Background
The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) administers the State Pension and a range of working-age, disability and ill-health benefits to over 20 million people. It has experienced an increase in demand for its services over recent years due a range of economic and societal factors. At the same time, all government departments have been tasked with making efficiency savings and doing more with less.
DWP’s goals and business priorities highlight the importance of innovation to achieving its ambitions. It is trialling ways of improving its services and operations, including through changes to processes and use of new and emerging technology such as AI.
Scope
This study will seek to highlight lessons and areas of good practice, and identify how DWP might further improve its approach to innovation. It will examine:
- DWP’s overall approach to innovation, including its vision for the role of innovation, its organisational culture and risk appetite, and its approach to evaluation
- what innovation looks like in practice within DWP – through a series of case examples from across the organisation to highlight the challenges and enablers of innovation
NAO team
Director: Laura Brackwell
Senior Audit Manager: Katie Roberts