Digitalisation in the public sector – what’s going well and what could be improved

Significant investment is being made in the digitalisation of the public sector.

It is important that this is done carefully. We believe that the government, the education sector, the healthcare sector and other public institutions should lead by example when it comes to providing fair, friendly and accessible services. After all, the public sector belongs to all of us – no one should be left out.

In some respects, this is already going very well and the public sector is leading the way digitally. Decisions are being made from which businesses and organisations in the commercial sector could still learn a thing or two. But of course, there is also room for improvement. We see plenty of opportunities for public institutions to take a smarter approach to digitalisation.

We’ll take you through it – looking at what’s going well and what could be improved.

Three things businesses can learn from the public sector

In many respects, the public sector is making good progress digitally.

#1 Accessibility comes first
Government bodies tend to pay more attention to digital accessibility than the average business. For example, by conducting research involving people with visual impairments. Or by ensuring that language is easy to understand. It’s still far from perfect, but there is awareness and a focus on the issue.

This is largely down to a legal obligation: every government website must have an accessibility statement. This means that accessibility assessments must be carried out, and that they must actually act on the findings that emerge from them. This has been taken seriously for years – in this respect, they are ahead of the private sector.

The question is how long that lead will last. In June 2025, the European Accessibility Act will come into force. From then on, companies will also have to comply with stricter accessibility requirements.

#2 Accessible both online and offline 
Whether you’re visiting your local council or going to a hospital, you’ll still see physical service points and counters everywhere. That might seem old-fashioned, but they’re actually a huge asset. They ensure that everyone can access services – including people who aren’t so comfortable using the internet.

The existence of these physical service points stems partly from a moral obligation: public services usually have no competitors. Citizens therefore have nowhere else to go; they have no choice. Public services must be available to everyone. Digitally for those who can manage it, in person for those who need it.

We’ve written before about the importance of keeping offline channels open: as far as we’re concerned, every organisation and every company should opt for this.

#3 Work is carried out thoroughly
There is strong external scrutiny of the public sector. Think of interest groups, patients’ organisations, lobby groups and the House of Representatives. 

On the one hand, the knowledge that you’re being scrutinised can be paralysing – you can’t move too fast, because failure is usually severely punished. On the other hand, this does ensure that matters are tackled thoroughly. In government organisations and the healthcare sector, the design of services is often based on fundamental principles.

For example, thinking is centred on customer journeys. Knowledge is shared – not only with other organisations, but also with the rest of the Netherlands. Results from user research, for example, can be viewed via Gebruiker Centraal. In addition, government organisations are increasingly working transparently, so that everyone can benefit from – or help shape – the investments made with taxpayers’ money. The NL Design System is a good example of this.

In the public sector, work is carried out in a thorough and meticulous manner. In many commercial organisations, however, the approach is more ad hoc and subject to the whims of the moment.

Three areas where the public sector could improve its digital performance

In many respects, the public sector is making good progress digitally. But of course there are also areas where things could – or must – be improved. 

#1 There is no government-wide one-stop shop
The government consists of all sorts of small organisations, ministries and implementing bodies. All these organisations focus on their own specific areas. This makes things complicated for citizens.

When major life events occur – for example, when your child turns 18, when someone dies, or if you become unable to work – you cannot go to a single place for help. You’ll soon find yourself dealing with four or five implementing bodies. And they all handle their own small part of the ​‘customer journey’, rather than you being able to go to one place and sort everything out in one go. The government structure is extremely fragmented and complicated. This is immediately reflected in digital services. 

You can draw a parallel here with how things were in commercial organisations 25 years ago. A large organisation’s online channel was a mirror image of its internal structure. You could literally see the departments reflected in the navigation menus. You had to know the organisational structure to find your way around. In commercial organisations, this has now been turned on its head. They present themselves to the outside world as a unified organisation with a single face. How they organise things internally is not the customer’s concern. As a user, you therefore notice very little of this.

Working from the outside in, organising around the customer (or the citizen) – that is a transition the government has yet to make. It requires the removal of organisational boundaries that are still very explicit at present. Citizens should not be inconvenienced by the way the government is organised. That still happens far too often.

#2 In the grip of major suppliers
The public sector has been extensively digitised. Every classroom has an interactive whiteboard, and many children no longer have textbooks. There isn’t a single hospital where patient records aren’t held digitally. Lab results, X‑rays – it can all be viewed online. 

But that doesn’t mean things always run smoothly. On the contrary: in these sectors, digitalisation is driven by major commercial players. They dominate the market. Once a school or hospital is on their system, they hold a position of power. The suppliers are primarily driven to solve everything within their own product – they have no incentive to collaborate with other parties who might provide better (sub)solutions. Nor do hospitals and educational institutions switch suppliers on a whim; it’s quite a drastic step. As a result, they find themselves in a stranglehold, and innovation is difficult.

#3 Too many captains on the ship
One of the major challenges within the public sector, healthcare and education is creating greater unity and a less fragmented digital landscape. To achieve this, organisations and departments need to look beyond their own ​‘brand’. They need to reach out to one another and develop services and products together. 

Quite a few attempts are already being made in this direction.

One example is the ​‘berichtenbox’ on overheid​.nl. This is a project to create a universal platform for numerous government bodies, enabling them to send messages or letters to citizens. It is a partnership between the largest implementing bodies, a large number of local authorities, counties and other government organisations. Around thirty parties are at the helm. Together, they set the course.

And that is precisely where it gets tricky. There are many stakeholders and many interests at play. As a result, it becomes too complex, too expensive and too slow. This approach of trying to improve the world all together – it simply doesn’t work. 

The solution lies in a different approach: working in product teams.

A product team is a small group of people from different disciplines. Think of designers, researchers, copywriters, accessibility specialists and developers. A product team is given the mandate, funding and resources to explore a problem in greater depth. They explore the target audience’s world, develop a vision and then set about creating something. They experiment and arrive at a product. They ensure it works and gains traction, so that other organisations and departments notice it too and say: ​‘Hey, that’s interesting – I want to be part of this.’ 

You need success stories. And not some overly complicated implementation case. With a product team, you get further and move faster. Faster than when there’s no clear mandate and you’re endlessly gathering wishes and requirements from all sorts of organisations. The latter is what happens far too often at the moment. 

Want to know more or have a chat?

There’s still so much more to say about building a strong public sector. We’ll be sharing our ideas more often in the coming months. Read more insights now. Or would you like to have a chat with us? We’d love to do both.