Challenge
The New Zealand government faced challenges in optimising its digital products and services to meet evolving public sector needs. There was a pressing need for a cohesive framework to measure digital maturity, improve digital capabilities, and ensure alignment with international standards such as those set by the OECD. Additionally, the GCDO required optimisation of the Cloud Risk Assessment service and a coordinated effort to uplift digital capabilities across various agencies.
Solution
Polaris Ventures addressed these challenges through a multi-faceted approach:
- Strategic Insight and Enterprise Architecture: Provided strategic guidance to ensure government digital products aligned with enterprise architecture principles, influencing senior levels across government.
- Portfolio Optimisation and Business Case Development: Identified opportunities within the Government Information Services (GIS) portfolio to enhance digital products and assisted agencies in optimising performance through the development of business cases.
- Advisory and Leadership: Advised and influenced senior government officials, including Chief Executive and Ministerial levels, to lead programs that drive system-wide change in the digital product area.
Key initiatives included:
- Digital Maturity Model (DMM) Framework: Co-led the project to design and execute an industry-aligned, public sector-focused DMM framework.
- Conducted research and analysis to compare the TM Forum DMM with other maturity models and presented a high-level framework for regulatory and compliance navigation.
- Cloud Risk Assessment Service Optimisation: Led the optimisation of the GCDO-managed Cloud Risk Assessment service, collaborating with assurance, technology, and security leads across government, including the Government Chief Information Security Officer’s office.
- Digital Capability Uplift Initiative: Acted as the project sponsor’s voice to uplift digital capabilities across agencies.
- Coordinated the project’s delivery and presented key insights and lessons to the GIS leadership team.
Result
The collaboration resulted in notable advancements in the New Zealand government’s digital transformation efforts:
- Enhanced Digital Maturity: The development and implementation of the Digital Maturity Model (DMM) framework provided a systematic approach to diagnosing and addressing digital capability gaps across the public sector.
- Optimised Cloud Risk Assessment Service: Improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the Cloud Risk Assessment service, ensuring better alignment with security and assurance standards.
- Increased Digital Capabilities: The Digital Capability Uplift Initiative successfully enhanced digital skills and knowledge across various government agencies, promoting a culture of continuous improvement.