WIREDGOV

Each month, techUK's Associate Director for Local Public Services, Georgina Maratheftis, interviews a member active in the local government space about their vision for the future of local public services and where digital can make a real difference to people and society. This month we talk with Olivia Harker, Computacenter Client Director for Local and Regional Government, about the role that digital plays in shaping citizen facing services for the future.

Welcome Olivia. Firstly, tell me more about you, your career and how you got to this position today?

I was lucky enough to enter the tech sector straight from University and joined Computacenter on their Graduate Programme at the end of the 1990’s.

At interview I was asked ‘what is the best sector to work in’ and at that tender age, I was unsure. I was eagerly advised by the interviewer, passionate for all things Public Sector, that it was in fact Local Government. The rest as they say is history and I have gone on to spend almost all of my career working with the Local and Regional Government sector. I am grateful for that early steer.

I left Computacenter and undertook a number of other roles in the tech sector but recently returned ‘home’ to Computacenter as I feel that we, with market leading capabilities, are best placed to serve the increasingly complex needs of the Local and Regional Government market.

More than 20 years of experience has afforded me good insight into the workings of Local Authorities and an understanding of the challenges as they have evolved over the years.

I have great enthusiasm for our local authorities. They are part of public sector that touches everyone’s lives to a great or lesser degree.

What is the greatest opportunity for local government when it comes to digital?

The greatest opportunity for our Local Authorities is the harnessing of data. Understanding data about our citizens will enable authorities to deliver services that meet need in the most cost-effective manner. Providing services in the right place at the right time is predicated on understanding of the population needs.

Sharing of that data with other public bodies enables a holistic citizen service experience across the entire Public Sector.

As the tech sector we need to be really closely aligned to the outcomes that LG is striving to achieve, and we need to work in partnership to help materialise those outcomes.

Delivering Social Value is key – and of course a fundamental driver for Local Government. For me personally that manifests as Digital Inclusion so that we can help build a UK that has great tech skills and that all citizens can engage with Public Sector in a connect way. Digital Inclusion gives better life

outcomes for the individual and aids self-service which underpins the Digital Shift that many our of Local Authorities are seeking to achieve.

What is your vision for the future of local public services and places?

A strapline for my vision would be ‘Connected Services for Connected People’ with a seamless flow between the different areas of public sector.

The vision would entail few boundaries between LG and NHS and Blue Light Services.

Data would be available and transparent for service creation but carefully governed with guardrails against privacy breach and bias.

We should enable our citizens to have the skills sets to self-serve where they can and enable services to be shaped in a manner that they can be consumed that way.