Are We There Yet? The Digital Transformation of Government and the Public Service in Australia

Digital transformation across the public sector has stalled. After over 25 years of considerable time, money, and effort at national, state, and local levels, we’re still not 'there' yet. The reason is that successive waves of investment in digital transformation have focused largely on improving the transactional functions and activities of government. They have failed to embrace a bigger challenge - the need for governing and government to rethink a new 'theory of the business' - which that same revolution has caused and to which it is an inescapable part of the answer. This is a unique, timely, and distinctly Australian look at a global phenomenon by two 'reflective practitioners'. Their personal and practical experience of digital transformation in government and the public sector in Australia suggests it is a story missing half its plot. Packed full of insights from government and digital leaders from around Australia and across the world, this is a much-needed practical guide for public servants and leaders in any jurisdiction. It contains insights and ideas about the way digital technologies, and their associated tools, platforms, and cultures, are changing the business of governing and the design and delivery of public policy and services. "Are We There Yet? lucidly diagnoses how digital technologies, including AI and big data, are transforming the role of the public servant and the project of governance itself. Stewart-Weeks and Cooper describe the important shift from power to problem-solving and explain how to harness digital transformation to make government work better for all of us." - Beth Noveck, author of Wiki Government, former Deputy Chief Technology Officer in the Obama White House, Professor in Technology, Culture & Society, New York University and Chief Innovation Officer for New Jersey "I've read a lot about the potential impact of digital technology on public services … this is the first book to persuade me that the power of digital, properly conceived, really can transform the nature of democratic governance." - Professor Peter Shergold AC, Chancellor, Western Sydney University, Former Secretary, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet