This month at Public Health England we have
- finished the content allocation stage of transitioning the Health Protection Agency website to GOV.UK
- chosen an agency to work with us on our digital strategy, who we procured through the Digital Services Store (I can say who it is next month when we’ve signed the paperwork)
- started the formal consultation about how we expand and restructure the digital team
- done a lot of work with finance to make sure we have the budget we need, as always
We have had great feedback and input from colleagues. The Government Digital Service and the Department of Health are really pleased with the approach we are taking on website transition and the progress we are making. I presented the work we are doing to the meeting of Digital Leaders from all the Department of Health arms length bodies. It was fascinating to learn about what the other organisations are up to and learn from them about what we can do. In particular, NHS Blood and Transplant have similar challenges to us, and it was great to spent some time with Ceri Rose, my counterpart there.
In Rebecca Industries I have settled into my second project. I am working with a big IT company on how they can approach the digital government market in the UK. I have been struck by how similar it is to the Civil Service in some ways. People are motivated by giving the best service to the public. The organisation is dispersed and personal networks are very important. And there are some people who have got digital projects going using their skills and entrepreneurial spirit, but some people who aren’t sure how to start. That’s where I come in!
