Making a Successful Shift to Digital-first Government

This is part one of a three-part “Digital Government 101” series, showcasing the work of New York City’s Office of Technology and Innovation, shared in partnership with the Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation. The Beeck Center, and U.S. Digital Response We are co-coordinating a peer learning network of people who work in digital government. Digital Service Network. DSN, a network of digital service professionals and teams that is growing, connects with and supports each other so the government can be responsive and open to all. The insights in this series are from presentations by Katherine Benjamin, the deputy chief technology officer for digital services in the Office of Technology and Innovation and Alexis Wichowski, the office’s deputy chief technology officer for inclusive innovation.

***

Governments are transforming the way they operate, using new technologies and revamped processes to improve services and residents’ experiences. In the past, government functions were focused on physical delivery of services. Governments are now positioning themselves as digital-first organisations. Yet, governments’ lack of experience being digital by default, coupled with an ongoing shortage of in-house technology talent, has left them scrambling to keep up with technology needs.

Digital Services and Their Importance

Digital services are being invested by government for many reasons. Digital offerings are what residents have come to expect from the government. They also want similar services from the private sector. Services should be simple and easy to integrate into people’s busy schedules. Some residents don’t wish to sacrifice their work hours to get a parking ticket. Some residents might have difficulty engaging with in-person services because of their sight, hearing and mobility issues. Many people find that digital services are more accessible than traditional services. 

For a variety of reasons, governments rely on citizens to use services. This includes obtaining food handling permits in order to meet wider public health requirements. Scaling up digital transactions can reduce costs—such as staffing and printing—that governments otherwise incur by providing physical services. British Government saved over $4.1 billion by using the Government Digital Service (UK.gov) and their website. The speed at which services are delivered can be increased by going digital. Digital infrastructure also allows for greater accountability and transparency, such as the opening of data to the public.

The Talent Crisis

To address the talent shortage, governments are trying new ways to hire. In order to attract talent from the private industry, many governments have partnered with U.S. Digital Response or Code for America. The NYC Partnership is an example of such a partnership.[x] Innovation Fellows program. The partnership was launched in February 2020 and brings together designers, developers, and project managers from the private sector to improve and create digital products within a 10 week sprint. 

However, the private and public technology industries operate in very different ways. The government is hierarchical, siloed and centralized while the private sector operates more fluidly and is better connected. Because governments are deeply embedded in bureaucracy, their processes and histories have a deep roots. This bureaucracy assists in ensuring compliance with federal, local and state laws as well as fiscal responsibility. 

NYC needs your help[x] Innovation fellows get oriented working in government, the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation put together a crash course for digital-era talent. These courses, Government 101 and Digital Government 101 were created to ease transitions for new fellows to the public sector. 

Because of the amount of work required in digital areas, government agencies will likely continue to use temporary staff to help fill gaps created by limited resources and austerity. It’s critical for government agencies to take the time to help temporary digital staff members understand the culture and processes of their offices to ensure they can navigate bureaucracies and contribute to the effective launch of digital projects.