The past few years have seen a slew of changes affecting practically every aspect of life, bringing new challenges for governments at local, state, and national levels to face. One of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to best serve citizens while minimizing person-to-person contact.
The solution was to digitize services so citizens could access what they needed anytime and anyplace, provided they had an internet connection. Citizens found this incredibly convenient and as more and more government agencies recognized this, they sought the help of a digital transformation platform to adapt. This mass adoption of digital services led to what is now known as the digital government transformation.
Many governments have since taken steps to adapt their website, outbound communication, databases, and public records and meetings to best serve their citizens. These things all function together and deliver a superior experience for both the community and government employees. However, for some government organizations to completely overhaul everything–their website, service delivery processes, communication tools, public meeting systems, etc.–all at once would be impractical.
Thus, we recommend taking a more gradual approach, adapting a few systems or services at a time that can be combined and interchanged with others while still maintaining the same level of service to the community. Let’s take a closer look at this concept and everything a digital transformation platform offers.
What is a Digital Platform?
Because many government agencies have operated the same for years, some may be wondering what is a digital platform? When answering this question, it helps to break things down into four key groups:
Website – A government agency’s website is its main and sometimes only online presence. It’s where citizens find information, services, and media like photos and videos.
Outbound Communications – This refers to all the tools and technology a government organization uses to proactively communicate with the community. This includes email, SMS (texting), and social media.
Databases, Services, and Systems – Whether it’s a license renewal, information request, social security payment, federal grant application, or something else along those lines, this describes where citizens go to get things done.
Public Meetings and Records – In addition to meetings that are open to the public, this also includes all records and materials having to do with the legislative process.
Combined, these elements of a digital transformation platform encompass just about everything a government agency does. So, when asking “what is a digital platform?” be prepared for a fairly extensive answer.
Where Does a Digital Transformation Platform Help the Most?
In addition to understanding what a digital platform is, some people may be wondering about the benefits of a digital transformation platform. The main benefits can be grouped into three categories–digitization, automation, and transformation.
Digitization
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of a digital transformation platform, is that it can eliminate paper costs and waste by making more services, processes, and procedures digital. Having this all in a central location makes it easier for citizens and government staff to find information, and it provides a safer, secure place for it.
Automation
By digitizing services and systems, a digital transformation platform automates time-consuming and monotonous tasks, giving employees more time to focus on more important tasks and be more productive.
Transformation
The digital transformation will not only make life easier for citizens and employees, but it’ll also drive innovation and provide useful analytics that government agencies can use to further transform and provide a better experience for their community.
