Cabinet Office
The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UK and New Zealand signals a commitment by the 2 countries to work together on developing public services that are digital by default. It marks the latest stage in their co-operation in the digital and technology fields.
The MoU was signed by Liam Maxwell, Government Chief Technology Officer, on behalf of the UK, and by Colin MacDonald, Government Chief Information Officer for New Zealand. It states that the 2 countries will honour the agreement by:
- promoting contact and exchange of public officials and experts and organising joint events
- sharing knowledge and capability in design, architecture and security of public information systems and initiating joint (pilot) projects in this area
- collaborating to ensure that both participants will have effective capability and development streams when developing digital public service
Liam Maxwell, UK Government Chief Technology Officer, said:
The UK and New Zealand government visions are strikingly similar a single and coherent IT system supporting improved infrastructure and radically transformed public services.
This Memorandum of Understanding also shows our commitment to the principle of international cooperation that we share, promoting the lessons and benefits of open government and transparency internationally, and learning from the experiences of other countries to deliver better digital public services.
Work under the MoU will be led by the Government Digital Service (GDS) for the UK and the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).
GDS is a core part of the Efficiency and Reform Group in the Cabinet Office. Its remit is to transform government services, making them digital by default.