The following is a summary of an article published on GX.ae, a global government services excellence portal launched by the UAE Prime Minister’s Office.
As the world continues to evolve, government services are constantly adapting to meet the needs of consumers. By adopting emerging trends and technologies, governments can provide an efficient and streamlined approach to the public sector thus improving the quality of life of residents.
Some of the emerging trends include:
Government-as-a Platform:
Government agencies provide one secure platform where customers can complete all government services in one place.
Digital Security and Digital Standards:
Providing government-mandated/regulated data security. Some governments are starting to offer ways that allow customers to control who views their personal data, with standards being set around data security, digital rights, and violations.
Anticipatory Services:
Government services are bundled around a citizen’s life events. They anticipate which government services will be needed during a specific life event, such as a birth, marriage, or death and build the customer experience around it.
Invisible Services, or Consult-Only:
Governments complete services for the customer directly from the back end and simply notify the customer it has been completed.
Open Collaborations:
Internally, government agencies are moving away from the hierarchical structure, and working in silos, towards collaborating with others within their agency, as well as with other agencies, and individuals outside of government.
Talent and Incentives Reform:
Internally, teams are moving towards upskilling their employees by attaining a new mix of skills and training that is needed for reform.
New Service Delivery Methods:
In addition to existing methods such as phone, email, SMS, websites, social media, and apps, government agencies are keeping an eye on emerging methods, including next-gen digital assistants or bots (“digital assistants 2.0”) such as next-gen Siri or Alexa.
Digital Inclusion:
There is a need to ensure that no customer or citizen segments are left behind. Here, governments look to offer multiple effective service delivery channels, and/or services personalized to all customer digital adoption appetites and marginalized populations (e.g. elderly, disabled, the homeless).
Formal Government Service Structures and Budgets:
Although in the nascent stage, some governments have begun thinking about how various government agencies can work together as ‘one government’ when approaching customers.