The Digital Restart Fund (DRF) has transformed the way the NSW Government invests in digital projects. The innovative funding model allows projects to be delivered iteratively, giving them the flexibility to adapt to a constantly evolving digital landscape.
The DRF was established in response to traditional funding models that have struggled to keep up with the fast pace of digital projects. As Paul Bateman, Director of Customer Success within the Digital Strategy, Investment and Assurance (DSIA) team highlighted, “The DRF was first established as a solution to a challenge we identified with Treasury funding. Annual funding cycles don’t support iterative project delivery.”
More recently, the DRF pipeline has been refreshed to align digital projects with the government’s new focus areas. This shift is aimed at finding digital solutions to address the state’s biggest challenges including housing supply, frontline service delivery and climate change.
Aligning the DRF project pipeline to new government focus areas
The NSW Government’s new focus areas include improving outcomes for housing availability; energy, renewables and the natural environment; automation to streamline work and improve frontline services; improved accessibility of government services and reduction of cyber risk.
With a refreshed project pipeline (totalling $100 million of available investment), the government can better help NSW’s citizens and communities through digital solutions to their challenges. NSW Government agencies have been asked to submit applications to the DRF with a focus on these new priority areas.
Managing digital demand and government priorities
The recent refresh of the DRF pipeline has brought with it both challenges and opportunities. “We’ve had over 300 projects from government agencies requesting $1.29 billion in funding for what is now available, which is about $100 million worth of investment,” shares Paul.
This huge demand for digital projects has meant that the Customer Success team have had to implement a meticulous process for identifying eligible projects.
As well as ensuring DRF projects are aligned with the new government focus areas, they must also be assessed against the DRF Act. The team checks projects against the objectives of the fund and creates a score to rank projects in the pipeline. From there, eligible projects are reviewed in more detail to pressure test the benefits profile and the government agencies are consulted for additional information where necessary.
The outcome of these extensive assessments is that selected DRF projects align strategically and, most importantly, bring tangible benefits to communities and citizens.
“We look at the number of communities benefiting from the project, as well as frontline workers and businesses who benefit,” says Paul, Director of Customer Success, DSIA.
Engaging stakeholders throughout the pipeline refresh
The DRF pipeline refresh involved NSW Government agencies submitting data to meet these objectives. “There’s a massive amount of engagement that happens to support the process,” says Paul. This engagement, led by the Customer Success team, extends far beyond spreadsheets and data. The team guides agencies to help them break down problems iteratively, as well as setting up initial discovery sessions for effective exploration.
As part of this consultation, the Customer Success Team engaged with multiple representatives from agencies over eight weeks before submissions were due. Team members met individually with agencies where submissions were complex or required specific information.
The Digital Restart Fund’s pipeline refresh reflects a commitment to adapt and innovate in government funding models. By empowering government agencies to deliver impactful digital projects, the DRF can adapt to evolving priorities and meet the challenges facing NSW citizens and communities.
To find out more about the DRF pipeline refresh, contact the Customer Success team at custsx@customerservice.nsw.gov.au.