Digital: Use it to garner support for your next initiative, but avoid the risks!
Conclusion: The use of the term ‘Digital’ as an adjective plays a particular role in both public and private sector initiatives. Like similar terms of the past, it creates a space for agreement among multiple stakeholders, even when there is a lack of universal understanding. This is useful when an initiative includes an interplay of technology and culture. It allows advocates to collapse a multitude of complex issues into a simple catch-all phrase to which everyone already agrees. However, understanding the benefit of using ‘Digital’ to gain agreement for an initiative needs to be weighed up against the potential of seeing well-intentioned initiatives implemented in unexpected ways.
About The Advisor
Joseph Sweeney
Dr. Joseph Sweeney is an IBRS advisor specialising in the areas of workforce transformation and the future of work, including; workplace strategies, end-user computing, collaboration, workflow and low code development, data-driven strategies, policy, and organisational cultural change. He is the author of IBRS’s Digital Workspaces methodology. Dr Sweeney has a particular focus on Microsoft, Google, AWS, VMWare, and Citrix. He often assists organisations in rationalising their licensing spend while increasing workforce engagement. He is also deeply engaged in the education sector. Joseph was awarded the University of Newcastle Medal in 2007 for his studies in Education, and his doctorate, granted in 2015, was based on research into Australia’s educational ICT policies for student device deployments.