Digitalizing government services: Make it proactive, intuitive and fast
Service
Industry
When it comes to government services, the citizens, residents, and businesses of a country want fast, intuitive, proactive services. Digitalization has created the perfect environment for that vision – as countries that have already developed versions of a government ‘super app’ have discovered.
Challenges
Invisible services
The aim of a modern government is to create an environment that allows all its citizens, residents, and businesses to fulfill their own goals and dreams.
In an ideal world, the best government service would be no (obvious) service. This is the future of proactive services – a world where, ideally, services are delivered so unobtrusively that the process is almost invisible. Digitalization has brought that vision within reach.
Solution
A unified platform
The essential foundation of this vision is a platform that connects the information system and data of every government department, allowing citizens, businesses, visitors, and others to communicate efficiently with the state.
For citizens and residents, this means they can access what they need and find answers to questions through a single digital environment. For businesses and investors, it means a seamless and efficient business environment. And for governments, it means greater efficiency and productivity and a flexible system that’s fit for the future.
The principles for
success
People-centric
People are the absolute focus of the system. The experience should be intuitive, relevant, and personal, with services based around life event journeys.
Future facing
The system should be built with the future in mind. If the foundations of the system are robust and everything is digitalized, new services can easily be added, integrated, and managed.
Secure and private
A single, high-security authentication point for the public sector. Citizens, institutions, and companies should only have to provide certain standard information to the authorities and administrations once.
– Forbes
Estonia has given an entirely different outlook on what a truly human-centric society entails for digital citizens.
The evolution of e-services worldwide
While businesses have been at the forefront of the drive to harness the potential of e-services, a small number of countries worldwide are leading the way in digital government. In Malta and Portugal, for example, around 98% of government services are available online. In 2020, the E-Government Development Index ranked the 193 United Nations Member States in terms of digital government. Denmark, the Republic of Korea, and Estonia ranked as the most developed.
The rapid shift from desktop-based internet access to mobile services is taking e-government to the next level. At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2023, Estonia unveiled a new smartphone app, mRiik, which will allow its citizens to access government services and hold digital versions of their ID card, passport, and other key documents.
Parental benefits with the click of a button
Estonia, a country widely regarded as a truly digital society, made yet another innovative leap at the end of 2019 by launching proactive family and parental benefits, moving toward a new proactive governance model.
Impact
A unified digital access point that provides seamless, proactive services creates value for a wide range of stakeholders.
Government
State institutions benefit from:
- Improved efficiency
- The ability to integrate new services easily
- Improved quality of services and performance
- Actionable insights and dat
Citizens and residents
A system that’s straightforward, intuitive, and easy to use:
- Citizens and residents can quickly find exactly what they need
- A personalized service, based on each user’s unique circumstances
- Proactive offering of services and information based around life event journeys
- Seamless communication and interaction with different state institutions
Business
Digital services give businesses everything they need, in one place:
- Paperless, hassle-free business administration, from permits to taxes
- Accessible and efficient
- Proactive services, including reminders of important deadlines
- Support throughout business life cycle
Visitors
A unified portal can offer useful information for business and leisure travelers, and simplify entry and exit procedures:
- Real time information
- Support and advice before, during and after a trip
- Useful tourism, cultural and historical guides
Investors
Investors can find all the information they need, quickly and easily:
- Simplified guidance that takes an investor through business procedures and protocols
- Lower administrative barriers
The future of government services
The proliferation of data and rapid evolution of digital technology has created the perfect environment for governments worldwide to create truly efficient, proactive services for the public – so effectively and subtly that users don’t notice the process. Achieving the ultimate aim of a unified digital access point takes hard work, investment, and commitment, but the benefits are considerable, as several countries around the world have already seen.
This is the future of government services – and it is within our reach.
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