Citizens and entrepreneurs who need to arrange something with the government, for example, following a significant life event, often have to contact several different government organisations. To ensure reliable, high-quality (digital) services, citizens and entrepreneurs need to feel they are dealing with a single, service-oriented government, regardless of which organisation they contact.
Not all government organisations are connected to or use the available digital building blocks. As a result, they do not yet work together effectively. This means the government is missing opportunities to improve people’s experience of government services. Greater uptake also leads to a more cost-efficient government.
Citizens and entrepreneurs should be served more as if by 1 government. This means, for example, that they should not have to provide the same information repeatedly. Citizens and businesses expect services that reflect their everyday lives and personal circumstances, ensuring a positive, consistent service experience that meets their needs and expectations.
The objectives
The Citizens and entrepreneurs first priority ensures that people can easily find and access government-wide (digital) services and receive effective assistance and support. This enables citizens and entrepreneurs to experience their interactions with ‘the government’ as genuinely coming from 1 government. The guiding principle is: ‘always the right door’. They will also proactively receive information about public services and products, and be offered these services and products.
Accelerators
The Citizens and entrepreneurs first priority has identified 7 accelerators:
Portfolio alignment with government-wide service delivery priorities on the governance agenda
Ensuring that the alignment of portfolios managed by public service providers and other levels of government with government-wide service delivery priorities is placed on and remains on the governance agenda. This will enable citizens and businesses to experience government services as being delivered by one government, thereby creating scope for government-wide service delivery.
Harmonisation and standardisation to support government-wide service delivery
Achieve greater harmonisation and standardisation through the government-wide use of standards (design principles, working methods, and tangible products) to deliver accessible, intuitive, and predictable government-wide services that work for citizens and businesses. This will improve people’s experience of government services by ensuring that government organisations collectively connect to or use the available digital building blocks and standards, while enabling the government to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively.
Further development of a government-wide online service portal
Working to further develop the government-wide online service portal and improve coordination between government-wide portals, so that citizens and businesses experience the government as a single, coordinated entity. A government that understands and supports them, and provides a more coherent and accessible range of government information and services for handling their affairs.
Working from a government-wide vision for proactive service delivery
Work with all stakeholders to develop a shared, government-wide vision of what proactive service delivery entails and how to implement it in practice (strategy). The aim is to address barriers to proactive service delivery for citizens and businesses, reduce the complexity of government services, legislation and regulations, and reduce the non-take-up of public services and benefits.
Improving interaction in service delivery processes by using new technologies
Improving service delivery by making smart use of new technologies, such as AI. This can enable services to be tailored even more closely to individual circumstances. Examples include digital assistants that provide immediate answers to questions and systems that draft letters in plain language, making interactions during service delivery more straightforward and accessible, including for people with lower levels of digital literacy.
Government-wide signal management
Fostering a government culture that welcomes feedback and signals from citizens and entrepreneurs and improves their interactions with government. This also involves collecting, processing and analysing signals across government, identifying patterns, fostering collaboration between government organisations and deploying new technologies such as AI.
Noticeably improved service delivery by redesigning processes
Work with public service providers to develop an agreed approach to redesigning processes (including cross-organisational processes) around life events, and have the relevant governing bodies formally endorse it. Building on existing successful initiatives, this involves developing standards and digital building blocks and fostering practical collaboration to create better customer journeys for citizens and entrepreneurs.
