E-Leaders explore human centred design, measuring what matters, and rethinking investment

At the start of November, the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) had the privilege of hosting the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Party of Senior Digital Government Officials (E-Leaders) and the Expert Group on Open Government Data.

Day one of the meeting explored the potential, testing, and reinforcing public trust across the adoption of innovative technologies for the betterment of civil services. Day two focuses on the logistics of harnessing those benefits. That means ensuring government’s place people first. There were in-depth discussions on how those deliverables are measured internationally, as well as effective strategies for securing the funds needed to get these projects off the ground.

Human-centred by design

Governments are under increasing pressure to deliver the highest quality public services. They need to be efficient, inclusive, and responsive while supporting economic resilience and social equality.

“The opening discussion at the E-Leaders meeting focused on making public services more human-centred,” outlines Chris Fechner, Chief Executive Officer, DTA. “This means services should be personalised, proactive, and tailored to real needs.”

Improving services is largely enabled through strong data governance and interoperability. Key findings show that while laws supporting data sharing are common, only a minority of countries treat data as a strategic asset or have mechanisms for maintaining data inventories.

Approaches shared by Finland, Canada, France, and Korea showcased a range of strategies: from decentralised engagement and statutory oversight to proactive data use and citizen empowerment. These efforts emphasise the importance of open data platforms and transparent governance.

Despite these advancements, persistent challenges remain, including:

• gaps in strategic coherence
• data quality
• organisational culture
• privacy, security, and technology
• skills shortages

“The consensus is that robust data governance and interoperability are essential for human-centred digital government,” explains Mr Fechner. “Further investment in strategy, standards, skills, and trust-building is necessary.”

International cooperation and continued OECD support are seen as vital to address these evolving challenges.

Digital identity for trust

The next session of the day tackled the governance and implementation of digital identity systems. These are seen as essential infrastructure for secure, trusted, and seamless public sector services.

The OECD Recommendation on the Governance of Digital Identity (2023) and data from the 2025 Government at a Glance revealed widespread uptake of digital identify for public services, but persistent challenges remain.

“More than half of surveyed countries permit the use of foreign-issued digital identities for domestic services,” highlights Mr Fechner. “Yet, practical interoperability is hampered by legal and use-case obstacles.”

“The frequency of digital identity provisions in trade agreements has grown substantially since 2023, reflecting heightened international interest in cross-border digital identity solutions.”

Country contributions highlighted varied approaches and challenges:

• Denmark is preparing to launch a privacy-focused national digital wallet compatible with EU standards.
• New Zealand’s decentralised, federated trust framework accredits both public and private sector providers, prioritising mutual recognition and ISO standards.
• Chile has nearly universal adoption of its national digital identity for online services and is advancing strategies for cross-border interoperability.
• Brazil emphasised digital identity as a gateway to services for over 170 million users and is pursuing mutual recognition with neighbouring countries.
• The UK and Japan are developing new digital wallets and strengthening cross-border use, aligning with international standards.

The meeting also focused on digital identity system challenges, such as adoption and security.

Measuring what matters

Next, delegates focused on what governments face in measuring AI's impact on efficiency, productivity, and services. While many pilot projects exist, few are fully implemented due to limited monitoring and evaluation.

Data from the OECD Government at a Glance 2025 shows only a quarter of countries conduct thorough AI impact assessments, with fewer evaluating broader outcomes. Successful organizations rely on clear metrics and structured frameworks.

AI assessment frameworks, like the OECD digital investments approach, emphasise strategic planning, KPIs, and continuous oversight. Evaluation methods range from control trials to surveys and focus groups.

Countries vary in their approaches:

Australia’s Investment Oversight Framework covers financial, social, and environmental criteria. The UK uses a "personal value metric" for citizen satisfaction. Estonia’s "Bürokrat" platform focuses on privacy and real-time monitoring. Korea’s framework allows tailored KPI selection and highlights infrastructure needs.

Panellists noted evaluation challenges, including intangible benefits, long-term impacts, and low user engagement with tools like chatbots.

Investing for impact

“As governments boost digital transformation spending, they must prioritise strategic, efficient investments focused on long-term value,” explains Mr Fechner.

“Effective digital investment management – like agile funding, shared infrastructure, cloud adoption, and improved vendor negotiation – is key.”

The day ended with an emphasis on the crucial nature of strategic digital investment management. Delegates outlined the importance of aligning budgets with agile funding models, managing shared infrastructure costs, and improving vendor negotiation.

Country case studies showcased varied approaches to digital investment. New South Wales’ Digital Restart Fund encourages agile, innovation-focused investments that supporting rapid legacy system replacement.

Estonia’s approach centres on impact investment, focusing on reusing shared digital components, modular system design.

New Zealand’s cloud-first policy pushes agencies to migrate to public cloud services, driving efficiency, innovation, and savings. Centralised security, procurement, and a multi-cloud strategy improve resilience and value, though risks of vendor lock-in remain.

Australia’s benefits-led investment strategy requires agencies to clearly define the problems, beneficiaries, and intended improvements for all digital projects.

Cross-country discussions highlighted universal challenges: balancing innovation with risk, managing legacy costs, and setting measurable outcomes. Training and standardisation improve proposals, while ongoing collaboration, strong governance, and skill-building ensure better digital investment results.

“Our Day 2 discussions underscored the need for ongoing collaboration between like minded countries,” concludes Mr Fechner. “Ongoing communications will enable the exchange of strong governance strategies. This sort of continuous capability building ensures digital investments deliver meaningful public value and institutional resilience.”

Behind the scenes

The DTA works hard to forging strong local and international partnerships to drive digital government transformation.

By collaborating with government, industry, academia, and global organisations, we share knowledge to promote best practices in the effective delivery of digital investments.

As part of that information sharing, we have published Our engagement approach to provide insights into our ongoing collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

Tune back in

Tune in over the next couple of weeks for our final set of insights from day four.

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