Introducing Dave Mann
After 14 years in government digital, I’m excited to be the newest member of the dxw team. Harry recently wrote about what business development looks like for an agency like dxw and I’m here to help shape that as head of engagement.
I’ve joined from the Government Digital Service (GDS) where I was a product manager and one of the team that built the alpha of GOV.UK. I helped grow the organisation from a handful of people in Lambeth to well over 600 in Holborn.
During my time in government, digital went from the margins to the centre and I’m proud to have played my part in that. GDS is the latest incarnation of a movement in government that sees the potential of digital to transform society and government.
This movement is not just limited to government. Companies like dxw share the same philosophy of putting users first and designing services around their needs. Transformation on this scale is a huge cultural change for government and it can only be successful if suppliers play their part too.
The change means adopting new agile ways of working and this can be difficult for government, which has developed its own ways of working around large, long term outsourced IT contracts. Also, departments have their own ministerial agendas to deliver and this isn’t always compatible with direction from the centre.
During my time at GDS, I always tried to help partners in government understand the potential of digital. From experience in government over a number of years, I know what it’s like to have change imposed from the centre and this can be uncomfortable for both sides.
Teams in government that haven’t had to worry about technology before now find themselves having to run projects themselves. Things that we in digital take for granted like ‘discovery’, ‘alpha’ and ‘beta’ can be bewildering to the uninitiated. They need suppliers they can trust to help them navigate the new world.
I came to dxw because they are a team that demonstrates all the attributes and skills I would look for in a supplier when I was in the Civil Service. Also, I wanted to work for an organisation that shared the same vision as GDS.
I’m looking forward to helping dxw build on its achievements and continue to deliver great technology in the public interest.