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South African-European Union Dialogue Facility Series

Future-Proofing Public Service Digital Readiness

The Government of South Africa has clarified the need for modernising the Public Service, as reflected by several
strategic policy documents. In drawing inputs from good international practice, the Digital Transformation Building
Blocks of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is one of the many resources that enrich these digital
transformation efforts and contribute to a clear vision of a digitalised Public Service. The Digital Transformation
Building Blocks framework mainly offers a conceptual and practical framework that encompasses the following:

• A Digital Strategy helps outline a change vision, purpose, enablers, critical success factors, technology,
outcomes and drivers.
• It elucidates the requirement for a value delivery ecosystem that consists of key stakeholders in the digital
service lifecycle, from ideation, planning, designing, deployment and operationalisation.
• Digital Service attributes define what makes services “digital”.
• Digital Enterprise architecture establishes best-in-class architectural governance, processes and practices
with optimal utilisation of ICT infrastructure and applications to offer one government experience to the citi-
zens and businesses through digital services enabled.
• A Digital Platform is a repository of business, data, application and technology components (reusable build-
ing blocks and distinct interfaces) that allow for rapid design, development, deployment and delivery of digital
services.
• Institutions and Governance include identifying leaders and champions who drive the transformation initia-
tive, which is also apparent in the digital transformation value chain.
• Citizen insights are about changing how government interacts with service recipients so that services are
delivered via multiple channels in a coherent yet consistent manner. It requires culture change and new rules
of engagement.
• Delivery Capabilities ensure that there is enough internal capability to take on and accomplish the goals of
digital transformation.

Government institutions are increasingly becoming “service organisations” rather than “government organisa-
tions”; as such, they need to adopt new forms of governance and develop new capabilities to deliver on their man-
date more effectively. However, navigating this shift can be challenging as it involves moving away from existing
operating models to new ways of working.

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