dxw’s review of 2023
We’re heading into 2024 determined to continue working to improve lives
As 2023 draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on dxw’s year and some of the incredible things we’ve achieved and the challenges we’ve faced.
Working for the public good
As an employee owned business, one of our founding legal documents is our deed of trust. It is the legal basis on which we operate and includes the condition that dxw must be operated for the benefit of the users of the services we build as well as its owners (the staff).
This sets us apart as a supplier to the public and non-profit sectors. Our clients can buy from us secure in the knowledge that the reason we exist is to serve the best interests of their users.
To help show the world what this means, this year, we published our first impact report to showcase our work and demonstrate how we are making a difference for people who use public services and the teams that deliver them.
Helping the most vulnerable
Let’s start with some of the really good stuff. Our teams have been having an impact and delivering high quality work to support some of the most vulnerable members of society. Working at His Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service, we have been rolling out services across the country to help reduce reoffending.
Our teams are supporting probation officers so they can manage their work more effectively and it’s work that really matters. If people have access to accommodation or the services they need when they leave prison, they’re less likely to fall back into the same patterns that landed them in prison in the first place.
Helping public servants to do their jobs
The hard work of making internal systems better is somewhere we can make a real difference. One of my last projects before I left the Civil Service looked at internal systems and we were among the first to coin the phrase “civil servants are users too”.
Providing quality tools to help people do their job better is one of the biggest levers we have in making savings in these cash-constrained times.
This is a huge part of our work with the Department for Education. dxw has delivered 4 discoveries, four alphas and taken 5 services into beta. Alongside, we’ve re-written a legacy application.
Again, these are the nuts and bolts of transformation and I’m proud of the team’s work.
Operating and iterating
dxw has been working closely with the National Archives to further develop their Find Case Law website. The service is truly transformative, opening up access to all public court judgements and tribunal decisions.
Our team launched a new and improved website for the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO serves a vital role in helping people understand how government spends money and how public services are performing. I’m proud of the part dxw has played in making information more accessible from the UK’s public spending watchdog.
We also continue to operate and maintain NHS England’s website, the place NHS clinicians in England go to for the information they need to do their jobs and protect us all. Over a typical year we see over 21 million visits and this service is considered critical national infrastructure.
Life at dxw in 2023
It has been a year of change at dxw. While we have continued to deliver great work for our clients, we have grown as a company and now have a permanent headcount of close to 130 people as well as many more associates and dxw friends.
At the start of the year, we welcomed Neontribe to the dxw fold. It was the culmination of many years working together and cemented a partnership based on a shared approach to solving problems for the public good.
Over the year, we’ve had people from Neontribe working on dxw project teams and vice versa. dxw has worked in the third sector before, but Neontribe has brought a specialist focus which means we can do vital work to support organisations like the Alexandra Rose Trust which provides vouchers for families in need to access fresh fruit and vegetables.
A few years ago, dxw set out to become a truly national business and we now have people in all corners of the UK from Glasgow to as far south as Truro.
We continue to do work that matters and despite the difficult times we’re all facing, we’re heading into 2024 determined to continue working to improve lives.
I want to round off with thanks to our clients for trusting us to deliver for them and to our amazing team of people who make this all possible.