A Digital First Culture for the Government through Digital Transformation
- Priyankka Dadwal
- Jul 1, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 23, 2021
"Technology is no longer a choice since Digitization is inevitable.”
“The beauty of E-Governance is that few keystrokes can bring smiles on a million faces.”
- Prime Minister of India-Narendra Modi
“A Transparent, smart governance with seamless access, secure and authentic flow of information crossing the inter-departmental barrier and providing a fair and unbiased service to citizens.”
-Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Former President of India
E-Governance can bring transformation in many aspects, like:
Culture
Technology
Governing Processes
Revenue Models
Few of the benefits of Digital/E-Governance:
A strategic way to cut costs
Increase efficiency
Can enhance Services
Can Improve Citizen’s Quality of Life
Can empower citizens and broaden their engagement with the government
Businesses will also benefit from digital government services
Few facts about Investments on Bringing Digital Transformation Worldwide:
Recent Research findings report that the world would be spending on the technological tools and services that enable Digital Transformation approximately $2.3 million (£1.8 trillion) in 2023.
And according to International Data Corporation (IDC), businesses are expected to spend approximately $2.1 trillion by 2021 on digital transformation, which includes investments in mobility, data, and cloud computing amongst many others.
What would Digital Governance Look like?
A scenario where citizens would approach government more via call centres or web pages and the government would provide services in response. And this can be easily done by building a web or mobile applications that bring citizens closer to Government services.
Few examples to make this easier to understand:
Smart Cars notifying of accidents
Smart Homes asking for help in case of a flood or bushfire
Robots sharing information or triggering activities
7 tips on How the Government can create and accelerate the transformation towards an Innovative and Digital-First Culture:
Leadership- Digital Transformation has to be championed by Charismatic, Collaborative, and Transparent Leadership to produce a maximum positive impact.
Set Clear Expectations- The Leader will have to be very clear about his expectations and what he wishes to achieve. In this way, he will encounter less resistance.
Technology is not enough- Only technology won’t derive results unless it is backed by a culture that embraces the change.
Identify the skill set you need- Foster a team of leaders that is digitally fluent and citizen-centric. For this government would need to identify the right talent to put together the optimal team structures to operate the nation.
Build a culture of Continuous Learning-The Government must put its ongoing efforts towards skills development and training.
Open Mindset- Government must encourage creativity and collaboration in the pursuit of new processes and ideas.
Data-Driven Smart Decisions- By using the right set of analytical tools, the data can be converted into valuable insights to make informed and quicker decisions.
3 crucial areas where Digitization should occur first in Government:
Highest Volume Services
Labour-Intensive Processes
Expensive Back-End Processes
Technologies to support Digital Transformation
The future of digital governance is looking to be heavily built upon the following technologies:
How the other nations are taking advantage of digital technology to bring in digital transformation in Governance?
1. Singapore
Singapore integrated its digital sign-on system to give each resident a “Singpass ID” for obtaining services from more than 60 agencies.
Singapore has a fully digitized process of registering a company which has decreased the time required to just 15 minutes in most of the cases and it automatically issues notices of incorporation to corporate secretaries.
2. United Kingdom
24 ministerial department websites and websites of 331 other agencies and public bodies have been merged into a single website-gov.uk.
3. Sweden
The Government sends regular digital reminders to parents about upcoming health check-ups and vaccinations for their children.
4. China
Some provincial governments there accept passport and visa applications and provide updates on weather and traffic through WeChat, one of the country’s most widely used mobile apps.
5. Germany
Its Federal Employment Agency (BA) built a job platform- JOBBARSE that analyses candidate’s profile, make personalized job recommendations, and refer suitable candidates to prospective employers.
6. United States
The US government uses the website Challenge.gov to stage problem-solving contests related to issues such as accelerating the deployment of solar energy and combating breast cancer.
Final note
We are amid a Digital Era and the government that grabs the opportunity to invest in bringing digital transformation will only progress and prosper. And this can only be done by bringing Digital First Culture within the Government.
Commentaires