A manifesto for change in the delivery of public servicesWe are publishing a series of White Papers dedicated to understanding citizen service transformation and how governments can make it a reality.This first White Paper sets out an overview, looking at: * how citizen service transformation differs from traditional e-government approaches, * the Citizen Service Transformation Value Chain - a practical tool developed by CS Transform to help governments understand and deliver the changes needed for successful service transformation, * the support and resources that CS Transform can make available to help you succeed. We ... welcome feedback on the paper, so we can work to improve it over time. Please email us your comments to impact@cstransform.com.CS Transform CST_efc2562e-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2aCS Transform brings together a team of experts who have worked at the leading edge of this agenda across the world over the last ten years: building the vision for citizen service transformation; developing strategies and roadmaps for citizen service transformation; and - most importantly - delivering citizen service transformation in practice . We have also - both as e-Government leaders and as consultants - made many mistakes and learned many painful lessons. All around the world, governments face huge pressure to do more with less. To raise educational standards to meet the needs of a global knowledge economy. To help our economies adjust to financial upheaval. To lift the world out of poverty when more than a billion people still live on less than a dollar a day. To facilitate the transition to a sustainable, inclusive, low-carbon society.Responding effectively to these challenges means governments need to be capable of delivering change which is transformational, not incremental._efc25a02-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2aTo transform the relationship between the public sector and users of public services._efc25d0e-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2aStrategic Clarity* Clear vision: all programme stakeholders have a common and comprehensive view of what the programme is seeking to achieve. In particular, we do not spend money on technology before identifying the key organisational and business changes needed to deliver our vision. * Strong business case: we know what outcomes we want to achieve, have baselined where we are now, and know how we will measure success. * Focus on results: although we have a vision of where we want to go, and a set of principles by which we will move forwards, we do not over-plan. Instead, our strategy focuses on taking concrete, practical steps in the short to medium term, rather than continually describing the long-term vision. Leadership* Sustained support: our political leaders and top management are committed to the programme for the long term. * Leadership skills: our programme leaders have the skills needed to drive IT-enabled business transformation, and have access to external support * Collaborative governance: leaders from all parts of our and other organisations involved in the programme are motivated for it to succeed, and are engaged in clear and collaborative governance mechanisms to manage any risks and issues. User Focus* A holistic view of the customer: we understand who the customers for our services are - not just for individual services - but across the government as a whole. We know our customers, both internal and external, are different - and understand their needs on a segmented basis. * Citizen-centric delivery: citizens can access all our services through a "one-stop" service. This is available over multiple channels, but we use web services to join it all up and reduce infrastructure duplication, and we actively encourage customers into lower cost channels. * Citizen empowerment: we engage citizens directly in service design and delivery, and provide them with technology tools that enable them to create public value themselves. Stakeholder Engagement* Stakeholder communication: all our stakeholders - users, suppliers, delivery partners elsewhere in the public, private and voluntary sector, politicians, the media etc - have a clear understanding of our programme and how they can engage with it. * Cross-sectoral partnership: other market players (in the private, voluntary and community sectors) often have much greater influence on citizen attitudes and behaviour than government - so our strategy aims to build partnerships which enable the market to deliver our objectives. Skills* Skills mapping: we know that the mix of business change, product and marketing management, programme management, and technology skills needed to deliver transformational change does not already exist in our organisation. We have mapped out the skills we need, and have a clear strategy for acquiring them. * Skills integration: we have effective mechanisms in place to maximise value from the skills available in all parts of our delivery team, bringing together internal and external skills into an integrated team. Supplier Partnership* Smart supplier selection: we select suppliers based on long-term value for money rather than price, and in particular based on our degree of confidence that the chosen suppliers will secure delivery of the expected business benefits * Supplier integration: we will manage the relationship with strategic suppliers at top management level, and ensure effective client/supplier integration into an effective programme delivery team with shared management information systems. Future-Proofing* Interoperability: we use interoperable, open standards which are well supported in the market-place. * Web-centric delivery: we will use a service-oriented architecture to support all of our customer interactions, from face-to-face interactions by front line staff to online self-service interactions * Agility: we will deploy technology using common building blocks which can be re-used to enable flexible and adaptive use of technology to react quickly to changing customer needs and demands. * Shared services: key building blocks will be managed as government-wide resources - in particular common data sets (e.g. name, address); common citizen applications (e.g. authentication, payments, notifications); and core IT infrastructure. Do-ability* Phased implementation: we will avoid a "big bang" approach to implementation, reliant on significant levels of simultaneous technological and organisational change. Instead, we will develop a phased delivery roadmap which: - works with citizens and businesses to identify a set of services which will bring quick user value, in order to start building a user base - prioritise those services which can be delivered quickly, at low cost, and low risk using standard (rather than bespoke) solutions - works first with early adopters within the government organisation to create exemplars and internal champions for change - learns from experience, and then drives forward longer term transformations. * Continuous improvement: we expect not to get everything right first time, but have systems which enable us to move quickly and learn from experience. Benefit Realisation* Benefit mapping: we ensure clear line of sight between every investment and activity and the end outcomes we are trying to achieve * Benefit tracking: we establish clear baselines, set measurable success criteria, and track progress against planned delivery trajectories for each of these * Benefit delivery: we establish pro-active governance arrangements to drive out the downstream benefits after the initial implementation project is complete Service DeliveryRe-focus the core service delivery processes around the needs of citizens_efc25e26-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1CitizensCitizen-centric business management -For largely historical reasons, governments are generally organised around individually accountable vertical silos with clear demarcations between central, regional, and local government. Yet citizens' needs cut across these demarcations. In moving to a citizen-centric approach, it is vital to redress this fragmented approach to business management, and to put in place business management processes which operate at the whole-of-government level.The Citizen Service Transformation Value Chain identifies three key aspects of business management which need to be tackled in this way:* Vision > strategy > business model * Policy Products * Delivery Roadmap. VisionSet out a cross-government vision of service delivery focused around citizens._efc25f66-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.1The first step is to set out a cross-government vision of service delivery focused around citizens. An increasing number of governments in the developed and developing world have now set out such a view, making a clear strategic and political commitment to citizen-centric public services. But while a vision of the future can be a powerful tool for change, it is crucial to underpin that vision with two things.First, a clearly-defined strategy for achieving the vision. There is no one-size-fits all strategy which governments can use, since strategy needs to be tailored to the unique circumstances of each government's situation.However, all governments face the same strategic trade-offs: needing to ensure clear line-of-sight between all aspects of programme activity and the end outcomes which the government is seeking to achieve, and to balances quick wins with the key steps needed to drive longer term transformation.Business ModelEmbed the vision and strategy within a new and effective business model which enables the machinery of government to deliver citizen-centricity in practice._efc260a6-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2Second, the vision and strategy need to be embedded within a new and effective business model which enables the machinery of government to deliver citizen-centricity in practice. It is failure to address this requirement for a new business model which, arguably, has been the greatest weakness of most traditional e-government programmes. For the most part, the transition to e-government has involved overlaying technology onto the existing business model of government: a business model based around unconnected silos - in which policy-making, budgets, accountability, decision-making and service delivery are all embedded within a vertically-integrated delivery chain based around specific government functions. The experience of governments around the world over the last two decades is that this simply does not work.So what is the new business model which is required to deliver citizen service transformation? Many attempts have been made by governments to introduce greater cross-government coordination, but largely these have been "bolted on" to the underlying business model, and hence experience only limited success. Globally, there are only two approaches which are currently looking to build a genuinely new business model for transformation.ReorganizationReorganise the structure of government itself in order to better serve the needs of citizens._efc26268-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1First, the Federal government in Canada is seeking to reorganise the structure of government itself in order to better serve the needs of citizens. In particular, it is looking to break the end-to-end service responsibilities of traditional silo-based agencies, by in effect creating a wholesale/retail split within government. In this approach, the "retail" function of government - that is, the responsibility for direct contact with citizens - is being centralised within a single organisation: Service Canada. Under this model, Service Canada is becoming responsible for the service delivery function across all channels - face-to-face, contact centre, web - with relevant staff and budgets being transferred from other agencies. This is in many ways desirable but the obvious difficulty is that making structural changes to government is extremely hard. The sheer scale of the government business means that any changes need to be implemented carefully, over a long period of time, and take account of the inherent risks in organisational restructuring.The second approach is to look for mechanisms to join-up services from all parts of government in a way that makes sense to citizens, without attempting to restructure those parts of government. Conceptually, this leads to a model where the existing structure of government continues to act as a supplier of services, but intermediated by a "virtual" business infrastructure based around customer needs. A top-level view of such a virtual, market-based approach to citizen service transformation is set out at Figure 4 below. This model, which has been developed by CS Transform, is based initially on our experience as senior civil servants in the UK, creating the operating model for Directgov, the flagship multi-channel service which sits at the heart of the UK's citizen service transformation programme. Since then, the model has been enhanced through our experience in helping a wide range of governments implement citizen service transformation.Virtual Franchise BusinessesPut into place a number of agile cross-government virtual "franchise businesses" based around customer segments._efc263c6-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.1Customer SegmentsThe model puts into place a number of agile cross-government virtual "franchise businesses" based around customer segments. These franchises are responsible for gaining full understanding of their customers' needs so that they can deliver quickly and adapt to changing requirements over time in order to deliver more customer centric services - which in turn, is proven to drive higher service take-up and greater customer satisfaction.Delivery CommunityProvide a risk-averse operational structure that enables functionally-organised government agencies at national, regional and local to work together in a customer-focused "Delivery Community". _efc26538-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.2Franchises provide a risk-averse operational structure that enables functionally-organised government agencies at national, regional and local to work together in a customer-focused "Delivery Community". Virtual Delivery StructureEnable government to create a "virtual" delivery structure focused on customer needs_efc266c8-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.2.1Existing StructureOperate inside the existing structure government (because they are owned and resourced by one of the existing "silos" which has a close link to the relevant customer segment) _efc26862-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.2.2TaskingDividing the task into manageable chunks _efc26a06-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.2.3Points of FailureRemoving a single point of failure _efc26baa-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.2.4Operating ModelWork to a new and precisely-defined operating model so as to ensure consistency _efc26d4e-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.2.5Risk ManagementWork across government (and beyond) to manage the key risks to citizen-centric service delivery _efc26efc-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.2.6Change AgentsAct as change agents inside government departments / agencies. _efc270aa-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.2.7Service ProvisionEnable a "mixed economy" of service provision_efc2726c-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.3The model enables a "mixed economy" of service provision: Market FrameworkProvide a clear market framework within which private and voluntary sector service providers can repackage public sector content and services_efc2742e-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.3.1Web 2.0 Disseminate Web 2.0 approaches across government to make this simpler and cheaper at a technical level. _efc275fa-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.3.2Cloud ComputingUse Cloud Computing for service delivery_efc277d0-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.2.1.4The whole model is capable of being delivered using Cloud ComputingPolicySet out international lessons learned on the full range of Policy Products needed to deliver transformation._efc279a6-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.3Policy Products - We define a "Policy Product" as: any document which has been formally adopted on a government-wide basis in order to help achieve the goals of citizen service transformation. These documents vary in nature (from statutory documents with legal force, through mandated policies, to informal guidance and best practice) and in length (some may be very lengthy documents; others just a few paragraphs of text). Policy Products are important drivers of change within government: first because the process of producing them, if managed effectively, can help ensure strategic clarity and stakeholder buy-in; and second because they then become vital communication and management tools.Over recent years, several governments have published a wide range of Policy Products as part of their work on Interoperability Frameworks and Enterprise Architectures, and other governments are therefore able to draw on these as reference models when developing their own Policy Products. However, we believe that the set of Policy Products required to ensure that a holistic, government -wide vision for citizen service transformation can be delivered is much broader than is currently being addressed in most Interoperability Frameworks and Enterprise Architectures. Leading governments are starting to redress this gap, but very largely not within the framework of their work on interoperability.This might not matter, except for the fact that global organisations such as the World Bank and the UN are currently investing heavily to ensure that developing countries establish e-Government Interoperability Frameworks. While the intention behind this is right - to ensure that e-Government investments in developing countries take place within a broader, citizen-centric context - there is a real risk that these donor organisations are encouraging developing countries to adopt inadequate policy frameworks just at the time when these are being left behind in leading countries as they move from a traditional e-Government agenda towards citizen service transformation.We have therefore prioritised this as an area for detailed work, and are publishing alongside this manifesto a companion white paper called "Beyond interoperability: a new policy framework for e-Government", which sets out international lessons learned on the full range of Policy Products needed to deliver transformation.Transformation Roadmap_efc27b86-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4Finally, it is essential that the vision, strategy, business model and policies for citizen service transformation are translated into an effective Delivery Roadmap. Since everything can clearly not be done at once, it is vital to map out which elements of the citizen transformation programme need to be started immediately, which can be done later, and in what order... our experience has been that a phased approach is the most successful. Typically, an effective Delivery Roadmap will cover five main phases.PlanDevelop a tailored Delivery Roadmap for the government._efc27d8e-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.1Plan: the preparation and planning needed to develop a tailored Delivery Roadmap for the government, to ensure that the business case for transformation is fully articulated, and that all key stakeholders are on-board. Transformation Vision[Draft] a high level document setting out the agreed future model for transformation of our client organisation and its re-engineered business processes _efc27fc8-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.1.1Strategic Business Case[Determine] the key costs and benefits associated with the transformation programme _efc281e4-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.1.2Enterprise Architecture[Prepare] a blueprint for the business, IT and data systems and standards needed to enable the transformation vision _efc2840a-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.1.3Delivery Roadmap[Compile] a multi-year transformation plan._efc28626-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.1.4Delivery Roadmap: a multi-year transformation plan, covering, among other things:Change Management Plan[Prepare] a change management plan (including communication and training plans) _efc28892-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.1.4.1Capabilities and Governance[Create] central capability building and governance processes _efc28acc-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.1.4.2Sourcing Strategy[Compile] a sourcing strategy_efc28d06-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.1.4.2.1Migration Strategy[Devise] a migration strategy for expanding, retiring or abandoning legacy systems in order to align them with the new Enterprise Architecture _efc28f36-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.1.4.2.2Risk Management Strategy[Draft] a risk management strategy _efc29184-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.1.4.2.3Benefit Realisation Plan[Compile] a high level benefit realisation plan, setting out the actions needed to ensure full downstream delivery of the intended benefits from the transformation programme._efc293c8-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.1.4.2.4InitiationBuild the maximum of momentum behind the Roadmap for the minimum of delivery risk._efc29620-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.2Initiate: in this first phase of delivery, the focus is on building the maximum of momentum behind the Roadmap for the minimum of delivery risk. This means focusing in particular on three things: Early Quick Wins [Acheive] some early quick wins to demonstrate progress and early benefits, for a minimum of delivery risk and using little or no technology expenditure _efc29878-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.2.1GovernanceEmbed the Roadmap in governance structures and processes which will be needed to inform all future investments, notably the frameworks of enterprise architecture, customer service standards and issue/risk management that will be required_efc29ada-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.2.2Delivery PartnersSelect effective delivery partners._efc29d46-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.2.3DeliveryBring some of the more significant investments on stream_efc29fbc-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.3Deliver: in this phase, some of the more significant investments start coming on stream - for example, the first version of the major "one-stop" citizen-facing delivery platforms, and the first wave of transformation projects from "champion" or "early adopter" agencies within the government TransformationBuild out the broader range of e-transformation projects._efc2a23c-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.4.4Transform: finally, we look to build out the broader range of e-transformation projects, drive forward the migration of all major citizen-facing services towards the new one-stop channels, and complete the transition to the full strategic IT platform needed to guarantee future agility as business and customer priorities change. Citizen-Centric Customer ManagementTake a holistic, market-driven approach to every step of the service design and delivery process._efc2a4bc-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5Citizen-centric customer management involves taking a holistic, market-driven approach to every step of the service design and delivery process. Three areas in particular are of vital importance: marketing, identity management, and citizen empowerment.Marketing and Branding_efc2a746-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.1Marketing is critical to effective citizen service transformation, yet is something at which government traditionally does not excel. Often, marketing is fundamentally misunderstood within government - as being equivalent to advertising or perhaps, more broadly, as being equivalent to communication.And given the fact that a) citizen needs cut across organisational boundaries in government and b) the skills for delivering an effective brand-led marketing approach to service transformation will inevitably be in short supply, it is important that these challenges are addressed at a government-wide level. Our White Paper on "A new Policy Framework for e-Government" sets out some of the major Policy Products which need to be developed in order to assist government agencies in making this shift to a marketing-based approach.Citizen insight must inform all aspects of the process, and involves a comprehensive programme of qualitative and quantitative research to understand and segment the customer base for government services.The learnings from this need to be fed into a brand-led product management process - not as a one-off input of initial research, but through a continuous process of iterative design and customer testing. A key output from this will be a set of brand values for the service, which then need to drive all aspects of service delivery, and marketing communications for the service.This is an interative process of continuous improvement, not a linear one. Continuous citizen insight research is needed to ensure that both the service delivery experience and the marcoms activity remain aligned with the brand values, through successive phases of release deployment. As the service is implemented, across a range of channels, best practice management information systems can be deployed to ensure that the government now has real-time, event-level management information about the experience of all customers - which in turn provides a powerful feedback loop into further innovation in the service design.All of this will require the government to bring in specialist resources, because typically they will face significant gaps in terms of the people and skills needed to manage brand-led product development and marketing cycles of this nature.Target MarketUnderstand the target market for government services in all its breadth and complexity_efc2a9da-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.1.1LearningLearn what is needed in order to meet citizen needs _efc2ac82-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.1.2OfferDevelop an offer for citizens and businesses that they will engage with _efc2aff2-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.1.3BrandingEstablish a clear set of brand values for that offer - a set of underpinning statements that adequately describe what the product or service will deliver _efc2b2c2-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.1.4ChannelsDeliver that offer though appropriate channels, in a way which fully delivers on the brand values_efc2b592-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.1.5AwarenessGenerate awareness about the offer_efc2b858-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.1.6DemandCreate desire/demand for the offer _efc2bb28-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.1.7RemindersRemind people _efc2be02-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.1.8ChangeChanging the offer in the light of experience _efc2c0dc-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.1.9Identity ManagementDocument best practices for identity management._efc2c3c0-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.2Citizen-centric identity management - Identity management is a key enabler, yet something with which most governments struggle. At the heart of that struggle is often a failure to put the citizen at the centre of government's thinking about identity.Identity is a complex, and by definition deeply personal, concept. As Figure 7 opposite illustrates, a single citizen in fact has multiple, overlapping "identities". Each identity may be associated with different rights and permissions, even different addresses. These identities overlap, but in some cases the citizen may want to keep them separate in order to protect his or her privacy. At other times, the citizen may want them to be joined up, and be frustrated at constantly having to furnish government with the same information over and over again.Governments have often struggled to manage this complexity. Typically, identity is defined separately in relation to each silo-based government service. Even countries which have traditionally had the simplicity of a single citizen identifier (such as Finland, where there has been a single population register since 1634), have tended to build up separate and inconsistent business processes for identity verification. And although the advent of e-Government held out the promise of significant simplification of identity management - bringing service improvement gains for the citizen and efficiency savings for the government - in practice there remain significant barriers.Many of the tools which governments have put in place to guarantee security in the online world (passwords, PINs, digital signatures etc), have in practice acted as barriers to take-up of online services. And attempts to join up databases to enable cross-government efficiencies and service improvements have often been met with mistrust and suspicion by citizens.Increasingly, however, a set of best practices is emerging around the world which we believe represents a way forward for citizen service transformation, which is broadly applicable across a very wide range of governments.Business Architecture [Develop] a business architecture for identity management which is based on federation between a wide range of trusted organisations (the government, banks, employers etc), and a clear model for cross-trust between these organisations. _efc2c6a4-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.2.1Technology Architecture[Adopt] a technology architecture to support this which does not rely on monolithic and potentially vulnerable large databases, but which uses Internet-based gateway services to act as a broker between the different databases and IT systems of participants in the federated trust model._efc2c9b0-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.2.2Citizen ControlPlace citizens themselves directly in control of their own data._efc2ccc6-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.2.3CitizensThird - and perhaps most importantly - a citizen service model for identity management which places citizens themselves directly in control of their own data, able to manage their own relationship with government and with clearly visible controls to reassure them that this is the case. This citizen-centric approach to identity management is summarised in Figure 8 below. No one government has implemented all features of this approach, but all are being successfully deployed around the world, and together they represent CS Transform's view of the approach to identity management which will best help deliver citizen service transformation. Citizen EmpowermentShift to think of service delivery not as something which is done by government to citizens, but as something in which the citizen is an active co-creator of services - or even where public services are delivered directly citizen to citizen, with no government involvement._efc2cfe6-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.3Citizen empowerment involves a set of changes which are much more fundamental than the online consultations and "e-participation" initiatives which characterised the first wave of e-Government programmes. And it is also more fundamental than the application of Web 2.0 technologies to government - although these technologies do have a role to play.The key shift is to think of service delivery not as something which is done by government to citizens, but as something in which the citizen is an active co-creator of services - or even where public services are delivered directly citizen to citizen, with no government involvement. Innovators in government who are making that shift are starting to develop a wide range of new ways to create public value and enhance services, CultureCreate a culture of open innovation within the public sector._efc2d306-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.3.1Public SectorAction on the supply side within government, to help create a culture of open innovation within the public sector. Such a culture change - which reflects an increasing trend in the private sector to see external ideas and collaborations as being the key to successful innovation5 - is particularly challenging in the public sector given the strong tradition of internal control over decision-making and policy development. So pro-active change management is essential. DemandEnable demand-side pull by citizens and third party organisations outside government._efc2d694-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.3.2CitizensOrganisationsThird party organisations outside governmentAction to enable demand-side pull by citizens and third party organisations outside government. Particularly important here is the principle that all non-personal data held by government should be open, public easily reusable and available at marginal cost - which for digital information means free. By opening up government data, content and services for reuse and repurposing by others, government can enable a level of service innovation and market reach that it could not hope to achieve on its own. Most governments also find that simply making data and content available in theory is not sufficient: in practice they also need to facilitate market-based public service delivery.Rules and ProcessesBuild a business model of rules and processes which enable a level-playing field for new market entrants._efc2d9e6-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.3.2.1New Market EntrantsTechnology ArchitectureEstablish a service-based technology architecture based around open standards and Web 2.0 technologies which makes it easier in practical terms for third parties to re-purpose and repackage government content. _efc2dd2e-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.5.3.2.2Channel ManagementDeliver government services trough a wide range of different channels._efc2e0bc-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.6Citizen-centric channel management - Government services can be delivered through a wide range of different channels. It can be helpful to think of that range as varying across two key dimensions.Channel MixEnable self-service by the citizen, in addition to forms of intermediation._efc2e42c-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.6.1Channel mix: that is, the physical type of channel being used. Traditionally, channels for government service delivery have included the face-to-face channel (through high-street and other locations), traditional mail and the traditional telephone. More recently, interactive voice recognition (IVR) and the Internet have become important channels. A key distinction is the extent to which the channel is based around self-service by the citizen, or requires some form of intermediation - either in person (e.g. the citizen visiting a government office or an official visiting the citizens in the community or remotely (e.g. by telephone or email).Channel OwnershipDeliver services where citizens want to receive them, including through private or voluntary sector intermediaries._efc2e792-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.6.2Private Sector IntermediariesVoluntary Sector IntermediariesChannel ownership: it is important to understand, too, the variety of "channel ownership" options which are available. Traditionally, channels for government services have been branded as belonging to a specific government agency. Increasingly, governments looking to develop a citizen-centric approach have also started to badge these on a government-wide basis: either covering a single channel (such as a national government portal), or multiple channels (such as Service Canada, which spans walk-in offices, contact centres, and the web). However, a citizen-centric approach also involves delivering services where citizens want to receive them - and this may often mean that it is important to deliver services through private or voluntary sector intermediaries. This is particularly important as services become digitised, potentially reducing the marginal costs of delivery to near zero and hence making it easier for third party organisations to bundle public sector services with their own service offerings. This can be challenging for governments, however, since for the first time it means that they are "competing" for customers with other organisations. Establishing clear ground rules for how this sort of mixed economy of service provision should work, on a basis that will encourage private and voluntary sector organisations to become actively involved, is therefore an important task for government in creating the policy framework for citizen service transformation.Often however, there is little pro-active management of this channel mix by governments, resulting in increased costs and decreased user satisfaction.Typical pitfalls include:* Managing new, digital channels as "bolt-ons", with business and technical architectures which are entirely separate from traditional face-to-face or paper-based channels * No common view of citizen service across multiple channels * Operational practices, unit costs and service standards for many channels which fall well below standards set for those channels in the private sector * A reliance on government-owned channels, with insufficient understanding of how to partner with private and voluntary sector organisations who have existing trusted channels to government customers * Unproductive and costly competition among service delivery channels Citizen service transformation programmes seek to avoid these pitfalls, by building a channel management approach centred around the needs and behaviour of the citizen. Channel AuditCarry out a high-level audit of existing delivery channels across government._efc2eb16-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.6.3A vital first step in developing a citizen-centric channel management strategy is to carry out a high-level audit of existing delivery channels across government, and to put a cost to each transaction delivered through these channels based on standard industry assumptions. This will highlight duplication across government (for example, having multiple high-street locations in the same town serving different government departments or agencies), and the savings that can be achieved by joining government services together and using the most efficient delivery channel in each case.A common finding in channel audits is that much customer contact between governments and citizens is unnecessary, hidden and uncosted. For example, many governments have literally thousands of public service telephone contact numbers. Much of the contact that results between citizen or business users and the government is therefore:* unnecessary - because the user is struggling to find the right place to get the service they need, resulting in multiple contacts before their need is finally resolved * hidden and uncosted - because only some of these customer contacts are caught by existing management information systems. The rest are just lost within the broader operational structure and budget of government. A clear map of customer interactions by channel, and the true costs of these, therefore provides essential data in building the business case for citizen service transformation.Channel Shift StrategyMap out a plan for the future desired channel mix._efc2eeb8-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.6.4Once a clear channel audit has captured the current channel mix and cost base, it is important to map out a plan for the future desired channel mix. Successful private-sector businesses are more effective at this than government. They understand that each channel opens up different ways to create value for customers, so they differentiate services across channels. They also take a hard-nosed approach to channel management, with customers being incentivised to use the channels that are most efficient from a business point of view. And they realise that channel shift is a complicated process, which needs planning over a multi-year period.Citizen service transformation programmes adopt a similar approach, setting out clear strategies for channel shift. Typically though they recognise two distinct differences between the public and private sector:* First, government has an obligation to provide services on a universal basis, so is not able to pick and choose which customers it will engage with through different channels."Directed choice" towards cheaper channels is therefore the strategy selected for most citizen-facing services (although a number of governments are increasingly looking to make Internet-only services the norm for businesses). * Second, in terms of the online channel, government is in a unique position compared with any other online service provider. Whereas an online bank or retailer is limited by the size of the online population in the market, a government can take action significantly to increase that online population. "Digital inclusion" policies, aimed at increasing the proportion of citizens who have access to and confidence in using online channels, are therefore an important part of government channel strategies which would not normally be seen in their private-sector counterparts. Channel OptimisationOptimise the performance of each individual channel. _efc2f264-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.6.5As well as seeking to shift future service delivery to an optimal channel mix, citizen service transformation programmes seek to optimise the performance of each individual channel. In the UK for example, a government-wide review of customer contact found that contact centre performance lagged significantly behind private sector benchmarks, and that on average operational savings of 25% could be achieved in public centre contact centres over a 3 year period by adopting best practices.Cross-Channel Service Management_efc2f624-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.6.6However, it is vital not to think about channel optimisation solely on a channel-by-channel basis. [T]aking a cross-channel approach to service delivery [is also important].There are two imperatives for doing this.Service ImprovementImprove service to citizens._efc2f9f8-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.6.6.1CitizensFirst, to improve service to citizens. Citizens do want simply want services to be available through a choice of channels. Rather they want services to be delivered in an integrated way across channels. Citizen service transformation programmes therefore focus on achieving an integrated view of customer interactions across all channels. Cost ReductionReduce costs._efc2fe26-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.6.6.2Second, to reduce costs. A shared service approach to channel management can deliver significant efficiency savings. By building channel support services around a common, web-based infrastructure, governments can both reduce costs while also facilitating joined-up services. Service-Oriented Technology ManagementMove towards a model of [government]-wide, service-orientated enterprise architecture, where common building blocks using open standards can be re-used to enable flexible and adaptive use of technology to react quickly to changing customer needs and demands._efc3020e-f8da-11df-9499-74747a64ea2a1.6.7The transformations to business, customer and channel management described above require a new approach to technology. Citizen service transformation demands a single view of the citizen, delivered inside an integrated business and channels architecture.In terms of IT, all of this requires governments to learn from private-sector best practice. Industry is moving towards a model of company-wide, service-orientated enterprise architecture, where common building blocks using open standards can be re-used to enable flexible and adaptive use of technology to react quickly to changing customer needs and demands. Increasingly, companies are gaining even greater efficiency benefits by managing these building blocks as a service, provided not within their own IT architecture but from within "the Cloud" - the dynamically-scalable set of computing resources now being offered as a service over the Internet.Governments are increasingly taking this 'building block' approach to technology development. Key building blocks such as ICT infrastructure, common data sets, and identity verification need to be co-ordinated effectively. While much can be learned from the private sector, simply importing industry practices will not solve this coordination problem within government.Governments are taking different approaches to the co-ordination function: some build central infrastructure for use by all departments and agencies; others identify lead departments to build and implement common solutions; others have a more decentralised approach, allowing departments to develop their own solutions according to a common architecture and standard set. However, finding an effective approach which works within a specific government approach is vital, since without this sort of technology flexibility, then citizen service transformation becomes impossible - or possible only at great expense and with significant wasteful and duplicated IT expenditure.2010-02-282010-11-25http://www.cstransform.com/white_papers/CitizenServiceTransformationV1.pdf OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net