Digital transformation and the politics of benefits realization management

IMPACTPublic sector organizations invest heavily in digital transformation but often struggle to move beyond immediate financial goals. In the National Health Service (NHS) in England and similar contexts, benefits realization management (BRM) is common but frequently fails to deliver real value. This study shows that BRM is not a neutral tool but a relational process shaped by power, governance, and material artefacts such as business cases, project templates and information systems. Early decisions, especially benefit definitions, can confine value to narrow financial metrics, marginalizing broader outcomes such as patient care, staff wellbeing and service learning. For senior managers, digital leaders, and policy-makers, the key is active governance of BRM. Practitioners should co-create benefit definitions with frontline staff, revisit assumptions during delivery, and critically assess how project management tools, suppliers, and governance shape ‘value’. Without this, BRM may reinforce existing priorities rather than support meaningful transformation.