Building capability for digital transformation at scale
One of the amazing things about working in the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) capability space is the opportunity to satisfy the evolving development needs of professionals who make government services better. Colleagues from across government now have a great chance to define standards of capability that will enable digital transformation at scale (mission five of the Transforming for a Digital Future strategy 2022-25).
I am bringing DDaT professionals, capability specialists and communities together to develop and evolve the DDaT Profession Capability Framework - which is helping DDaT professionals identify their skills gaps and progress their careers by outlining clear standards of capability. Can you help me evolve the framework and ensure we define the skills we need in the future?"
Defining standards for the current framework
The capability framework was first published in 2017 to improve the way departments recruit, retain and develop their Digital, Data and Technology talent. The capability framework contains 43 roles and is divided into six job families.
In March 2022, the Capability Framework Design Council (CFDC) was created. This group consists of cross-government capability leads and heads of professions who agree on the prioritisation of changes to the capability framework. They dedicate their time and resources to the maintenance of the capability framework and ensure that it is fit for purpose.
How you can help to evolve the framework
HR teams, DDaT teams and individual DDaT specialists all have their unique perspective on the existing or new job roles in the capability framework. This means you all have the potential to contribute to future evolutions of the capability framework and future skills needs.
Working with the CFDC has helped me to develop a wider perspective of the divergent needs of the different job roles. It’s been an interesting experience; reaching out to departments, engaging with job-holders, and developing mechanisms to prioritise changes to the capability framework.
We do not have the resources to speak to everyone working in DDaT roles across government, but we do want you to hear from you, and encourage you to take part and help us to evolve the capability framework.
Therefore, we developed and agreed:
- Governance Principles including three criteria that need to be met before a requested change is considered;
- Defining the DDaT Profession
- Reflecting cross-government needs
- Aligning with industry
- Created a change request workflow process for managing small, moderate, and major changes
- Published a change request form so that you suggest and ask for changes to the capability framework
- The use of release notes to explain changes to the capability framework whenever major changes are made.
We believe that taken together - the governance principles, change request workflow, use of the change request form, and release notes - can accelerate the pace of change as the capability framework evolves.
Going forward we are keen to redesign the framework and enable a better user experience so that DDaT professionals can make informed career decisions. Start by reviewing the current capability framework; feel free to provide feedback and please get involved in its future evolution.
