More effective government: Five minutes with Barry Lowry, Ireland’s chief information officer
In this sister series to our ‘Five minutes with’ interviews, we share insights from the civil and public service leaders who will speak at our Innovation conference. Taking place in London on 25 and 26 March, attendees will hear about how their peers are developing new approaches to policymaking and service delivery.
In this interview, Barry Lowry, Ireland’s chief information officer – who will speak in the session on unlocking an improved experience of government services with data – tells GGF about design thinking in policy development, the career achievement he’s most proud of, and his dream holiday destination.
Click here to find out more and register for Innovation 2025
What are you most interested in doing at Innovation 2025?
Meeting my peers from other countries and finding out what I can learn from them.
What have you achieved in your career that you’re most proud of?
Probably getting the public/private ICT apprenticeship scheme off the ground in 2012. This required so much internal change, negotiation and political engagement because it was aiming to do two very new things: applying the apprenticeship model to a very unique profession, and delivering this in partnership with several private sector companies. But we surmounted every hurdle, and the scheme is still running in Northern Ireland. Moreover, we have successfully introduced a similar scheme in Ireland. The two schemes have given career opportunities to hundreds of people.
What more do you want to achieve before you retire?
Move the culture dial from focusing on the machinery of government to focusing on the needs of people. And using digital and data to fully transform the effectiveness of government. I really think we are achieving a breakthrough (certainly in Ireland).
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given in your working life?
Follow your heart.
What do you like most about working in the civil service?
It attracts many people with a real sense of vocation, who see their roles as a privileged opportunity to serve those who need help most.
If you could introduce one civil service reform, what would it be?
That no policy is developed without it having undergone some design thinking to understand its potential effectiveness (against other options) to address the stated problem and how best it can be implemented and its effectiveness measured.
Which country’s civil service are you most inspired by and why?
The UK for its (digitalisation) strategic development capability, Finland and Denmark for ability to execute.
Are there projects or innovations in Ireland that might be valuable to your peers overseas?
Ireland is a world thought leader on data governance and the OECD often refer countries to us for discussion and assistance. We are the OECD country most trusted by the public in how we use their data.
If you weren’t a civil servant, what would you be?
A teacher or university lecturer. I actually do lecture for two universities at MSc level and really enjoy it.
What is your dream holiday destination?
My wife and I had three dream destinations: Australia, Canada and Switzerland. We’ve visited them all in the last few years. None of them disappointed!
What was the first piece of music you bought?
The Slider by T. Rex and I have been buying music ever since. Paul McCartney and Paul Weller would be my music heroes but I have very broad taste.
Click here to find out more and register for Innovation 2025
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