We are DSGa (Digital Services Georgia)
Digital services for state agencies and elected officials
For the longest time people have interacted with government on traditional, non-digital platforms. Once the web matured, interactions moved to smaller devices that fit in our palms, and conversations moved to social media and online chats. The recent years have added a variety of channels and devices to how people interact with government.
More than ever, people expect state services to be available online, on the device of their choice, and easy to use. They expect government to deliver services with the same level of sophistication as the private sector.
At Digital Services Georgia, we’re making sure state digital properties are on the road map to a modernized experience.
We help state agencies analyze and enhance their digital properties to ensure every Georgia resident and visitor can easily engage with the state information and services they rely on. From regular interactions like food stamps or child support to an annual tax filing, people expect an experience with least friction. It is critical to drive the mission of person centered service delivery in an organization centered culture.
State agencies need to meet people’s expectations and requirements in harmony with agency goals, strategy, and objectives, while also adapting to customer behavior and emergent technologies.
This is where we step in, helping agencies provide a frictionless experience through all their digital touchpoints.
So what do we do?
At a strategic level, we offer the following services:
- Drive people-centric digital solutions
The DSGa team works with state agencies to plan, design, and deliver information and services in a way that is easy for people to access and use. Our responsibility is to make sure the State of Georgia builds people centric digital experiences. - Build capacity within the state workforce to deliver digital solutions
It is critical to adapt to modern solutions and skills as the technology landscape changes. The DSGa team offers several educational channels for 500+ content managers to bring them up to speed on digital standards and best practices. - Consult with agencies to solve problems
The DSGa team — comprised of digital strategists, engineers, designers, and content and data specialists — help state agencies strategize relevant solutions. We follow a problem-first approach and peel the problem onion with several questions before we start troubleshooting solutions.
On a practical level, we offer the following to state agencies and elected officials in Georgia:
- An enterprise GeorgiaGov web publishing platform
- Training and support
- Accessibility testing and audits
- Consultation on technology solutions not provided by DSGa
- Data visualization services
We communicate regularly with our agency partners, so we generally know how they interact with their audience, what they need from the web platform, and what challenges they face daily.
Through our Digital Center of Excellence, we also facilitate agency partnerships and collaboration based on creating and maintaining best practices and policies for the state’s digital presence. As a byproduct of this effort, we’ll propose critical policies to be endorsed as enforceable standards for all Georgia state agencies.
DSGa will be a partner to state agencies in designing and strategizing modern service delivery based on usage data as opposed to stakeholder preferences. As we identify challenges across agencies and innovate to address them, we scale proven solutions statewide, thereby reducing costs, benefitting all agencies.
With the variety of interaction channels and services in the digital landscape, the scope of digital services has expanded past website and application delivery. So to address the growing scope of digital service needs, DSGa champions innovation while promoting consistent digital strategy across state government. Our experienced, centralized team will apply the lessons of the state’s enterprise web platform to unify, improve, and standardize the user experience across existing and upcoming delivery channels.
With eyes set on the future, the Office of Digital Services will serve as state government’s guide to navigating the ever-changing digital now.
An earlier version of this post was originally published October 2, 2017 on the Digital Services Georgia website.
Digital Services Georgia is a nonpartisan division of the Georgia Technology Authority. This publication does not entertain political discussions.
