Tara McGeehan on local government tech priorities and CGI’s impact in the sector
Hot on the heels of CGI being named one of the UK’s leading technology consulting companies, ConsultancyUK spoke with Tara McGeehan, President for the UK and Australia, on CGI’s growing role in the UK’s local government scene, and key trends and developments unfolding in the sector.
How does the UK fare when it comes to technology adoption in local government?
The UK is arguably one of the leading countries when it comes to local and regional technology adoption. Both central and regional leaders understand the importance of technology in improving citizen experience.
As an example, the City of Edinburgh is upgrading its IT infrastructure, adopting a centralised, cloud based system to improve access to health and social care services, as well as boost justice systems. This is an important step forward in leveraging effective digital devolution to improve the lives of residents and constituents.
However, as regional technology priorities can differ so much, the systems in place can often be siloed and decentralised. Addressing this directly has been a key focus of central government’s devolution agenda, especially in looking at how local authorities operate. The government recently announced a digital first approach, abolishing smaller local authorities and combining them into larger regional ones.
By fostering greater collaboration between organisations, local leaders can share their learnings amongst peers to accelerate the implementation of effective technology initiatives.
What are the priorities for local government leaders?
In a recent CGI study, we found that the local technology priorities for local governments can be split across five pillars:
- Digital Sustainability: Regional commitments to tackling climate change through innovative digital solutions. 100% of the metro mayor manifestos used in the CGI study identified this as a priority.
- Digital Devolution: A reflecting of a collective desire for greater local control over digital infrastructure and decision-making.
- Digital Productivity: Leveraging technology to drive regional economic growth and workforce efficiency. 92% of the leader manifestos identified this as a priority.
- Digital Supply Chain Resilience: A critical part of global businesses, and notably prone to disruption. 75% of metro mayors identified shoring this up using technology was important to protecting regional needs.
- Digital Sovereignty: Utilising innovation to protect regional data. 50% of the leaders included in our study highlighted this as a priority.
Are there any areas of technology they should focus on more than another?
As outlined, many local government leaders already emphasised certain digital pillars over others. Notably sustainability, devolution and productivity were key priorities for regional leaders, with a goal to elevate progress to meeting climate change goals, improve digital infrastructure and drive regional growth.
At a fundamental level, local authorities shouldn’t prioritise one technology over the other. It’s critically about understanding the unique challenges and opportunities for constituents and then mapping this back to the best solution available. The emergence of AI has provided a huge opportunity for government organisations to achieve more significant productivity gains and speed up the time to implement, test and refine their digital programmes.
What are the major challenges faced by the public sector to unlock the benefits of technology?
Due to the decentralised nature of regional governments and the ever-changing political landscape, outdated legacy infrastructure can be a persistent issue in keeping up with constantly evolving tech innovations.
Coupled with the above, resourcing and budget constraints mean that regional governments need to have a more considered approach to accessing top talent. This also means leaders have to be more mindful of funding allocation when selecting the new technology they plan on integrating.
Given how fast-moving the technology industry is, staff need to continually be matching this pace of learning or risk being left behind. Therefore, it’s critical that leaders provide access to reskilling and upskilling pathways – this will build stronger resilience into the projects they manage, empower their workforce and ultimately mean their teams are able to better explore the applications of technology going forward.
What are the biggest opportunities for local governments and the Metro mayors when it comes to technology? And how will this help the people in the regions they serve?
Technology is a critical tool for local governments to improve the lives of the public by supporting new developments within existing infrastructure for key public services. For instance, by facilitating easier and more equitable access to digital health services for vulnerable communities.
For example, the City of Edinburgh is shortly to upgrade its case management system to enhance social care and justice services for residents. This new system, called Mosaic, will provide a centralised, cloud-based architecture so children and vulnerable adults are able to tap into the services they need whilst avoiding needless bureaucracy.
What role can national government play in helping them realise these opportunities?
National government can primarily support local and regional leaders by unlocking financial resources, access to experts in their field and coordinating a centralised strategy. National government naturally has more steer on how effective new technologies can be at a holistic level, but regional leaders need to tailor and adjust delivery to meet the needs of their constituents.
What advice would you give the leaders following the May elections?
Every new leader will have their own priorities and a team of experts to support them. Whatever the priority, it’s clear that tech is a driver for positive change. Leaders will know the challenges their constituents face, but it is important to bring in additional minds to look at possible solutions.
Can you provide some insight on the role CGI is playing with local authorities?
CGI’s role as a technology and business consultancy is to provide strategic and measurable advice on technology implementation. We support government – both central and local – to utilise the applications of bespoke technology to see impressive results, that offer value for money for the public purse. We embed consultants, located within the relevant constituency, to provide bespoke and targeted advice needed to integrate technology in the most effective way.
We have a footprint across a number of programmes in the UK, such as supporting Norfolk County Council and Buckinghamshire Council improve rural broadband connectivity. We have also helped Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Borders region in Scotland elevate their education delivery, supporting in-classroom technology, and upgrading legacy systems.
Finally, how is CGI growing across the UK?
We’ve seen compounding and significant success as a technology and business consultancy, across all the disciplines and sectors we operate in. Recently we completed the acquisition of BJSS, bringing 2,400 incredibly talented professionals to CGI bolstering our expertise across AI and key sectors like the public sector.
CGI has a track record of delivering value to its clients and as such, we have developed strong longstanding relationships. We have a commitment to our clients, regardless of industry, to support tech integration well, and we do this through our inhouse team of talented and experienced experts, as well as our network of delivery support partnerships.
