The UK should become a global hub for ‘GovTech’, with digital technology offering the chance to transform the relationship between the state and the citizen, and create a more efficient, responsive and innovative state, says a new Policy Exchange report The Smart State. Like today’s leading companies, Government should be structured as a platform and centred around the needs of the individual, rather than the legacy structures of government departments. Whilst the UK is already a world leader in open data, the government needs to overcome the challenges of legacy systems, maintaining user trust on data security and skills shortages to realise the full potential of digital government. As the private sector works to respond to the EU’s GDPR regulations and recent personal data scandals, the Government should be setting an example of what true user control and ‘privacy by design’ looks like.