Helping the UK Civil Service with impact and evaluation insightsÂ
Digital, data, and technology (DDaT) and AI are seen as central levers for transforming public services in the UK. They will be a key focus of the relaunched School of Government that was announced in January 2026 by Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, to help Whitehall deliver a new “digital state" that "moves fast and fixes things."
Challenge
The Digital Excellence Programme (DEP) is part of the broader Digital Excellence Framework (DEF) for Senior Civil Servants that defines the minimum digital and data capabilities expected of senior leaders. With concerns about low digital and technical fluency among some at senior leadership level, the government developed a framework and training to address the shortfall in performance of large-scale digital delivery. The programme is targeted at senior leaders in the Civil Service and aims to improve their skills in DDaT and AI, with the ultimate objective of providing better services for the public. The Cabinet Office commissioned ICF to design an evaluation of the training.
Solution
In order to rigorously test DEP’s early outcomes and the feasibility and acceptability of the evaluation approach, we designed and implemented a pilot RCT. RCTs are often seen as the most rigorous way of assessing the impact of a policy or intervention and a pilot RCT is a way of testing whether it is appropriate to undertake a full trial as well as providing indicative evidence of the effectiveness of an intervention.
This work builds on our extensive experience in this area, which extends to running large field RCTs with vulnerable populations such as the evaluations of Spark2Life, Dallaglio RugbyWorks, and The Skill Mill, all funded by the Youth Endowment Fund (the What Works Centre for preventing youth violence).
Results
The evaluation found promising evidence that DEP improved Civil Servants’ self-reported attitudes and behaviour compared to those who did not undertake DEP training. The findings also suggested that a definitive trial is likely to be acceptable and feasible, though challenges remain in identifying established, validated outcome measures, developing an effective recruitment pathway, and ensuring that all participants—particularly those in the intervention group—complete the outcome survey.
Further implications
The project demonstrates the value of genuine collaboration and helps build confidence in the use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) within the Civil Service. It also highlights our ability to design and deliver RCTs quickly and efficiently while addressing the concerns that often accompany this methodology.
The success of the project is particularly timely, as the Government’s Evaluation Task Force is driving an increased focus on more robust evaluation. The Task Force is a joint Cabinet Office-HM Treasury unit providing specialist support to ensure evidence and evaluation sits at the heart of spending decisions. By establishing a test case for the effectiveness of rigorous evaluation in this context, the DEP RCT can help the Task Force and the Government build on the success of this project more broadly.