3 core ideas for empowering citizens, societies, and governments
Promote citizen well-being, influence positive societal change, and enhance your government services
Exponential change is happening in the world around us and within governments. This change is being driven by one core idea, expectations of governments are changing. Modern technology is causing a shift in societal behavior. Citizens and residents expect their governments to adapt to the ways in which companies interact with their customers. They expect to be able to access services quickly, efficiently, and in any location that is convenient for them.
From the thousands of digital transformation journeys Microsoft has taken with local, regional, and national governments around the globe, we’ve learned that governments are constantly having to juggle this shift while managing a variety of challenges both internal and external. How do we provide quality services to our citizens as budgets either remain flat or are reduced? How do we address major societal problems such as aging and retiring workforces and education and labor gaps? How do we connect agencies across cities, regions, and borders, while making sure our data, and more importantly our citizen’s data, is secure? And how do we keep our citizens, communities, and countries safe and protected?
That juggling act can be exhausting, confusing, and overwhelming, but it can also be exciting. Government organizations have the ability to become more efficient and to better optimize existing resources leveraging modern technology, to deeply connect with citizens in powerful ways, and to empower government employees to be more efficient and effective and give them time back to focus on their agency mission.
Governments are changing, adapting, and evolving, just like the world around us. And while the challenges are real, so are the opportunities. Addressing the challenges governments are facing can be tied back to three, core ideas:
- Engage and connect with citizens. Citizen engagement is core to every government’s mission. Today’s citizens want to have access to government services 24/7/365 on their terms and when convenient to them.
- Modernize the government workplace. Governments must provide their employees with the tools they need to do their jobs as efficiently, and as securely as possible. This is where governments can address things like labor and re-skilling gaps and promote safety and security.
- Enhance government services. Governments are constantly under pressure to become more efficient, which means finding ways to optimize their operations and transform their processes. It’s here that governments can connect those siloed legacy systems and utilize innovative applications such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and machine learning.
These three ideas make up the heart of digital transformation of governments. At Microsoft, we are committed to helping governments through a variety of transformational journeys, as seen with our customers such as City of Los Angeles, Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health Thailand, State Court Justice of Sao Paulo, Belgian Federal Police, Alaska Department of Transportation, and Missouri Department of Conservation.
To learn more, watch this new short video and see how Microsoft helps governments meet their mission and serve citizens better.
