Understanding the Principal-Agent Problem in Agile Adoption: How Internal Champions Can Help Align Goals and Culture

The principal-agent problem is a common issue in economics that arises when one party (the principal) hires another party (the agent) to act on their behalf. The problem arises because the interests of the principal and the agent may not be aligned, and the agent may have incentives to act in their own interest rather … Read more

Vital Records Management: Why Birth, Death and Marriages are vital?

In many Pacific Island countries, where resources are limited, accurate data on births, deaths, and marriages can be difficult and costly to capture, store and analyse. This is especially true when the data is captured manually using paper based systems as opposed to digitally. This tends to be a time-consuming, inefficient process and puts a lot of pressure on staff who are responsible for processing the applications, leading to delays and errors in the recording and management of these vital records.

Tech Giants’ Increase Dominance Government in New Zealand’s Cloud Computing Market: Raises Concerns Over Competition, Innovation and Data Privacy

As tech giants such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft continue to expand their presence in the government cloud computing market within New Zealand, concerns are being raised about the potential consequences of their increasing dominance. Only a few companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and local firm Catalyst Cloud, authorised to provide cloud services to the government, it raises concerns about vendor lock-in, market competition and innovation. The government is taking steps to address these concerns, such as implementing new regulations and promoting the use of open standards, however the issue of tech giants’ dominance in the cloud computing market will remain a key challenge for New Zealand until the government provides an even playing field.

Digital Leaders Toolkit

In a recent analysis, Kevin Cunnington, the former chief of digital in the UK, outlined seven major obstacles that the civil service faces in utilizing technology. Cunnington compiled pain points and solutions from various leaders in the digital government space from around the word and identified three viable approaches to tackle each of these challenges. We’ve summarised this to help unlock the full potential of digital and data.

How we use Visual Thinking approaches to design Digital Government Services that are focused on user needs?

At GovCrate, we use visual thinking approaches to focus our teams on delivering services that address users needs and to facilitate greater collaboration and understanding. This is especially critical when designing digital government services because the design of these services requires team members from the different disciplines that make up the governance stack (Legal, Policy, Operations and Technology). These team members need a common language to collaborate efficiently and effectively. Because of this we developed a visual thinking methodology that has allowed us to quickly and easily get team members speaking the same language. It’s an unorthodox application of the visual thinking approach but it’s use is critical for us in building up highly effective and efficient multi-disciplinary teams that actually deliver services that focus on user needs.

What is a workshop session plan and why are they so important?

A workshop session plan is a detailed plan that outlines the goals, objectives, activities, materials, and resources needed for a specific workshop or training session. It includes a step-by-step guide for facilitators to follow during the workshop, ensuring that the session runs smoothly and participants achieve the desired outcomes. A well-crafted workshop session plan helps to keep everyone on track, engaged, and focused on the goals of the session. It can also serve as a reference for future workshops and training sessions.

Why reforming procurement processes in government so important to e-Government & digital transformation initiatives?

Without the appropriate procurement methods, e-Government and digital transformation initiatives are doomed to failure. Why? Tldr: It is estimated that around 20–30 percent of government software projects are total failures and abandoned. Around 30–60 percent partially fail, with time and cost overruns… The problem At the heart of the issue is that the problem has … Read more