Ict Innovation In Central Government: Learning From The Past

This article examines two attempts to develop information networks by central government administrations in the UK and the US during the 1980s. These are examples of service innovations within public services, and can be viewed in the light of analyses of services innovation. They also mark a shift in public procurement, from acquiring a technology to purchasing services. The British attempted to develop a data communication network; the Americans attempted to develop an integrated voice, data and image communication network. Both networks were to be shared by different government departments and both were to be provided by a third-party supplier. The rhetoric and policy concerns behind these networks are similar to those expressed more recently in Britain by the new Labour Government. It is argued that these earlier attempts were unsuccessful because insufficient attention was paid to users, and because the systems were attempting to do too much. Not only were they expected to reduce costs and improve services, they were also intended to implement important elements of telecommunications and competition policies. Paradoxically, over-simplification of the systems, to make them comprehensible to a wide range of actors, may have contributed to their failure.