Empowering Citizen-Driven Government through Collaboration and Service DeliveryBy providing access to appropriate data for citizen use -- both for informational and collaborative purposes -- government can maximize investments with a clear return on taxpayer dollars through cost-effective service delivery models. To accomplish this, government must transition from a traditional and reactive service delivery model to a proactive framework where citizens are engaged in the design and delivery processes.Institute for Innovation’s 2012 Quadrennial Government Technology
Review:
The Quadrennial Government Technology Review (QGTR) is an initiative through ACT-IAC’s Institute for
Innovation to provide senior government leaders with a discussion of some of the nation’s most pressing
challenges. Over 100 volunteers from government and industry provided input to the seven papers that
comprise the QGTR. Recommendations are offered to provide ways that information technology can
make a positive impact on these challenges. Information technology underpins virtually every federal
program and agency mission. Increased efficiency and effectiveness is especially critical to mission
support, especially at times of budget shortages. This paper provides background information and
recommendations developed by a cross-section of ACT-IAC members and represents a non-vendor
specific, non-partisan perspective. The papers may be found at www.actgov.org/quadrennial.ACT-IAC Institute for InnovationI4I_c64652dc-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf9241Established in 2011, the ACT-IAC Institute for Innovation was chartered to promote innovation in the delivery of government services and operations. It develops and delivers high-quality strategic advice that reflects cross-industry recommendations based on the consensus of experts from ACT-IAC’s member companies and government liaisons. Through ethical collaborative discussion, the Institute recommends approaches to key issues affecting government where information technology can be or is a factor and a broad spectrum of perspectives is required. ACT-IACAmerican Council for Technology -- Industry Advisory Council:
The American Council for Technology (ACT) is a non-profit educational organization established by
government leaders in 1979 to improve government through the efficient and innovative application of
information technology. ACT was created to provide an objective and trusted forum for collaboration
and education. In 1989, ACT established the Industry Advisory Council (IAC) to bring industry and
government executives together to collaborate on IT issues of interest to the government.
ACT-IAC is a unique, public-private partnership dedicated to helping government use technology to
serve the public. The organization provides programs that facilitate communication, education and
collaboration. Recognized as the premier collaborative forum in the government IT community, ACT-IAC
has been called “a model of how government and industry can work together” and “the Switzerland of
the government IT community.”
ACT-IAC welcomes the participation of all public and private organizations committed to improving the
delivery of public services through the effective and efficient use of information technology.Citizen PartnersThose who will work with government to accomplish the country’s goals more efficiently and effectively.Citizen AdvocatesAny unified group willing to engage government through virtually any means in order to augment, improve, complete, disrupt or otherwise alter the course of services, legislation and policies. Citizen ConsumersThose who expect a quality of service through a use of technology that equals or exceeds that of the private sector.CitizensCitizens are reinventing traditional practices of engagement -- and the government can leverage these ever-growing platforms. In fact, government has no choice but to listen and engage, or be rendered increasingly at odds with the public it seeks to serve. This evolution demands government attention and commitment. It requires input and participation from citizens working beside their elected representatives.
U.S. citizens are already directly involved in major shifts in our government and society. Much of the groundwork for future engagement is established. The next term of administration has a host of opportunities for further citizen engagement by enabling various movements to unfold productively.
Citizens will collaborate and drive action, whether within the confines of current solutions or by establishing their own solutions. We have seen this in times of emergencies. As demonstrated repeatedly on a global level, governments can be involved in the process of reshaping countries -- or they can watch from the sidelines. The government’s lack of ability to engage some segments during the digital revolution has created for many citizens a culture of apathy and negative perceptions about government’s value. Agencies must evolve, involve and collaborate with citizens in ways that stretch limited budgets, provide transparency and deliver services seamlessly with the ease and interfaces citizens are familiar with from non-governmental transactions. Only in this way can we move toward the vision of a truly citizen-driven government.Government investments are maximized with a clear return on taxpayer dollars through cost-effective service delivery models. _c6465688-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf9241[To help] government transition from a traditional and reactive service delivery model to a proactive framework where citizens are engaged in the design and delivery processes._c6465854-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf9241ParticipationTraditionally, participation in government was limited by physical constraints, such as the number of people you could pack in a room, or the time required for travel between open forums. CollaborationWith the power of digital tools and open data -- the potential for collaboration is limitless. However, today’s government resources are limited when it comes to collaboration. Digital ToolsOpen DataLeverageThe challenge is how to use those limited government resources and leverage new technologies and government processes in an efficient manner to meet people’s desire for more engagement. EfficiencyEngagementResponsivenessThe result must be a government that is more responsive to citizen wants and needs.MetricsMetrics must transparently include the good and the bad. This is the only way to effectively gauge performance and make proper decisions about change. Easily accessible, interpretable data and dashboards allow citizens to obtain as little or as much detail needed to participate in government at their comfort level. When it comes to justifying funds, agencies can use measures of time, frequency and ease of use for various applications and parse the information by user profile. Enabling this capability could involve the creation of a new office/department whose core mission is to handle inter- and intra-agency agreements. Not only would service delivery be transformative, but longstanding issues such as improper payments would be greatly reduced as the citizen becomes linked in a common way across the government environment. This capability could extend beyond any one layer of government -- imagine being able to get personal property tax, city hall meeting times and other information specific to an individual’s state and local government, all in one easily navigable online hub, accessible through a browser or application.TransparencyPerformance StandardsDefine standards of commitment and performance. _c6465926-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf92411Data driven engagement is key to enabling active participation. It engenders proactive roles and processes to enhance growth and sustainability. Governments have made great strides in providing data, but they must make it more interpretable to the general consumer. In addition to providing information, government can do a better job at defining standards of commitment and performance while taking an analytical approach to management and delivering services. Communication and dissemination of relevant statistics is at the heart of a modern and vibrant democracy._c6465a20-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf9241Key IndicatorsDevelop a key indicator presentation of information. _c6465b10-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf92412The development of key indicator measurement at the presentation layer of information could be in the form of a dashboard of qualitative and quantitative information citizen and government agreed upon for service and performance measurement. The transparent presentation design should be real-time and enable two-way communication. Direct citizen input that is sharable and modular allows the presentation of the information to become a data set in itself._c6465c00-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf9241Citizen InvolvementInvolve citizens in the formation and evaluation of data sets. _c6465d04-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf92413CitizensWith the availability of ever-growing data sets, citizens continue to emerge more than ever before as an empowered, informed body that is ready to act. In their daily lives, citizens consume, collect, and share data that is important to them. Therefore, government should involve the citizenry in forming and evaluating data sets. Whether as official contributors to key data sets with agreed upon service level agreements, or part of a point-in-time engaged audience, the ability of citizens to contribute to data set formation and evaluation can be enabled by engaging citizens as partners.
One approach could be to develop mobile applications and portals that enable collection and evaluation of data in real-time centered around specific topics. To take the recommendation one step farther would be to integrate the model into the development of a secure, personalized window to government. By linking all contributions in the collection, the sharing and evaluation of data into a personalized account will embrace the culture of collaboration and partnership discussed as part of a citizen-centered government._c6465e08-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf9241Two-Way CommunicationMove to two-way communication with citizens. _c6465f16-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf92414CitizensThrough social media tools, everyone can communicate directly with the White House. No one must wait for Congress to speak on his or her behalf. Whether government is actively listening and engaging or not, citizens are using technology to provide input on rules and policies. This is an example of communication that is asymmetrical, but not two-way.
With an effective and proactive two-way engagement approach throughout all levels of government on critical policy, legislative issues or those that shape service delivery, citizen advocates have the ability to contribute to the process and collective work of government.
Through two-way communication with citizens, issues can be resolved quickly and satisfactorily and escalated through the chain of local, state and federal entities as necessary to address citizen needs. Further, through citizen advocacy the government will be increasingly attuned to the sentiments of constituencies and allow citizens to act as change agents._c6466038-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf9241Digital Windows for BusinessCreate secure digital windows to government for business. _c646615a-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf92415SBADepartment of CommerceEntrepreneursChambers of CommerceEPASecure digital windows to government for business. Today, government is making progress on building windows into business services. These solutions offer an opportunity to improve processes and maximize the use of investments to provide the best overall citizen-to-government experience. Sites such as the beta version of the Business.USA.gov website take the first step to streamline content for businesses by crowd sourcing material from the SBA, Commerce and others. However, more can be done to tailor the individual solutions based on personal requirements. For example, if an individual accesses an offered option using individual sign-on from the chosen government online personalized mashup, he/she should be presented with personalized information targeted at their current needs and business status.
A personalized digital experience would tailor information to the individual and his/her geographic requirements, including:
* District/state/city-specific zoning, license or permit information.
* A snapshot of potential area competitors.
* Questions that other local business owners have asked, and the answers. * List of registered local services that might be useful, including general contractors.
* Lists of local business associations such as the Chamber of Commerce.
Today, even one-stop shops for information still represent a government committed to letting the citizen do the work. Entrepreneurs need to know what information they are looking for or face the daunting task of digesting the whole of government to determine what is relevant. A future proactive, service-centric government will bring the relevant information to the business by collaborating across agencies and levels of government to reduce redundancy. Even a simple enhancement to website content can make life easier for the citizen. For example, instead of Agency A maintaining a page on environmental regulations related to the target audience (and likely letting the content go out-of-date eventually), the agency could link to the authority, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and a relevant repository for such data on EPA.gov._c646627c-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf9241Digital Windows for CitizensCreate secure digital windows to government for citizen services._c64663da-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf92416CitizensCitizens expect government to provide the same (or better!) level of service than they get in their lives as consumers. Citizens want to interface with government via an integrated view that is agnostic to agency or department.
For example, as government transitions from its traditional delivery model, where recent efforts have generally focused on modernizing paper-based processes into Web-based models and then to a citizen-driven framework, it is critical that government explore revolutionary methods of executing its mission and engaging citizens.
One area of study is the whole area of citizen’s financial status with the federal government. For example, in today’s online, tech-savvy world, consumers have heightened expectations of their financial institutions. This includes their personal bank, brokerage firm, insurance company and so on. They want to check account balances, transfer money, pay bills and adjust their investments any time using their computers or smart phones.
What if a citizen could go to an online site, log in to their secure government-wide personal account, and check their current financial status populated with information from not only the Internal Revenue Service, but also the Social Security Administration, Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services? This means that tomorrow’s citizens could:
*Confirm their tax status (account balance or refund history), to include prior years.
* Make changes to their filing status (e.g., single to married filing jointly) or address.
* Check their Social Security projected benefits.
* Examine benefits for families who adopt a child with special needs. Check their FHA Loan application status, current interest rate and loan amount.
* Confirm balances after consolidating student loans.
The concept could certainly extend beyond finances to capabilities such as downloadable veteran’s records such as: military service record, separation status, medical records and more. These processes are not in place, making access to even one’s own personal information cumbersome and time-consuming._c6466524-2ed9-11e2-a827-ee6ee5cf92412012-11-14OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net