Reestablishing Trust in the Political System: a word from the people

Last month we hosted a workshop and panel at Techfestival in Copenhagen to deep dive into the role technology can play in re-connecting people with their representatives.

To a lot of people, the political world is becoming more alien; the perceived gap between our democratic representatives and the electorate appears to be increasing — just look at a number of recent elections in Western democracies. GovTech gives us a chance to change this trend by amplifying common people’s voices in the political system. But yet this technology is often created in isolation of regular citizens or public-sector users, with UX and functionality mapped out by government themselves or by specialists.

During the event, we took the opportunity to sit with 40 people from different backgrounds — job function, sector, age, geography — to discuss their concerns and desires surrounding technological development within government, especially linked to four key themes that are essential cornerstones for GovTech: trust, data, participation, and impact.

Conversation highlights

The biggest problem is clear (well, actually it’s not…): Citizens simply don’t feel that government is transparent.

Listening to our participants discuss these topic areas was fascinating. They simply don’t know what their governments are up to.

It’s been said that transparency is the distinguishing feature of democracy. When governments seem opaque in their work and the impact of projects and policies aren’t seen, it appears as if they’re not accountable and therefore not trustworthy. Citizens then don’t want to share their data or participate as there’s a lack of trust associated with the purpose of doing so.

Achieving effective government transparency should, therefore, be a top priority for us all, especially those of us working in Govtech.

Ways to do so include publishing what tax money is spent on. The UK government sends an annual statement to individuals telling them how much they contributed in tax for the year, and how much is being spent on healthcare, education, defence, etc — it helps citizens understand government priorities.

On a more local level, governments can publish their project focuses, timelines and results, and be more proactive in communicating with their communities using digital tools.

“Participation should be as easy as ordering pizza.”

In a world where Italian food is just a few clicks away, it seems a little bizarre that our interactions with government tend to be so strenuous.

When building GovTech, it seems that the methodology of behavioural economics — and, in particular, nudging — can play a vital role in engaging people. A great example can be seen in Sweden, where, following a blood donation, a text message is sent to the person who donated blood to tell them that their blood had been used, and calls on them to donate again soon. It’s simple but incredibly effective: being able to see our own impact encourages us to take further action.

Recommendations for those creating future-proof government technology

Humanise your work

Citizens will connect to political systems more when they realise that there are people behind the politics. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from external experts or to crowdsource ideas from your community — it’ll hugely benefit your way of working and you’ll gain respect! Do remember to maintain an authority though: we need our elected representatives to be specialists.

Education, always

Both citizens and public servants need to be kept up to date with relevant structures, methods of working, and digital tools. For instance, government could attend digital literacy workshops, as well as hosting sessions with technologists to learn about how to improve and amplify their work. Whereas community initiatives could be hosted to educate citizens on regulation and processes. Regular education on both sides will help growth, innovation, and collaboration.

Make people responsible

“We should all work 10% less and put that time into a civil organisation. We all need to give back, and we are all responsible for holding others accountable.”
Anne Marie Engtoft Larsen, World Economic Forum

When we feel something is our personal responsibility, we take ownership of it. The same goes for improving the political system. Setting up groups or hackathons dedicated to specific governmental development areas, that will have clear outcomes and impact, will attract dedicated individuals and foster community trust.

Work cross-country
Governments across the world are duplicating technological development efforts. In fact, different cities and even departments are doing the same. Start sharing knowledge, and working collaboratively. It’ll save both time and money! For instance, organisations like us at Civocracy facilitate dialogue and workshops between cities and regions undertaking citizen-participation projects so they can learn best practices and discuss challenges with each other.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who attended. Thank you for being open with your questions, thoughts, concerns, and ideas.

Authored by Emily McDonnell, Head of Partnerships and Communication

Techfestival is an annual anti-conference in Copenhagen that explores the relationship between humans and technology.