Agile in the Public Sector

Organization agility is a concept that gained popularity in the last decade since organizations have started shifting from the traditional way of managing their business to a more flexible and proactive approach. Agile organizations possess particular characteristics and attributes that allow them to change or adapt fast in response to changes in the market and react successfully to the rise of competitors and disruptive innovations. Similarly to the private sector, public sector organizations could benefit from the application of this concept particularly in light of the rapid ongoing technological advancements that affect both the corporate and public landscapes in many way.

The need to adopt organization agility in the public sector is specifically driven by the need to understand and respond to changing citizen demands and the emergence of rapid technological breakthroughs. Globally and regionally, the public sector is undergoing radical digital transformations and reforms to cope with these changes. In the UAE, the ICT 2021 Strategy and National Innovation Strategy prioritize digital technology as one of the top seven national sectors. In KSA, Digital Transformation is a top-four priority in the National Transformation Plan (NTP) 2020.

Switching to agile organizations requires the adoption of very specific principles. These types of organizations has a culture and a mindset that focus on strategic thinking, exploration of innovations and proactivity. In addition, teams in agile organizations are cross-functional, share a common purpose, work collaboratively and build on each other’s skillsets to deliver desired quality outcomes. Those teams actually have distinct communication rules that allow and endorse efficient flow of information which helps organizations react faster and seamlessly to changes.

By leveraging attributes of agile organization, the public sector would arguably be better positioned to respond to changing dynamics and thus enhance its service delivery. Globally, the public sector has already moved forward with technological interventions, converting technological trends to solid improvement opportunities. India for example has so far implemented the largest biometric recognition scheme, which has collected facial, fingerprint and iris data for one billion registrants. Such technology could be used as an additional way of accessing services such as tax payments, medical records or even e-voting on mobiles. The public sector has still a long way to go, more so in the region, to adopt organization agility. Particularly by modernizing and deploying appropriate talent solutions to shape a workforce that can embrace the changing cultural dynamics and utilize technological developments to better serve citizens.

To learn more about agile organizations, visit our in-depth article on the topic here.

The views and opinions expressed herein do not represent nor reflect those of Deloitte & Touche (M.E.) LLP (DME). Opinions, conclusions and other information in this blog post which have not been delivered by way of the business of Deloitte & Touche (M.E.) LLP (DME) are neither given nor endorsed by it.