Public sector leaders should focus less on technology hype and more on outcomes, culture, data foundations and user needs if government is to avoid repeating past digital transformation failures, speakers at Think Digital Government said.
During a panel discussion on how senior leaders can drive digital transformation, speakers from government and industry argued that successful reform depends less on adopting the latest technology and more on solving real problems, improving services and bringing people with them through change.
Amanda Payne, client success and strategy director at GAIN (pictured), said many organisations were still operating on fragile digital foundations despite years of transformation programmes.
“I’ve spent 15 years building on those foundations that are rickety, that are patched, and the digital layer above it is hiding a lot of that. I’m really excited about finally being able to fix that, but also worry that there’s not a single level of maturity across the public sector,” she said.
Victoria Cope, commercial director and chief procurement officer for digital and data at the Ministry of Defence, said transformation had too often become synonymous with technology procurement rather than service improvement.
“Digital transformation in the past is very much segmented around the technology,” she said. “We’ve forgotten a couple of bits sometimes.”
Those missing pieces, she argued, include culture, user adoption and strong data foundations.
Cope also warned that successful transformation is not just about introducing new systems, but about shutting down outdated ones too.
“It’s equally, if not more important, about the systems that we then turn off as well,” she said.
AI hype could help – if leaders use it properly
Although speakers warned against being distracted by AI hype, they also argued that the current excitement around AI presents a rare opportunity for public sector leaders to secure investment in long-overdue infrastructure improvements.
Payne said AI enthusiasm could help generate support for foundational work that previously struggled to gain attention.
“One of the reasons to get people excited about infrastructure and excited about foundations is if you want A, you need to do B,” she said.
The panel suggested that organisations should use AI momentum to modernise data architecture, improve interoperability and tackle technical debt rather than simply layering new tools on top of broken systems.
Speakers also repeatedly stressed the importance of discipline and prioritisation, warning leaders against chasing every new technology trend.
Cope said organisations must stay anchored to a clear roadmap and be willing to reject projects that distract from core transformation goals.
“No can be a full sentence. Only doing the things that hang on that roadmap and really doubling down on the foundational aspects we need,” she said.
Payne added that transformation programmes often fail because organisations do not properly define the problem they are trying to solve before jumping into delivery.
“What’s the problem you’re trying to solve?” she said. “Then you have the impact, then you know what the desired outcome is going to be.”
Why this wave of transformation feels different
The discussion acknowledged that public sector transformation has a long history of missed deadlines, failed programmes and criticism from bodies such as the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee. But panellists argued that the current moment differs from previous waves of reform because both the technology and citizen expectations have changed significantly.
Speakers pointed to the growing role of AI, increasing public expectations of digital services, and stronger political backing for digital reform across government.
Cope said there is now much stronger sponsorship for digital, data and AI agendas at the centre of government, alongside growing pressure from citizens and employees who increasingly expect the same quality of digital experiences they receive elsewhere in their lives.
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“We really need to be upping our game,” she said.
The panel also suggested that government now has an opportunity to build on the foundations established by the Government Digital Service (GDS) over the past decade, particularly around standards, service design and cross-government collaboration.
Culture remains the biggest challenge
Despite the focus on AI and emerging technologies, speakers repeatedly returned to the importance of people and culture in determining whether transformation efforts succeed or fail.
Payne warned that programmes still struggle when they become overly technology-led and fail to bring staff along with the journey.
“You have to bring the people, the culture along with you,” she said.
The panel discussed the growing levels of change fatigue across government, particularly as teams continue to deal with shifting ministerial priorities, budget pressures and constant organisational change.
Cope said senior leaders must spend more time helping ministers understand how digital transformation supports policy outcomes, rather than treating technology programmes as separate initiatives.
“How can we tap into that and say actually there’s these things here that will actually help to achieve that outcome?” she said.
The discussion also highlighted the growing importance of digital and AI skills across government.
Cope argued that future skills requirements go far beyond simply learning how to use AI tools.
“How do you then make a risk-based judgement of what comes out of that?” she said. “And then how do you use your strategic judgement to make a decision?”
Lessons for senior leaders driving digital transformation
The panel repeatedly returned to several practical themes for leaders trying to drive digital reform across government:
1. Focus on outcomes, not technology: Transformation should improve services and citizen outcomes rather than become a standalone objective.
2. Use AI momentum to secure foundational investment: AI enthusiasm can help unlock funding for data modernisation, infrastructure and interoperability work.
3. Prioritise ruthlessly: Leaders must stay focused on long-term roadmaps and avoid distraction from hype-driven projects.
4. Solve real problems first: Transformation efforts should begin with a clearly defined problem statement and measurable outcomes.
5. Don’t ignore legacy systems: Modernisation is not only about introducing new platforms, but also retiring old ones and learning from existing services.
6. Bring people with you: Culture, adoption and communication remain essential to successful transformation.
7. Build digital and AI skills across government: Future leaders will need stronger judgement, governance and critical thinking capabilities around AI.
8. Keep citizens at the centre: Transformation should ultimately reduce friction and improve how citizens interact with public services.
