Digital communication in government should be a core skill for all, not a specialist area

So says the Digital Communications Capability Review, just published by the Cabinet Office. It’s advice that applies just as well if you remove “in government” from it (including in the other area that most interests me, political campaigning.)

Often one thing that holds back properly integrating digital and non-digital is a fear of the risks that the digital world might bring.

In part that’s a natural reaction to anything new; as humans, we’re usually more worried by the risks that are inherent in something new than in something familiar. We also tend to worry more about the risk of something going wrong rather than the risk of omission – which, if you’re missing out on digital, should be a significant factor.

As the review says of the current state of British government communications:

It seemed that reputation management objectives have a disproportionate influence on the use of digital and social media, and are the key drivers of a risk-averse culture that discourages some people from digital engagement. In some departments there is a general fear of mistakes. Yet digital engagement can’t be scaled up without placing more trust in staff…

In many departments, especially larger ones, large IT contracts and security requirements impair access to social media and in many cases prohibit the use of current web browsers. Older browsers are no longer supported and therefore present security risks. But overall in many cases the data security risks seem over-exaggerated and blocks are in place due to permissions not system constraints. But in
many departments the picture is obscure because the IT security rationale is not made simple, clear and accessible.