A Look Into The Evolution of Government Technology

the EVOLUTION of GOVERNMENTI the INFORMATION AGE The path to a transparent and engaged relationship between citizens and their government is filled with twists and turns. Just how far have we come over the years? The Path From V old to New: SEEKING FEEDBACK Surveys: collections of feedback or data on federal, state, county, and local governments are now easier to retrieve through online platforms. Mail, door-to-door surveys $340,000 Cleveland City currently spends around $340,000 a year on printed materials – newsletters, phone cards, ward-wide and city-wide mailings, business cards and envelopes 36% Static email, phone > The response rate to telephone surveys has fallen from 36% in 1997 to 9% in 2012 1997 2012 Web 26% V Half of online surveys receive at least a 26% response rate Idea Sharing/Feedback: the way in which government representatives hear from citizens has moved to more efficient online communication platforms. Letters, phone calls to government representatives Interactive forums and groups +4,000 V Political Forum has approximately 4,000 new posts every day +110% The City of Austin increased citizen feedback by 110% within one year In six months, user traffic totaled 70,000+ hits with a 34.7% return visitor rate * 70,000+ Online petitions V Roughly 15,000 petitions are created monthly on Change.org alone 15,000 Decision-making: throughout history, the various ways votes get recorded to pass legislation or decide on elected candidates has shifted to a digital format. Public meeting voice votes, hand tallies documented by clerks into records Digital electoral voting and registration 39% V In the 2012 U.S. Presidential Elections, electronic voting machines were available to 39% of voters, up 9.5% from 2004 After the 2000 presidential election recount, new voting equipment cost $3 billion in federal funds Delaware's paperless voter registration at the DMV saves elections officials more than $200,000 annually on personnel costs 53% Registration rates among 18 to 24-year-old citizens rose from 28 to 53% after Arizona introduced online 28% and automated registration Digital voting on the iPad In 2014, organizations are reportedly saving up to $27,000 by moving traditional legislative voting methods to the iPad Proactive citizen collaboration Citizens now share and discuss ideas in an online portal, aiding their government in prioritizing community issues ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT Communicating with citizens: the way in which citizens are able to communicate with government representatives has evolved to match society's preferred communication mediums. Paper filing system Slow processes to disclose information In-person participation at public meetings Citizens' public comment period: 5 minutes Mass media eComment and searchable databases enhance EQ relevancy of civic feedback Trackable comments submitted by citizens prior to government meetings flows feedback directly to elected officials on web-based and mobile meeting agendas Online and mobile apps provide real-time information 384 The number of cities using apps to promote an open government, being tracked by Code For CODE for AMERICA America 661 The number of municipal apps being tracked by Code For America ? Bloomington, IN: The most active city government, with 21 apps available to its citizens Social media platforms, online forums V 84% of local governments now have a social media presence 90% V 84% of Congressional representatives are registered on Twitter, 90% are on 84% Facebook Twitter Town Halls #AskObama The first Town Hall @ The White House by the numbers: O 169,395 tweets O 65,000 questions o Four biggest topic areas: jobs, budget, taxes, education o @townhall: more than 22,000 followers o @whitehouse: more than 4.9 million followers ACCESS TO PUBLIC INFORMATION Legislative recordkeeping: the creation and management of legislative records has shifted from paper to online and mobile workflows, creating considerable cost savings. Agenda packets 500 million+ + In 1997, local governments printed more than 6,000 agenda packet pages per month – that's 500 million+ sheets of paper per year in the U.S. Online recordkeeping On average, governments are currently saving $40k-$100k per year as a result of eliminated efficiencies by switching to to an online and tablet-based recordkeeping process Public meetings: everything from preparation to sharing information about public meetings has evolved to cater to an increasingly tech-savvy citizen demographic. PREPARATION All materials are manually created only available in-person Digital workflows and online publishing creates maximum transparency and labor efficiency Annually, government agencies save an average of $2,000-$10,000 by using a paperless cloud environment Time spent by staff each month in preparation of meetings reduced 50-100 hours, equating to $20,000-$200,000 in savings per year MEETINGS HELD IN PUBLIC LOCATION In-person and inaccessible Handwritten minutes/notes later typed to be made accessible to the public 9% Only 9% of residents participate in public meetings LIVE-STREAM AND INTERACTIVE V Mobile and web audiences participate in live and on-demand meeting webcasts Web interface for capturing minutes/notes linked to meeting video Appleton, WI saved $19,000 per year with an online searchable legislative portal of all records and indexed meeting video o Keyword search or browse through the complete history of a legislative file tied to supporting records and video O Stay informed through content subscriptions O Access materials on mobile devices o Self-serve applications to public boards and commissions INCREASED SHARING CAPABILITIES Sharing information via the cloud enables government and citizens to: V Uncover hard-to-find documents V Integrated and cross-link public records with video, agenda, minutes and supporting documents V Minutes used to be captured on stenographs, now they are automated recordings WHAT'S TO COME? 90% 90% of IT managers plan to move to more cloud-based applications Government cloud adoption is expected to grow to $18.48 billion in 2018 $18.48 billion Biggest technology roadmap priority for local government professionals: 16% Access 32% Engagement 22% Efficiency 26% Open government Citizens and government staff can access any government data, anytime from anywhere The role of legislative professionals is transforming V From clerical, draft-driven roles to technology leaders Online (electronic) voting will: Eliminate the need for citizens to go to polling locations V Increase trust by verifying each vote and showing real-time results West Virginia counties piloted Internet voting for overseas citizens in 2010 and received mostly good reviews, with some concerns of vote stealing Mobile and online government apps enable increased efficiencies and citizen engagement 58% In January 2014, 58% of adults in the U.S. owned a smartphone, with half of those adults using their phone to download apps Government organizations have come very far and many have reaped the benefits of a new age of technology. 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