The Framework 

When the Framework was published in 2021 it was heralded as the island’s plan to ‘keep pace’ with constantly updating changes in digital technology. For Guernsey to operate on the global stage it would need to be ‘forward-thinking’ and ‘dynamic’. 

“Meeting these objectives will mean that islanders will benefit in a number of areas - from increased skills and digitised job opportunities to being able to access more efficient government and community services that are delivered and enhanced by digital solutions,” the Framework states. 

The States said that leaps in the digital sphere will impact people across the island, and not one particular area, so it’s essential to make sure everyone picks up the relevant skills to ‘embrace digital transformation’. 

“Additionally, as the Bailiwick continues to encounter challenges, such as job automation, increasing cost of living, an ageing population and climate change, technology will be critical to bring about social and economic innovation and environmental sustainability that is required.  

“Government can play a key role in driving these outcomes by coordinating a vision and action around a Digital Framework, by investing in the building blocks such as infrastructure and skills as well as accelerating the digitisation of public services and enabling legislation” 

In order to meet this vision, the States set themselves three strategic goals, so what are they and what has been done? 

Enabling Infrastructure 

Each strategic goal is comprised of several workstreams, and when it comes to ‘Enabling Infrastructure’ the first step is developing ‘world class digital connectivity’. 

The States argue that a community is only as good as its connectivity and there was plenty of noise made about connecting 100% of all island premises to broadband, enabling 5G by 2023 and ensuring all businesses get speeds of up 10 10GB by 2026 ‘or sooner’. 

After several false starts 5G still remains on the backburner and has essentially been superseded by what has been dubbed ‘Guernsey’s largest ever digital infrastructure project’... fibre. More than half of island properties are now able to connect to the new network. This equates to 18,000 homes across all ten parishes.  

The fibre rollout by Sure was accelerated by the States of Guernsey through a £12.5million investment in the project. 

“The public-private partnership between Sure and the States of Guernsey to accelerate the universal fibre roll out is a cornerstone of the States Digital Framework launched this political term,” the Economic Development Lead for Digital, Skills and Entrepreneurship, Deputy Sasha Kazanteseva-Miller recently said. 

“It’s fantastic to see the halfway milestone reached, which means more possibilities for innovation, for developing new products, for growing Guernsey’s businesses and for enjoying the many benefits of fibre for households.” 

Elsewhere, the infrastructure leg of the framework also involves the digitisation of government overall. This includes the rollout of the MyGov Customer Hubwhich continues to collate services such as tax returns and vehicle licensing in one online portal. A new States website is also being developed.  

The automation of middle and back office processes is ongoing and ties in with the digital transformation strategy spearheaded by the States and their partnership with Agilisys.  

To keep Guernsey at the centre of digital transformation and abreast of global changes, there was also a need for ‘responsible legislation and regulation’. 

This includes Guernsey signing up to meeting minimum standards, such as the OECD Pillars 1 and 2, and more recently being confirmed as meeting EU data adequacy status. 

“Our Committee is delighted to have been able to secure this significant achievement and I am very grateful for all of the work that has been undertaken by the public and private sectors in securing this data adequacy decision, led by the States of Guernsey's Data Protection team in collaboration with St James's Chambers,” the President of Home Affairs, Deputy Rob Prow, said at the time. 

“The importance of this outcome should not be understated, as it both allows our many businesses that work across the EU to continue sharing data seamlessly without any additional restrictions and reassures islanders that their personal data is protected in our robust, proportionate and well-implemented regime.” 

The Framework also included a workstream focused on developing education programmes to teach internet safety in the community. 

A Digital Safety Development Officer role has since been developed with Bailiwick Law Enforcement and Home Affairs, and they have already engaged with more than 4,000 members of the community through various outreach programmes in schools. 

We’ll revisit the second two strategic aims, ‘Developing Digital Skills and Pathways’ and ‘Innovation Transformation’ in the Bailiwick Express over the coming weeks.