UQ Business School has launched a Digital and AI Governance Consortium to bring together government, industry and academic partners to re-imagine digital transformation and AI governance in Australia.
Director of the Consortium, Associate Professor of Practice, Natalie Smith, said there is increasing evidence that traditional governance methods are not keeping pace with the complexity and uncertainty of digital transformation and AI.
"The Consortium focuses on the practices needed for governing in complex, uncertain and fast-paced change contexts,” said Dr Smith.
"We’ve developed a collaborative model to create practical solutions that organisations can apply in real time." Dr Smith said.
The Consortium launched with two founding partners: the Australian Government’s Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) and Uniting NSW.ACT.
The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) joined as a core partner, helping shape the Consortium's research agenda and co-creating governance guidance, capability development and toolkits for government leaders.
The partnership builds on the DTA's role as the Australian Government's lead adviser on whole-of-government digital and ICT strategy, investment oversight and governance.
Simon Quarrell, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Investment Advice and Sourcing Division at DTA, said the Consortium would develop practical solutions to challenges facing digital leaders.
“The opportunity here is to take what we learn from this Consortium and put it into the hands of the people making these decisions every day,” said Quarrel.
Uniting NSW.ACT has also joined as a partner, contributing insights from the front line of digital transformation in the human services sector, where organisations are balancing significant reform with ongoing financial pressures. The Consortium is working with Uniting on a cornerstone project to develop a practical and effective transformation governance toolkit for Boards and C-Suite.
Chief Operating Officer at Uniting NSW.ACT, Patrick Reid, said the Consortium's work addresses a growing need for governance approaches that keep pace with digital and AI-enabled change.
"The work matters because digital and AI governance is no longer a technical or project-level issue.
"For organisations like ours, it goes directly to service quality, risk, workforce impact, investment discipline and the confidence of the people and communities we serve” says Patrick Reid, Chief Operating Officer for Uniting NSW.ACT
How the Consortium works
The Consortium invites partners with a shared purpose of getting better value from digital and AI investments through re-imagining governance in a complex, uncertain and fast-paced change environment.
The Consortium provides 3 tiers of partnership to combine evidence-based research with cross-sectoral experience and insights:
- Core partners help set the Consortium’s research agenda and contribute directly to its work
- Project partners commission specific research relevant to their organisation
- Patrons apply the Consortium’s research within their own organisation or with their clients.
Dr Smith said participating organisations would gain access to practical governance frameworks, research insights and collaborative projects designed to support better digital and AI decision-making.
“Expected outcomes for partner organisations include faster, higher-value digital and AI investment decisions, greater confidence in managing digital risk, and access to governance frameworks that are fit-for-purpose,” she said.
To find out more about the Digital and AI Governance Consortium, contact Dr Natalie Smith.
