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Our research theme for 2019, The Year of the Relationship, is highly relevant to the public sector. Success in progressing transformation of public services will increasingly rely on the construction of mutually beneficial partnerships. Progress will require citizens, politicians, civil servants, commercial suppliers, and the third sector to work together more effectively.
Public sector organisations will have raised expectations of the value they derive from supplier relationships. Suppliers that acknowledge this and invest in stepping up to the bar, will be the ones that thrive.
The ability to form strong relationships built on trust, shared interests and shared values is applicable across all of the following predictions for 2019.
In 2019, much of what happens in the public sector will depend on how Brexit evolves. It will shape the year in such a way that making predictions about public sector software and services at this time is extremely challenging. However, we still believe, whatever the outcome, Brexit will create opportunities and it will be those suppliers that invested in building strong strategic relationships in the right departments that will benefit.
Despite the Chancellor of the Exchequer proclaiming that austerity is coming to an end, for many public sector organisations that will feel a long way from the truth. Across all parts of the public sector significant challenges remain, and for many they will intensify in 2019. Suppliers will benefit from the necessity to improve efficiency and effectiveness through the appropriate application of technology, but only if they are willing to develop a relationship of trust with the customer and work in partnership to implement these changes.
We will see further changes in public sector procurement in 2019. The transfer of risk will be more closely evaluated and there will be a growing demand to demonstrate both innovation and social value in bids. We will see an increasing proportion of public sector contracts routed via frameworks and further encouragement for SMEs to enter the market. Public sector organisations will need to manage relationships with an increasing number of suppliers.
Across the public sector the trend for organisations moving away from large outsourcing contracts towards shorter-term, digital solution-led deals will continue. We will see more insourcing, particularly in local government, as well as a growing demand for more open, modular and interoperable solutions. As buyers become better informed of the potential for innovative technology, so suppliers will need to be better informed of public sector challenges, priorities and processes if they want to build successful relationships.
It will be a crucial year for the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the public sector, with the Government determined the UK should be leading the way in its adoption. Proof of concept trials and pilots will still dominate, but we will start to see the public sector move beyond chatbots and adopt AI more widely. It’s not necessarily the biggest companies that will make the greatest inroads; forming effective strategic relationships with academic partners and start-ups will become increasingly important.
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Posted by Dale Peters at '21:07' - Tagged: publicsector predictions government
