Another big win came during the pandemic in 2020 with the launch of a government app that combined a COVID tracker service with the digital vaccination certificate. “Both of those were specifically called out by Bloomberg,” he says. “They did a review of the worldwide response to COVID and lauded Ireland as the best response in terms of how technology was used.”
Overseen by Lowry, the development of the app showcased the public sector’s ability to deliver a digital service just as effectively as the private sector. His office had already notched up a major success with MyGovID, a public services portal that proves the value of his data-sharing strategy with backend complexity hidden behind a user-friendly interface, which has encouraged 80% of adult Irish citizens to sign up for a range of services.
The next move in citizen engagement will be a digital wallet. Scheduled for an end-of-year launch, it can store a number of credentials on a mobile phone, including a digital driving license and an age card for over-18s. The age ID will show a QR code but no name or address, tackling privacy concerns that have so far prevented Ireland, like the UK, from launching a national identity card.
Running a three-circle strategy
Digitalization of public services is one circle in Lowry’s three-circle strategy plan. The other two are ensuring regulatory compliance and scoring quick wins, which will strike a chord with any CIO who’s achieved buy-in for a long-term strategy by delivering short-term successes. It’s more heightened in Lowry’s world, though, where politicians want to show they make a difference before the next election comes around.
“If you want to keep politicians on board, you’ve got to build outcomes,” he says. “The old way of doing things, when you said that in seven years the project would be ready, is of no interest. So, we do agile, we move fast, we do prototypes, and move into ‘live running’ as quickly as possible.”
Quick wins are important but can’t waver from the bigger plan. An online national childcare scheme, for example, was developed with a proprietary login system proposed by the vendor. But it was rejected by Lowry’s office, which insisted that the system use the MyGovID login. The assistant secretary standing over the project had to be persuaded that would be an easier way for people to engage, but she got it straight away and ended up building the system faster.
