Engagement in government
By leveraging new technologies, government agencies can forge stronger connections with constituents
With its charter to serve constituents—citizens, businesses, and other government agencies—the public sector is constantly striving to improve the quality and availability of services. By using the latest technologies, government agencies can enhance their operations, improve the level of service, and accomplish their missions within budget. In doing so, they will effectively increase constituent engagement, creating a lasting relationship built on a foundation of trust.
The engagement imperative for government
Today, engagement is rising to the top of government agendas, though government leaders admit that implementation has been less than perfect. Adobe investigated the issue in a recent global study of public-sector executives by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) conducted as part of Adobe’s comprehensive initiative on the topic of engagement. The research found that while 82% of public sector leaders believe constituent engagement is important, just 25% of public service managers think their department or agency is deeply engaged with its constituents. This disengagement can be costly, with 58% of public sector managers reporting that lack of engagement costs them more than 5% of their annual budget.
One reason behind the varying success of government efforts to engage with citizens is that public-sector organizations have mandates that differ markedly from those of businesses. They must accommodate the needs of all citizens, which can be challenging, especially when it comes to integrating new technologies. For example, government agencies must contend with citizens’ varying degrees of comfort with and access to technology. Because of this, approaches to constituent engagement have to be based on fully accessible, easily understandable, and universally available solutions.
Another issue to consider when looking at engagement in government is that the role of government agencies varies from country to country. In the United States, citizen engagement focuses more on interactions with local (city, county, and state) agencies because these organizations manage most services that people rely on daily. U.S. federal agencies typically revolve around intra- and interagency collaboration or interactions with businesses (and to a lesser extent, citizen activities focused on taxes, certain legal issues, or senior services). In other countries, federal government offices often deliver many of the basic citizen services typically handled by local U.S. agencies. Public sector engagement strategies must be adjusted to reflect these structural differences.
Technology offers a key solution to engage constituents
Adobe’s study with the EIU found that government leaders view technology as a key solution for boosting engagement and are investing in technology as a way to achieve their engagement goals. By minimizing people-to-people interactions for administrative functions and instead empowering citizens to use technology to quickly register for services, answer questions, make payments, and complete other activities, technology-based solutions can improve the quality of government services while costs go down. Equally important, citizens realize advantages that directly enhance their lives. The benefits of engaging employees and colleagues within and among agencies are also impressive, with technology helping organizations share information and collaborate more efficiently and securely than ever.
Bridging the engagement gap
Here are some examples of how government agencies are engaging constituents using technology, including Adobe® Reader and Adobe Flash®.
- Restructuring workflows to maximize efficiencies can have a strong impact on engaging citizens. Consider a large U.S. county that wanted to accelerate the process of submitting and processing orders of protection (OP) to ensure that victims of violence could be protected as soon as possible. To accomplish this, the county replaced its long and confusing paper forms (filled with legalese) with an intuitive online process that enables victims or their advocates to quickly complete and submit an OP. The accurate digital forms are automatically routed to all appropriate agencies for processing. The county has accelerated issuing OPs and seen the number of abandoned filings decrease because the simplified workflows enable more people to successfully complete applications. For many citizens, the newly automated processes can literally save lives.
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- Increasingly, government agencies are adopting a single-door approach to services. For example, businesses applying for licenses and permits can go to one place on the web to complete and submit the forms required for several services. The digital forms are then instantly distributed to all relevant agencies for processing. A similar approach can be taken for providing citizens with easy access to services, such as simultaneously applying for medical and food assistance programs. For governments, this one-stop strategy for improving engagement reduces costs and eliminates redundant processes across agencies, while giving citizens clear, quick access to vital services.
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- Reliable information sharing and collaboration is essential between staff at government agencies. For instance, case managers serving children may need regular access to immunization records, legal case files, and details on financial support given to a child’s family. Because information is managed in different agencies, it has traditionally been difficult for case managers to access timely records on demand. By automating data capture and sharing information across agencies, authorized government employees can easily access information where and when they need it. This means that children (and others needing help) receive uninterrupted access to a wider array of integrated services.
Learn more. - Defense agencies need the flexibility to work together securely and reliably anywhere at any time. Having access to real-time data visualizations and interactive collaboration tools drives better decision making in the field by enabling soldiers to analyze several scenarios at once. At the same time, low-bandwidth online conferencing solutions enable dispersed soldiers to instantly collaborate to fix system problems or report on progress. Here, effective engagement means the difference between winning or losing battles and keeping troop losses to a minimum.
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- Government regulations can routinely confuse seasoned corporate attorneys and citizens alike. Through ongoing, quality eLearning programs, government agencies can reach constituents with relevant information where and when they need it. Learning programs can be delivered in the form of prerecorded programs and presentations or offered as real-time, interactive discussions with expert panelists.
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The scope of engagement in the public sector is extensive, affecting how constituents interact with agencies and how agencies collaborate with each other. Yet even with so many possibilities, common themes for how agencies can most effectively engage their constituents emerge: improving transparency and accountability, enhancing the quality and breadth of services, accelerating service delivery, facilitating data tracking and security, easing approval processes, and providing significant cost savings over time. With technologies that enable them to provide engaging experiences, government agencies forge these stronger connections and provide a higher level of service.
“Today, individuals and businesses expect government organizations to provide interaction and information to them anytime, anywhere, and through any medium. By leveraging new technologies that deliver engaging experiences, government agencies can forge stronger connections with their constituencies and provide higher quality public service.”
—Rob Pinkerton
director, worldwide government marketing
