The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has awarded a £74 million, two-year contract to UK tech consultancy risual to develop new citizen-facing digital services across several of the department’s key programmes.
Risual, which was acquired by Node4 last year, will partner with data transformation specialist Eviden to deliver the application development services. The contract was awarded through the UK Government Crown Commercial Service Digital Services Provider (DSP) framework.
Colin Banno-Thornton, director of digital delivery at Defra, said the department is improving the way information and services are accessed by members of the public and businesses.
“This contract will support our development of a portfolio of digital services that will deliver our strategic objectives and ultimately benefit the environment,” he said.
“Through our partnership with Eviden, we are dedicated to delivering cutting-edge application development services that will play a crucial role in enhancing the citizen experience,” said risual CEO, Alun Rogers. “This partnership exemplifies the power of collaboration and our shared commitment to improving services across the public sector.”
Nikki Kelly, head of Northern Europe and Asia-Pacific at Eviden added that the company would “leverage our digital delivery expertise, passion for innovation and shared values to drive forward Defra’s mission to deliver excellent citizen-facing digital services for positive environmental outcomes.”
In May, the Public Accounts Committee has called for a complete overhaul of Defra’s IT systems to ensure air quality, safe food and water supply.
In its report, the Committee labelled Defra’s IT systems “outdated, inefficient, expensive, at constant risk of failure or cyberattack.”
