Smarter government will do more than simply regulate the outputs of our economic and societal systems. It will be a smoothly functioning system itself, interconnecting dynamically with citizens, communities and businesses in real time to spark growth, innovation and progress. The challenges are many – from departmental silos to process delays to lack of transparency and accountability. But governments around the world are showing real progress.
Smarter government means collaborating across departments and with communities.
Collaboration can help governments become more transparent and accountable; manage resources more effectively; and give citizens access to information about decisions that affect their lives. In the UK, Southwest One, an innovative joint venture, is providing shared services by integrating many functions of the Somerset County Council, the Taunton Deane Borough Council, and the Avon and Somerset Police.
Smarter government means helping to promote economic growth.
Governments can boost the economy by streamlining cumbersome processes and simplifying reporting requirements, which are especially burdensome to small agencies. The Belgian Crossroads Bank for Social Security has automated 42 services for employers, eliminating 50 social security declaration forms. As a result, 23 million declarations were made electronically in 2008 – a major productivity benefit for Belgian businesses, saving them an estimated $1.7 billion a year.
Smarter government means making operations and services truly citizen-centric.
Leading governments are integrating their service delivery, establishing offices that support multiple services and placing the most needed transactions on the Web. For example, herein Australia, Centrelink helps the government to provide appropriate service offerings based on citizens’ life events, such as marriage, the birth of children and the need for elder care. Kyoto, Japan, created a Web site that allows all people, regardless of their abilities or native language, to access city information.
And then there are those times when being citizen-centric with speed and accuracy may be a matter of life and death. During the recent wildfires in California, government agencies turned to Twitter to provide real-time updates on the status of the fires – directing people without power, but with mobile devices, to Google Maps for evacuation information.
Ideas
As state and federal governments work to infuse intelligence into their transport, energy, water, telecommunications and other systems in order to stimulate economies and benefit citizens, it begs the question: can the operations of government itself become smarter?
"Citizen-centric"—the evolution continues
"Just as private enterprises have rediscovered their mission and business model by returning to a focus on customers, governments around the world are finding success in reorienting their structures, information technology and policies around the citizens they serve, to create a smart government."
This can range from "one-stop shopping" for previously discrete sets of services to information sharing and collaboration across regions and borders for the benefit of both citizens and government.
At a country level, for example in the United Kingdom and Singapore, governments are educating citizens about multiple ways to obtain services and encouraging them to use the most convenient and efficient channels. At the other end of the spectrum, across an entire continent, Europe has many examples of information shared across departments and programs to deliver service and benefits to citizens. To undergird this partnership, all European Union member states are required to have national legislation in line with the EU's directive on data protection.
"Citizen-centric"—the evolution continues
"Just as private enterprises have rediscovered their mission and business model by returning to a focus on customers, governments around the world are finding success in reorienting their structures, information technology and policies around the citizens they serve, to create a smart government."
This can range from "one-stop shopping" for previously discrete sets of services to information sharing and collaboration across regions and borders for the benefit of both citizens and government.
At a country level, for example in the United Kingdom and Singapore, governments are educating citizens about multiple ways to obtain services and encouraging them to use the most convenient and efficient channels. At the other end of the spectrum, across an entire continent, Europe has many examples of information shared across departments and programs to deliver service and benefits to citizens. To undergird this partnership, all European Union member states are required to have national legislation in line with the EU's directive on data protection.
6 ideas drivers of governmental change on a smarter planet
- changing demographics
- accelerating globalisation
- rising environmental concerns
- evolving societal relationships
- growing threats to stability and order
- expanding impact of technology
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