Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) and WPP’s government and public sector practice today released the results of a global study that found citizens want governments to transform their online services to be more like the private sector. More than 7,000 citizens in seven countries took part in the research, which found that their governments need to look beyond simply having a presence online, and more on delivering experiences that are personal and relevant to the user, in line with the experiences already widely delivered by private sector organizations.
While the need for modernization of government services is recognized across many countries, this study examines citizens’ perspectives on what impacts their interactions with government online. Some of the most popular specific improvements to government services requested were:
pre-filled tailored information;
instant online communication for help; and
being offered additional relevant information.
“We know trust in government is generally low, and that positive digital experiences increase citizens’ trust in their government,” said Jace Johnson, vice president, Global Government Relations and Public Policy at Adobe. “This study gives governments a clear path to build trust through innovation, which ultimately improves governments’ ability to create a stronger and more positive relationship with citizens.”
To understand what drives a positive experience of online public services, researchers explored five dimensions of experience: citizen journey, mobile, design, relevance and relationship. Researchers found that citizens ranked the more advanced and emotive dimensions, including relevance, relationship and design, as “most important” to their overall satisfaction with online government services. Yet across all seven countries, respondents said that their governments are performing better on the more functional components of experience – citizen journey and mobile functionality.
“We’ve seen many governments going through digital transformations, making major investments in citizen services,” said Sean Howard, global managing director, The Government & Public Sector Practice at WPP. “This citizen-centric study shows that by focusing on dimensions of relevance, design and relationship, governments may begin to fully realize the benefits of those digital transformations: more cost-effective service delivery; increased accuracy of transactions; improvements in citizen satisfaction and the corresponding benefits in citizens’ relationships with their government.”
The full report can be found here.
Methodology
In June 2017, WPP’s government and public sector consultancy and research practice, Kantar Public, leveraged desk research, online quantitative surveys, qualitative in-depth interviews and social media analysis to gather insights around citizen experiences of digital government services. At least 1,000 adults aged 18-64 years old were surveyed in each country (except one country, where the upper age limit was 44 years old) using the Kantar Online Omnibus. Data was weighted to be representative of the population aged 18-64 in each country (aged 18-44 in Country A).
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