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UNIVERSITY

The Digital Government Divide: Research Shows Citizens Want More

Accenture Public Services Insights

In an Accenture Public Service Pulse Survey of almost 7,000 citizens in seven countries, Accenture

has revealed a significant gap between what citizens want from digital government and the

services that are available. The research shows that there is room for improvement in government

meeting demand, and that better digital services would improve their view of government.

Government leaders need to engage citizens as partners in personalizing their digital services and

delivering public service of the future. Using new technologies, new insights and new ways of

working can help close the gap between what citizens expect and what’s being delivered, creating

more meaningful relationships between government and citizens.

Citizens in Australia, France, Germany, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States responded to a survey in December 2014.

Your citizens are waiting for more digital engagement opportunities

10% Not Satisfied

45% Neutral

SINGAPORE

11% Not Satisfied

34% Neutral

U.A.E.

11% Not Satisfied

45% Neutral

FRANCE

12% Not Satisfied

40% Neutral

U.K.

14% Not Satisfied

43% Neutral

AUSTRALIA

27% Not Satisfied

50% Neutral

GERMANY

28% Not Satisfied

45% Neutral

U.S.

A healthy appetite: Citizens are ready to orderIn the United Kingdom (U.K.), the United States (U.S.) and Australia, many citizens are already conducting more than half of their interactions with government digitally. More than a quarter of the citizens from all seven countries want to increase their level of engagement with digital government. Meanwhile, four in 10 citizens from France, Germany and Singapore want to increase their digital interactions with government, as do 76 percent of citizens surveyed in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) (see Figure 1).

Citizens surveyed are forthcoming about how they want their digital interaction to occur. While a clear majority (90 percent) of citizens interact with government via computer, a significant number of citizens in the U.A.E. (86 percent) and Singapore (70 percent) want to increase their interaction via mobile devices.The interest in using their mobile devices in the other countries ranged from 19 percent in the U.K. to 37 percent in the U.S.

Quality trumps quantity: Citizens are still not satisfiedAcross the board, almost 60 percent of respondents say they are neutral or not

Figure 2. Citizens who were neutral or dissatisfied with their digital interaction with government

satisfied with current government digital services (see Figure 2). Citizens in the U.S. and Germany report being more dissatisfied (75 percent) than those in the other countries.

At present, more than half of those surveyed in Germany (55 percent) conduct 10 percent or less of their interactions with government digitally.

While the survey did not describe the standards of quality, across all countries, roughly 50 percent of citizens expect the quality of their government’s digital services to meet the standards quality of commercial services such as a website or portal enabling multiple transactions, electronic renewal alerts and emergency broadcasts, and digital post. Thirty-three percent of citizens also say that they expect the quality of digital government services to exceed that of commercial services standards.

Figure 1. Citizens who want to see an increase in their level of digital interaction with government

76%U.A.E.

27%U.K.

40%FRANCE

46%GERMANY

27%AUSTRALIA

40%SINGAPORE

33%U.S.

15%FRANCE

17%U.A.E.

17%AUSTRALIA

18%SINGAPORE

Provide a menu of digital options: Awareness is the first stepWhat can be done? The first step is improving the awareness of existing government services available digitally. More than 30 percent of those surveyed in all seven countries say that lack of awareness is preventing them from using digital services. In the U.S., citizens cite increasing awareness of available digital services as the single most important change government can make to increase satisfaction (see Figure 3).

Poor website organization and limited search functionality are obstacles cited by citizens in all countries surveyed. Regarding the latter, one in five French citizens (22 percent) versus four in ten citizens in Singapore (37 percent) reports it as a challenge. Making sure information is complete, easy to navigate and downloadable would help citizens and make digital services easier to use.

Citizens Aged 45 and older

Satiate your citizens’ appetites: A win-win scenarioFor governments willing to improve and increase digital interactions with their citizens, the rewards can be significant, especially among citizens in the U.A.E. (90 percent) and Singapore (80 percent) who indicated their view of government would be enhanced across multiple dimensions. Citizens say that improved digital services will:

• Positively impact their view of their government.

• Increase their overall satisfaction with government.

• Increase their trust and confidence in government.

• Positively impact their willingness to engage with government (see Figure 4).

Conclusion: The recipe for citizen engagement success The Accenture Public Service Pulse Survey reveals a consistent demand from citizens in seven countries for increased and improved digital access to government services. The first step in addressing that demand is creating greater awareness of digital services already in place and improving the user experience to obtain specific information citizens want and need. This is a big challenge for government, but doing so successfully will improve public value. Citizens are looking for the right service to be available at the right time, and government must be committed to delivering it. Digital government solutions will play a significant role in the realization of delivering public service for the future.

Figure 4. Across all countries, citizens said their “willingness to engage with government” would improve if government improved digital services

Figure 3. When asked “What is the most important improvement government could make to increase your satisfaction with digital services?” a significant number listed Awareness.

22%U.K.

92%U.A.E.

68%U.K.

75%FRANCE

76%GERMANY

67%AUSTRALIA

84%SINGAPORE

72%U.S.

25%GERMANY

31%U.S.

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For more informationLearn more about the Accenture Public Services Pulse Survey or Delivering Public Service for the Future, visit: www.accenture.com/publicservice

Connect with us to learn more on delivering public service for the future on Twitter @AccenturePubSvc.

About Delivering Public Service for the FutureWhat does it take to deliver public service for the future? Public service leaders must embrace four structural shifts—advancing toward personalized services, insight-driven operations, a public entrepreneurship mindset and a cross-agency commitment to mission productivity. By making these shifts, leaders can support flourishing societies, safe, secure nations and economic vitality for citizens in a digital world—delivering public service for the future.

About AccentureAccenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 319,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US $30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Survey Methodology2014 Accenture Public Services Pulse Survey. Citizen results are based on a sample of 6,624 citizens in the Australia, France, Germany, Singapore, U.A.E., the United Kingdom and the United States who completed an online survey in December 2014. The survey, conducted by Market Strategies Group, has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.