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Supporting digital transformation in Barbados
Public Digital recently spent a week in Barbados, working with GovTech CEO Mark Boyce to support the country's digital transformation.
Our team – Gurpreet Sehmi, Gavin Wye, Dai Vaughan, Mike Bracken and Onyeka Onyekwelu (supporting from the UK) – were invited to help lay the foundations for something akin to the UK's Government Digital Service (GDS).
With strong backing from Prime Minister Mia Mottley and alignment across government, there is a drive to bring in the right thinking to build digital capabilities and modernise public services across Barbados.
Bringing a start-up approach to government
GovTech is a newly formed government-owned company, and Mark is single-handedly running the organisation. This means thinking about what GovTech is, how it runs and what it delivers for the government. We know from experience that successful digital transformation requires more than just good ideas – it needs a strong team, practical delivery and visible wins to build trust across government. Our focus for the week was to support Mark and Trevor Wood (Chair of GovTech) in bringing everything under one roof on a new GOV.BB website, whilst also identifying high-impact digital service delivery projects to showcase GovTech’s value.
Political will and urgency
Throughout the visit, we were absolutely honoured to meet with Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, Jonathan Reid (Minister for Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology – MIIST) and Marsha Caddle (previous Minister of MIST).
The drive for change and the ambition to do the right thing for citizens was clear. Prime Minister Mia Mottley spoke passionately about harnessing technology and digital services to make it easier for people to engage with government – and to deliver better outcomes for all.
This level of senior political encouragement is rare and invaluable. It also means that GovTech needs to align and focus on execution from day one – there is no time for drawn-out planning. Credibility will come from delivering something tangible, fast.
The way forward
Our remaining time in Barbados was devoted to workshops and discovery sessions with ministries across government. We talked about the need to build a team around Mark to start delivering at pace, and designing the right standards for good service delivery.
One of the most effective ways to show progress in digital transformation is through prototyping. Midway through the week, we sketched a GOV.BB homepage, which quickly turned into a clickable HTML prototype.
Demonstrating this quick design and build process feeds into how we test and learn, and our approach to helping clients around the world to visualise and feel what it's like. Naturally, everyone was receptive and encouraged by having something tangible – they could visualise the future.
Prototyping proved two things:
1. Change can happen fast.
2. People respond better to tangible outputs than abstract ideas.
Fragmented services and legacy systems
Beyond digital infrastructure, we explored the state of key government services. At the Barbados Land Registry, we saw how a heavily paper-based process created delays for tenants purchasing freehold properties. Similarly, at the Barbados Licensing Authority, a legacy system was being patched with robotic process automation (RPA) – an innovative, but short-term fix that underscored the need for deeper digital reform.
These visits reinforced a common challenge in digital government: legacy systems and processes don’t just slow things down, they erode trust in government services. If services are slow and inefficient, people stop believing the system works for them.
What happens next?
By the end of the week, we were more informed about the right steps to move forward with delivery. Working closely with Mark in the coming weeks, we will plan what approaches to take for GovTech, and build a roadmap for delivery. He’s written about it here, and it's one of the many ways he’s building a transparent and collaborative approach to supporting teams across government.
The foundation is in place, but the hard work is just beginning. Digital transformation is not about technology alone; it’s about people, leadership and delivery. Barbados has the support from senior leaders across government, and with the right approach GovTech can deliver real impact in the months ahead.
Written by
Gurpreet Sehmi
Senior Director
Mike Bracken
Founder