While digital has promised to reduce bureaucracy, many systems have created new hurdles for citizens. Instead, digital needs to be recognised as a critical part of the modern state and its benefits need to be shared with the public more fully.

In this series of three essays, founding member of the Government Digital Service team and author of Platformland: An anatomy of next generation public services, Richard Pope, offers his take on how digital can provide a unifying role in the successful delivery of the government’s missions.

The first essay sets the scene, describing how government missions are most effective when they harness the full potential of digital tools and design to eliminate administrative burden and improve outcomes for the public, businesses and civil servants.

The second essay dives into the role of digital in the government’s mission to ‘Break Down Barriers to Opportunity’ which resonates with Nesta’s own mission to break the link between family background and life chances.

The final essay explores digital and ‘Kickstarting Economic Growth’ - perhaps the government’s number one priority.

Together these essays offer fresh thinking from a world-leading expert on how to bring together two of the government’s highest priorities: digital and missions.