How can the public sector benefit from innovation?

We're seeing more and more innovative solutions being considered by public sector departments, but how can they actually benefit from this new technology?

New and exciting technology is already being adopted across government, and we’re seeing different departments looking to innovative solutions to their problems. It only takes a quick look through the latest DOS opportunities, or the technology required through marketplaces such as Spark, to see that the government want to push this even more.

In this blog, we explain how bringing in this new technology can benefit the public sector.

Make way for 5G

The roll out of 5G this year creates a lot of opportunity for the public sector. There are many possibilities and local authorities have been urged to make sure they’re ready for the technology to be implemented. Many ideas for how it can be used are already being discussed, with the government providing £25m to test out how it can be used being a great example of this. Some possible uses include Smart tourism, reducing the ‘digital divide’ with the use of IoT and even testing autonomous vehicles.

It has been suggested that adapting public street furniture, such as lampposts, to connect the network is a great way forward. Which also could help kick start smart city technologies. Which leads us on to our next point…

Smart Cities and efficiency

IoT and Smart City technology use is increasing with government. Manchester and Edinburgh are taking part in pilot projects this year, with the introduction of energy efficiency systems and noise reduction. A lot of what is being tested has both great economic and environmental effects!

The adoption of Smart City technology paves the way for data gathering. Giving government departments an opportunity to look into the habits of the public and use this information to pave the way for future technologies and implementations!

Improving the public’s experience

One thing we’re seeing talked about a lot is the use of AI, especially in the NHS and healthcare. A hot topic at the moment, it’s being linked with a lot of potential solutions. From using AI to create a ‘digital twin’ for diagnostics to prescribing ‘FitBits’ and health-monitoring wearables to patients.

The main benefit from this is largely improving patient care and the publics access to services. But, with the ever increasingly stretched frontline of the health sector needing support, implementing AI and machine learning is crucial for easing the demand on critical services.

Greater demand on public services isn’t just a challenge the health sector is facing. Many other public facing departments, such as the DWP, are also struggling to keep up with the volume and expectation of users of the services. Meaning they’re looking to AI to solve their problems.

Working together effectively

The increasing use of cloud technology within the public sector is nothing new. GDS launched their cloud first policy back in 2013, and although it’s true benefits and potential have always been known, they’ve begun to be widely implemented until recently.

The ability to share data between departments more quickly and efficiently is one of the biggest benefits of adopting cloud solutions. A recent example of this is the implementation of data sharing and cloud hosting in police forces – a sector previously hesitant to move to the cloud.

As you can see, the public sector is benefiting already from innovation in many ways and is looking towards new technology increasingly moving forward. With the government’s innovation strategy expected sometime soon, it will be interesting to see what tech government will be championing in the coming year.