Why Governments are Making the Switch to Digital

Government entities are transforming themselves in an effort to meet the demands of their citizens. What is their vehicle of choice? Digital content and communication. Shifting resources to an online space is not only more cost-effective, but it’s also a remarkable way to engage the people of your community at a personal level.

However, there are always barriers to participation when it comes to the digital world. A lack of direction and ‘hard skills’ are often at the forefront of the discussion in this capacity. The good news is that, when using strategic planning, true transformation in government is possible. And citizens will sit up and take note.

Civic engagement carries intrinsic value for the government. Since the central theme of governance is in the name of service, it makes sense to hinge all efforts upon that concept. Doing so can build trust between citizens, businesses, departments, and agencies. It’s at this point that civil servants and private citizens begin working together as one, as opposed to a ‘they’ versus ‘us’ mentality.

Building a digital strategy will empower your government to connect with citizens and unify existing systems to create a better community. Governments struggle to push past e-government, and ourCitizen Engagement Technology, OneView, creates a seamless experience between local government and citizens.

Managing the Objections Toward Your Government’s Transformation

Citizen engagement is critical to the government organizations that are considering devising a strategy. Where one’s organization decides to begin is entirely up to them. However, goal setting is a natural choice for setting up a complete government transformation strategy. Aside from goal setting, government organizations find other hurdles that they must clear in order to pave the way for their community.

Here are a few challenges that government organizations may experience during the initial planning phase:

• Some governments lack the strategy and vision to execute a digital transformation plan
• There isn’t enough skilled human capital to manage cohesive programs as efficiently and effectively as possible.
• Government budgets are already spread thin, which makes it challenging to justify citizen engagement efforts.
• Managing the internal culture during the initial implementation phase may receive pushback on buy-in.
• Citizen engagement efforts are often stifled by the lack of service design.
• Technologies for citizen engagement efforts are limited or lack general awareness among government leaders.
• Government leaders are not yet convinced that citizen engagement efforts actually work.

The list of barriers to participating in citizen engagement programs is almost endless. However, those who follow through using a rock-solid strategy have better-informed citizens who are more satisfied with their community leaders. When embarking on your own journey toward a complete government transformation strategy, it’s important to remember that the process of service development is more accessible to the public now. User feedback is essential from start to finish.

Final Thoughts and Considerations on Managing the Journey Towards Digital Transformation

There are many challenges associated with implementing a transformation in government. Think about how many issues we are still hammering out with the U.S. Constitution. Now imagine how many resources are left over for procuring citizen engagement. However, organizations that make the investment reap benefits for years to come.