By Duncan Geere

The coalition has appointed Mike Bracken as executive director of digital in the cabinet office, following Martha Lane Fox’s review of Directgov.

The post, which Wired.co.uk investigated thoroughly back in April, calls for a candidate to “change the model of government online publishing, by putting a new central team in Cabinet Office in control of the overall user experience across all digital channels, commissioning all government online information from other departments”.

Essentially, it’s about pursuing the coalition’s goals in open data and technology development, with the objective of making public services easier to access online. Bracken had previously worked as director of digital development at Guardian News & Media.

Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office said in a post on its website: “Improving public services across government by bringing them online, making people’s lives easier and saving millions of pounds is a prize worth having. Mike has shown he can deliver real change through his achievements at theGuardian. I am looking forward seeing radical change in our public services online experience.”

Bracken, on his blog, said: “It’s a huge challenge, and many Government digital projects have faltered in the past. But in my opinion, for the first time, all the elements are lined up favourably. I’ve had the great fortune to work with hundreds of digital developers, and I know at heart they they want to change the world and improve digital services from the users perspective. Now seems to be the time to give them a chance.”

[original post http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-05/20/mike-bracken-digital-director]