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Is your city ready for digital services?
20 June 2023
Interested in digital services? Download the practical guide for local government from PayIt.
Leaders in the public sector have assigned new urgency to digital service delivery, recognizing its benefits to drive resident trust, agency efficiency, and workforce satisfaction. For example, digital service delivery is cited as second only to security on the NASCIO State CIO Top Ten Policy and Technology Priorities for 2023 report.
While local government agencies are eager to modernize, it’s not always easy due to clunky on-premise software, complex and siloed systems, and unresponsive vendors who fail to innovate.
The good news is that agencies can deploy engaging online services without waiting for a top-down digital transformation initiative.
To get started fast and succeed, there are a few important things to keep in mind:
- Find a champion. Is there someone who will work across your organization to drive excitement about making the resident experience better while identifying the key resources and processes that need to be involved? Ideally, the champion has authority to make purchase decisions or significant influence on budget allocations. They might sit in IT or on the business side of the agency, but they are really effective at working cross-functionally.
- Start small, then scale. Identify one or two high-impact use cases, such as utilities or property tax, and plan to add new services as you achieve velocity and adoption. Narrowing to a single use case simplifies the initial implementation process, the set of potential integrations, and the change management required to launch. As your agency begins to realize the benefits, other programs will follow.
- Tell your residents. People are eager to do business with you digitally, but that doesn’t mean that they will do so automatically. You’ll need to make them aware of the service. Expect that you will need to communicate about the service and market it effectively, and ask vendors if they will help you drive adoption. A true partner will be invested in helping you improve adoption and ensuring your success.
Selecting the right vendors is also crucial. Download the practical buyers’ guide for local government from PayIt.
