Tonight I’m at the Institute for Government, where I am part of a group launching our collaboratively developed “Manifesto for Better Public Services” together with a more detailed “Green Paper”. So what’s it all about? Well, in 1941 the founder of the modern welfare state William Beveridge asked: “How would one plan social insurance now if one had a clear field … without being hampered by vested interests of any kind?Today, we ask: “How would one plan a modern, internet-enabled state if one had a clear field … without being hampered by vested interests of any kind? And, most importantly, how can we transition successfully from our current state to that future state? To get hold of the reports visit: http://www.digitizinggovernment.org/manifesto Note: These final documents are the work of Jerry Fishenden, Mark Thompson and Will Venters. However, they draw upon valuable insights, critiques, pushback, feedback and improvements contributed by Andy Beale, Alan Brown, James Duncan, James Findlay, Sally Howes, Renate Samson and Simon Wardley. And some others who prefer to remain anonymous. We would also like to thank Liz Bennett for her skill, and patience, in turning our scribbles and jottings into something much better designed and engaging.
This work also builds on our research activity published in: “Appraising the impact and role of platform models and Government as a Platform (GaaP) in UK Government public service reform: towards a Platform Assessment Framework (PAF)”
Alan Brown, Jerry Fishenden, M Thompson, Will Venters
Government Information Quarterly 34 (2), 167-182, 2017

Written by Dr Will Venters