Digital government
Online services, data and digital identity. Real interventions, each with its sources: what worked, what didn't, and why.
3 worked2 mixed2 didn't work
What worked
- WorkedDigital government
X-Road: Estonia's data exchange backbone
ChallengeA new state with a small budget needed modern public services without a costly central database.
Government databases that talk to each other, so you only provide data once.
99%of public services online (government figure)ObservationalRead case - WorkedDigital government
UPI: India's real-time payments system
ChallengeMost Indians relied on cash, and digital payments were slow, costly or limited.
Public digital payment rails that let anyone send money instantly from a phone.
10B+transactions a month by 2023ObservationalRead case - WorkedDigital government
GOV.UK and the Government Digital Service
ChallengeUK government services were spread across hundreds of confusing websites.
Replacing hundreds of government websites with one simple, user-tested site.
1 sitereplacing hundreds of government websitesObservationalRead case
Mixed results
- MixedDigital government
The HealthCare.gov launch
ChallengeThe US needed a website for millions to compare and buy health insurance.
The website for buying US health insurance, which crashed on launch day.
5.4Mpicked a plan on HealthCare.gov in year one, after a rescueObservationalRead case - MixedDigital government
Aadhaar: India's biometric ID
ChallengeMany Indians lacked official ID, and welfare suffered from fraud and duplicate claims.
A unique biometric ID number for over a billion residents, used to deliver benefits.
1.3B+enrolled, but some excluded from benefitsRCTRead case
What didn't work
- Didn't workDigital government
NHS National Programme for IT
ChallengeNHS patient records were fragmented across incompatible local systems.
A centrally run plan to give every NHS patient a national electronic record.
£9.8Bforecast total cost; £7.3B spent by March 2012ObservationalRead case - Didn't workDigital government
Robodebt in Australia
ChallengeThe government wanted to recover welfare overpayments more efficiently.
An automated system that wrongly accused hundreds of thousands of welfare recipients of owing debts.
A$1.8Bclass action settlementObservationalRead case