United Kingdom

The UK is proud to be a founding member of the Digital Nations, and to have hosted the inaugural D5 Summit in London in 2014.

The UK is firmly committed to the principles of Digital Government set out in the Charter of the Digital Nations, and to continuing to work with our international partners to exchange experiences and best practices to unlock the benefits of digital services and
technologies for our citizens.

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The Government Digital Service (GDS) leads on the digital transformation of government in the UK, working hand in hand with departments to support the delivery of innovative and user-centred digital services and solutions. GDS has played a key role in making the UK a world leading digital government, with responsibility for:

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• Providing best practice guidance and advice for consistent, coherent, high quality services

• Setting and enforcing standards for digital services

• Building and supporting common platforms, services, components and tools

• Helping government choose the right technology

• Leading the Digital, Data and Technology function for government

• Supporting increased use of emerging technologies by the public sector

 

The UK is consistently ranked in the top 10 countries in both the OECD Digital Government Index and the UN e-Government Survey since 2010. The UK is currently ranked 2nd in the OECD’s Digital Government Index, 7th in the UN e-Government Survey 2020, and first in the Open Data Barometer. In the UN e-Government Survey 2020, the UK received praise for our ‘build once and reuse’ principle. The report noted that it has become “one of the most popular whole-of-government conceptual frameworks for service provision in the world.” GDS has also won design award, and is recognised as a world leader in public sector digital innovation. Digital government teams in the US, Australia and New Zealand were established on the same model, and follow very similar principles.