Welcome to the first edition of the Government Chief Digital Office Newsletter!

20 December 2024

Kia ora tātou and welcome to the inaugural edition of the Government Chief Digital Office (GCDO) newsletter.

It's been a busy year for us all, with more and more information to digest. We're looking to send out a newsletter every two months filled with information, guidance and updates for digital public service. This newsletter will come to subscribers direct by email and will also be published on digital.govt.nz.

For our first edition, we're excited to announce the release of the Service Modernisation Roadmap, where 8 agencies and 4 system leads are working together to build a unified customer experience of digital government services.

Many thanks to the agencies that brought their initiatives to the table and especially to the Service Modernisation Roadmap Taskforce, the Digital DCE Group and the Digital Executive Board for their oversight.

We're also providing updates on the OECD Digital E-Leaders Annual Meeting, the Digital Identity Services Trust Framework and AI work being led by the GCDO. We’ll loop in our colleagues from MBIE to share their work in AI for Business in later newsletter.

We welcome your feedback on what else would be helpful or pique your interest. Please forward this email to your government colleagues if you think they'll be interested. If you want to subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter, please reply to us as GCDO@dia.govt.nz.

Finally, given that this is the December issue, we would like to thank you for all of your work this year creating better digital services for government and New Zealanders. Have a wonderful and restorative Christmas break and in the meantime enjoy the first issue of our newsletter.

Ngā mihi

The Government Chief Digital Office

Service Modernisation Roadmap

The Service Modernisation Roadmap has been published

Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini - My success should not be bestowed onto me alone, it was not individual success but the success of a collective

The Service Modernisation Roadmap is an All-of-Government strategic plan designed to enhance and modernize public service delivery through digital innovation.

Service Modernisation is a priority in the Digitising Government portfolio. The Roadmap shows the work the public service are doing to progress towards a better, more unified service experience for New Zealanders. It has a rolling three-year horizon and will be refreshed annually. 

The Roadmap has four layers which address: 

• customer service experience,
• reusable digital components,
• data, digital and security foundations, and
• the underpinning capabilities the public service needs to do digital well.

There are 51 initiatives on the current iteration of the Roadmap, from 8 agencies and 4 system leads. Previous engagement on the Roadmap has been limited to a few core agencies. We are planning broader engagement with agencies in 2025 as we prepare for the next iteration of the Roadmap.

You can find the Roadmap on digital.govt.nz.

AI Community of Practice

The Community of Practice for AI in the Public Service

The GCDO has launched a new Community of Practice for the use of AI, bringing together previous groups discussing AI across the Public Service.

The first Community of Practice meeting was held this week and was well attended with 89 participants from across the Public Service - a Herculean effort for attendees in the final few working days of the year!

We used this session for introductions and to seek input on what participants would like out of future sessions using AI tools in realtime to process the chat commentary into a table of key themes.

The AI in the Public Service Community of Practice will share best practice, present case studies and learn about new tools, tips and tricks for responsible and efficient implementation of AI in our sector. It will serve as a vital platform for continuous learning and improvement, ensuring that AI technologies are harnessed effectively to benefit the public and enhance the quality of government services. We expect to meet at least monthly, predominantly through Microsoft Teams.

We are planning our second meeting for 24 January 2025. If you are part of the Public Service, haven’t received an invitation, and would like to be included, please contact us at GCDO@dia.govt.nz.

Digital Identity Services Trust Framework

Digital Identity Services Trust Framework has been launched

On November 6, the Minister for Digitising Government announced the launch of the Digital Identity Services Trust Framework, aimed at ensuring safe and secure digital identity services for New Zealanders.

The Trust Framework lays the foundation for future digital identity services, such as a digital driver license, bank ID, or trade certification. This will support New Zealanders to complete everyday tasks online and in person securely.

The Trust Framework outlines how accredited digital identity services, including provisions for privacy and security, must operate with providers required to adhere to specified rules and regulations.

Using accredited digital identity services enables secure information sharing, protects against identity theft, and gives New Zealanders greater control over their personal information. Consent is always mandatory, meaning individuals must grant explicit permission before their information is shared.

If individuals choose to use digital identity services, they will have the choice regarding the information they share and with who they share it with. While no one will be mandated to use digital identity services, those who do can have confidence that accredited services will be trusted.

Additional information about the Trust Framework can be found here: Trust Framework - dia.govt.nz.

Guidance for Public Service use of AI

New guidance for Public Service use of AI

Interim guidance for use of Gen AI for the Public Service was published in 2023. It provides initial advice from the data, digital, privacy, procurement, and security System Leaders about Public Service use of GenAI tools.

New guidance will be published in early 2025 on digital.govt.nz. The guidance will draw on feedback from users and the two AI Use Surveys that the GCDO ran in 2023 and 2024, and aligns with guidance MBIE is drafting for GenAI for businesses.

The updated GenAI guidance will be pitched at decision-makers, but will likely be useful for others in the public service and beyond.

The GCDO is working closely with MBIE to ensure our AI guidance for the Public Service is aligned with advice for the wider economy.

International engagement in Digital

Recent overseas engagement of the GCDO

Insights from the OECD E-Leaders Annual Meeting in October 2024

The meeting’s theme was “Fostering integrated governments for better policies and proactive services,” covering AI governance, public consultation on information integrity, and foundations for integrated government.

We heard that within the OECD network, 70% of governments are already using AI for administrative work, two thirds have used AI to improve delivery of services, and 30% to improve policy outcomes.

Insights were also shared on prioritising, funding, and delivering Digital Public Infrastructure, with examples from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Brazil, Uruguay, and Ireland.

Members discussed the value of OECD E-Leaders Digital Government Index Survey. The survey is one of the key indicators for New Zealand to understand our position in digitising government compared to other OECD countries, and where our strengths and weakness lie.

Insights from the Digital Nations Ministerial Summit in November 2024

This event was hosted by Denmark and highlighted priorities and approaches that all members are taking to advance digitising government. The theme for this year’s summit was “Ethical use of AI." The summit was opened by the Danish Minister for Digital Affairs, Caroline Stage. 

Each country was invited to present their interventions on two AI focused discussions including, “AI as a Driver for Growth and Competitiveness”, and “AI and Skills for the Future Labour Market”. Countries covered relevant initiatives taken; strategies and regulatory frameworks developed.

We will keep you updated on what we can learn from our international engagement during the coming year.

Upcoming events

Digital and media

The Government Chief Digital Officer's Feedback on the Public Service Commission's Long-term Insights Briefing topics

We recently published feedback from the Government Chief Digital Officer, Paul James, on the Public Service Commission's proposed Long-term Insights Briefing topics. 

As Government Chief Digital Officer, and given the constrained fiscal environment, Paul wants to see agencies become more efficient, effective and digitally enabled. Paul recommended that the Public Service Commission focus on the future of Public Service Organisations for the Long-term Insights Briefing, with a secondary focus on the future of the Public Service workforce.  

You can read Paul's full response on digital.govt.nz.