and consult with the public. It will work with policy teams to raise their awareness and understanding of what digital by default means for future policies, and how digital can help them develop their policies.
Action 15: Collaborate with partners across public, private and voluntary sectors to help people go online
Action 15 was added to the Digital Strategy in December 2013, so reporting on departments’ actions will begin with 2014.
Progress during 2014
DfE has appointed a digital inclusion lead, accountable to the departmental digital leader.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE’s digital inclusion lead, with the support of the digital leader, will continue to work with the digital inclusion team in GDS and collaborate with partners across public, private and voluntary sectors to build digital inclusion into policymaking.
Action 16: Help third party organisations create new services and better information access for their own users by opening up government data and transactions
Action 16 was added to the Digital Strategy in December 2013, so reporting on departments’ actions will begin with 2014.
Progress during 2014
DfE fully supports the principles of opening up government data and transactions to help third party organisations create new digital services for the public. DfE initiated a number of open data projects with the aim of working with industry and market-leading organisations to develop additional innovative digital services that meet user needs.
Planned activities in 2015
DfE will build on the open data work it started. It will iterate and where possible open up more data sets, collaborating with third parties to create new digital services. It will use open standards to enable DfE data to be used across the widest possible range of platforms and services.