Governments across the world have been shifting towards the digitization of services through cloud, automation, and digitalization. Particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for governments to be more digitally accessible has been increasing. However, this sort of transition is rarely simple and smooth.
According to Forbes, this evolution will lead to changes in the next decade such as:
- Individualized citizen-to-government interactions
- A customer-first mindset with an emphasis on user experience
- Enhanced collaboration and innovation
- More cloud computer
- Increased security, trust, and transparency
All levels of government must be committed to implementing “enlighted E-government strategies”. However, many global government have yet to provide accessible and user-friendly online governmental services, according to the 2022 United Nations E-Digital Government Survey. Specifically, it finds that “digital inclusivity” remains a major challenge. Denmark, Finland, and South Korea were among the countries scoring the highest regarding the scope and quality of online services.
Overall access to digital services is critical to a country’s economic stability. Citizens require access to healthcare, e-commerce, legal services, online learning beyond just information. When it comes to education, equitable access to digital learning is important in “advancing sustainable development for any country or municipality”. For instance, in the United States there is a significant rural-urban divide in broadband accessibility, which in turn impacts school-aged children’s abilities to participate in online learning and can cause them to lag behind their urban counterparts.
The UN E-Digital Government Survey has set three goals for the future on the “upward trend of digital governance”. Firstly, governments must strategize and invest in long-term digital transformation plans. Secondly, internet access and the ability to be connected must be assessed. Governments should focus funding on their most vulnerable citizens’ connectivity and world digital governance leaders should provide aid to underdeveloped regions to help with growth and innovation. Finally, E-government must “serve a broader goal of supporting sustainable human development”. The innovations of the past few years ought to be built upon to increase efficiencies of services, particularly to the most vulnerable and remote populations.
With the UN E-Digital Government Survey, global leaders now have access to the data to see and understand the positive outcomes of enhanced E-governance, illustrating how reaching citizens digitally is “no longer an option, but an imperative”.
Read the full article from Forbes.
