Last week’s announcement of the new Digital Transformation Agency reveals a sense of urgency and ambition on the part of Prime Minister Turnbull to drive better digital service delivery in the government sector.
Aside from a small tweak in its name from Digital Transformation Office (DTO) to Digital Transformation Agency (DTA), everything else that comes with it is going to be new, bigger or better. What we can expect: a new structure, an expanded remit, and more power.
DTA promises to be a souped-up version of the government’s DTO. The rebranded agency will be responsible for the ICT policy and ICT procurement functions, centralise the management and roll-out of major ICT projects from across government, and will continue to drive the core of government digital delivery ambitions.
With procurement as one of its core focus, the DTA will also simplify and shorten the process for smaller innovative companies keen to pitch for government work.
It has been armed with a broader set of incentives to get departments on board the Prime Minister’s whole-of-government digitisation plans.
Ultimately the changes will make way for simpler systems, accelerate the delivery of digital services and build greater user satisfaction.
But as governments go about making these changes, what can local start-ups and tech business do to take advantage of them? Where are the opportunities?
InnovationAus.com is proud to host its second annual Open Opportunity forums at two half-day events in Sydney (November 17) and Canberra (November 24) to chart the progress of public sector digital transformation.
The Open Opportunity event is supported by Australia’s premier data research asset, Data61.
Both events will cover digital transformation, tech procurement/industry development, and cybersecurity.
The Sydney event will turn the spotlight on the industry side of the equation and how the local industry can take advantage of these opportunities. The Canberra event will focus more on the public service side of the equation.
We are stoked to have an influential line-up of top thinkers in the government and technology space:
- Angus Taylor, Assistant Minister for Smart Cities and Digital Transformation
- Paul Shetler, CEO, Digital Transformation Office
- Martin Hoffman, Secretary, NSW Department of Finance, Services and Innovation
- Adrian Turner, CEO, Data61
- Dr Rachna Gandhi, Chief Executive Officer, Service NSW
- Lynwen Connick, First Assistant Secretary Information Sharing and Intelligence, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
- Nicholas Gruen, Chairman, Australian Centre for Social Innovation
- Matthew Landauer, Co-Founder OpenAustralia Foundation and former Head of Product, DTO
- Marcus Price, CEO, PEXA
- John-Paul Syriatowicz, Group CEO, Squiz
- Pia Waugh, Public Sector Data expert
- Nick Gonios, CEO, 8common
The digital transformation across governments is not showing any signs of abating, and improvements and changes are expected to come fast and furious.
Open Opportunity 2016 explores the rapidly changing technology environment in the government sector. Join us as we examine these recent changes under the magnifying glass and tease out the opportunities for Australian tech SME and innovative start-ups.