Simon Phipps

Scottish tech ecosystem ‘fragmented’ and ‘hard to navigate’ according to new snapshot report. Barry McDonald, former VP Community at CodeBase, holds "very constructive" meeting with First Minister following conclusion of his 100 Coffees initiative ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e448NBYs #Scotland #tech #ecosystem

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The Government Digital Service has highlighted a number of ‘pain points’ in the use of application programme interfaces in central government. No surprise in this: APIs have been high on the agenda for public sector digital for a long time, progress has been slow - not necessarily due to failings on the public sector side - and there is still a widespread sense of a potential unfulfilled. https://lnkd.in/eBnctc8E It's a subject that UKAuthorITy and Cognizant researched last year, producing a white paper that produced perspectives on the problems and steps that could be taken to support progress. https://lnkd.in/eBnctc8E #govtech #apis

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Twelve years ago, the Government Digital Service (GDS) told us that it was “not ‘appy at all”. In a March 2013 blog post, GDS announced it would not develop a government mobile app and would instead pursue an adaptive web, HMTL5-based approach, laying a foundation that has framed online government ever since. With the launch this week of the first Gov.uk App, it’s even more clear in hindsight what a limiting decision it was to say, “by default, no apps” to Whitehall web developers. As the world became used to apps, and apps became the default way by which mobile users interacted with services, shopping, streaming, content and information, so the limitations of the old GDS approach became clear. Here's my take on this week's announcement and why it could (maybe) be a turning point in digital government (and for a government-backed national digital identity scheme)... https://lnkd.in/eHHiFTJR

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When the UK AI Opportunities Action Plan was announced, the wording around the AI centres for excellence suggested that investment and interest would concentrate around the south. I hoped that this would not be the case, but it seems that once again, the north is overlooked. https://lnkd.in/eYvCMnrK

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Interesting academic case study into GOV.UK Notify rollout: https://lnkd.in/e7rFXwiy Feels to me like this ought to be something easily adopted in local government. I did some digging into Notify uptake in local gov a year or so ago, and found that many councils use Notify for one or two things, but it was rarely considered a core component of digital service delivery. Why? Because sending SMS notifications isn't part of many workflows. Often because it was seen as too expensive when looked at 10 or 15 years ago. Encouraging councils to send more SMS notifications is the start, because leveraging Notify to do it is an absolute no-brainer.

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The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has announced a new four pronged approach for UK #Government #funding for #PublicSector #AI experiments and #digital projects - the move is aimed at embedding a #StartUp mindset to cut down waste in taxpayer funding, boost efficiency and improve services. Four different funds will be made available through a staged funding model, with the money supplied in increments if a project is providing successful at its different stages, to support an #agile approach to developments. 👉 DSIT has also indicated that the Government is also taking a #DigitalFirst approach to decisions in #SpendingReview2025, to ensure that strategic judgements about its digital needs inform departmental allocations. https://lnkd.in/eNPS9Gbd

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According to the Institute For Fiscal Studies, since 2010, reductions in local government funding have resulted in an 18% real-term drop in council budgets per capita, with many of the cuts impacting social care.      This is one of the key reasons we invested in OLM Systems. We strongly believe digital investment is fundamental to transforming social care and public services. Our commitment to supporting local authorities has never been stronger, particularly as social care faces mounting financial and operational pressures.      To build resilient, trusted public services, digital acceleration cannot wait.      #Civica #GovTechChampion #DigitalTransformation #SocialCare #PublicSector   

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Disinformation is the biggest threat to public trust. Protecting democracies starts with full visibility into the conversations shaping them. Cyabra’s research uncovered an influence operation targeting Scotland. For months, a coordinated bot network amplified pro-independence and anti-Brexit content, framing trusted institutions as biased and reaching hundreds of millions of views. The campaign was exposed when Iran’s internet went dark in June. The accounts vanished, then returned weeks later with overtly pro-Iranian narratives. This is a textbook example of how state-linked operations hijack genuine public debate. Read Cyabra’s findings in UKDJ: https://lnkd.in/eaWYFdBn

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Excellent session delivered by Jayvik Patel 🧠 & Sean O'Connell around Luton Borough Council's delivery of a Beta LocalGov Drupal site in under 90 days brings the #localgovdigital Open Source week (3.5 days in reality) to a close. Some excellent sessions around LocalGovDrupal, Open Source Income Management Systems (IMS), Open Source Adult Social Care and Open Source Revenues and Benefits. Videos and slides online soon

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The FES return is now live in ebs! From today, Scottish colleges can complete their statutory funding return from Tribal ebs. With data validation on entry, accessible web screens, and near-instant return generation, funding teams will be able to focus on where they're needed most, backed by efficient, automated software. Find out more: https://hubs.ly/Q03vdPnF0

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The power of partnership - our work with Defra and the Government Digital Sustainability Alliance features in the latest P2zero case study https://lnkd.in/e6Fx_gCB. We've been examining how the UK government carries out digital carbon footprint reporting across all the various departments and suggesting ways it can be improved. "The work of the GDSA Scope 3 working group has been instrumental in helping government identify and understand key reporting gaps. Their proactive approach and expertise have proven invaluable, which we are very grateful for. Their guidance is directly informing the upcoming Government Digital Sustainability Strategy 2025–2030, which will shape how departments manage their own ICT and digital estates.” Lydia Tabbron (Defra), GDSA Co-ordinator.  This is the IT industry and its customers genuinely working together to reduce impacts and costs & improve awareness and outcomes. Anna Fountain Tom Parry Tony Sudworth Mark Butcher Gerry Hackett

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