Driving Digital Innovation in Local Government

Digital Transformation is vital for any organisation, across all verticals, that is keen to embrace new technologies to remain efficient, engaging, and competitive in today’s changing world.

Fraser_Sutherland_

3rd November 2020

by Fraser Sutherland

Secure Infrastructure Sales Specialist (LAN) at Maintel

Local governments are no exception to this, and can utilise innovative communications technology to improve public engagement, increase service agency integration, and drive smart city initiatives 

Local governments are continually seeking ways to harness digital technology, driven by greater demands from central government and rising citizen expectations. The customer service benchmark has been set high by the global internet giants and excellent mobile app experiences. People now expect to be able to communicate with local government via multiple channels, which are always available and easy to use. 

Central funding is decreasing in real terms, so local authorities are in search of ways to enhance productivity and improve staff motivation by leveraging innovative digital technologyAt the heart of these challenges is the desire to transform the service experience and help strike a balance between cost, service excellence, and staff satisfaction. Technology has an important part to play to improve productivity today and help prepare for the city of the future.  

Key challenges local government organisations face that technology can help to address include: 

 

Integrating Agency Services  

Local government organisations are typically highly distributed within their region, integrate many different agency services, and are dependent on good communications to operate efficiently. Close integration between agencies across a wide range of services is therefore essential for providing a quality service. The complex nature of the local government ecosystem means that disparate organisations need to be able to readily collaborate with each other securely to provide an integrated public service.  

However, the cost of deployment of technology must be balanced against the available budget, and the data carried and stored must be secure. Selecting the appropriate technology to cost-effectively provide connectivity and communications technology that ensures efficient and secure collaboration is therefore essential. 

 

Enabling Smart Cities 

Local government is under considerable pressure in cities to serve an increasing population efficiently and sustainably. In addition, there is a drive to create a new digital environment in which businesses can innovate and citizens can thrive. High-speed, secure, and always available digital connectivity that meets the demanding requirements of the modern urban environment is essential in enabling today’s smart cities, 

Implementing large scale transformation projects that deliver the change needed is a challenge for local government and the best approach is to deliver in phases. Using an optimal blend of network technologies and vendors also dramatically improves the outcome and creates an effective and secure environment for digital innovation. 

 

Increase Public Engagement 

In local government, quality engagement with the public and community is essential. Driven by people demanding more value from local government services, improving engagement is a top priority. With the acceleration of digital transformation, citizens have come to expect a simple, seamless, omni-channel service experience. They require quality local services and they need to be able to easily contact and engage with their council.  

From receiving planning permission to waste collection, residents expect a service experience which is easy, informative, and available through a range of contact channels. Failure to meet these expectations quickly results in dissatisfaction. Technology can help to address this challenge by improving citizen engagement across multiple touchpoints. From automated service and the provision of instant information, to contact centre technology, digital innovation can enable the smooth integration of the service experience. 

Whatever technology challenges you are facing, help is at hand. Maintel has experience of integrating and deploying smart solutions to help local governments improve their service experience and enhance productivity. From small to large projects, we can partner with you to create a digital transformation roadmap. We will audit your current technology, design an innovative solution to meet your needs, and create a practical deployment plan to realise your digital vision. 

 

If you’d like to learn more about how Maintel can help you drive digital innovation in the public sector you can find key information here, or get in touch today.  

You might also like…