E-Government:
If we build it, will they use it?
by Al Shaver
DOES THIS SCENARIO SOUND FAMILIAR? AS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANAGER, YOU INTRODUCE AN INNOVATIVE, NEW ONLINE SERVICE THAT OFFERS CONVENIENT, FAST AND SECURE FEATURES TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS. YOU SEE IMMEDIATE, RAPID ACCEPTANCE BY A NUMBER OF EARLY ADOPTERS. BUT SOMEHOW, AFTER THE INITIAL ENTHUSIASTIC RUSH, ADOPTION RATES LEVEL OFF.
According to Accenture’s Annual eGovernment research study for 2004 entitled “eGovernment Leadership: High Performance, Maximum Value,” this chain of events is all too common. eGovernment programs are far from being used to their full potential because a significant portion of the population never makes the switch from traditional to electronic service delivery. It’s not surprising then that, according to the Accenture study, promotion and marketing of eGovernment services is one of the five major areas governments are now emphasizing.
Because governments have, over the past few years, introduced online transaction processing and access to information with the goal of delivering better services at lower cost, it’s time now to consider whether they have met their goals and if they haven’t, why not?
ONLINE TICKET PROCESSING: A CASE STUDY
Since 2002, some Ontario municipalities have introduced online ticket payment through paytickets.ca, a joint venture developed by Teranet Enterprises and RBC Financial Group. Anyone with Internet access and a credit card can pay parking and speeding tickets through a participating municipality’s website. It’s the sort of concept that ideally meets government’s goal of providing secure, convenient and cost effective 24-hour access to services.
Online ticket payment has, in general, taken off wherever it’s been introduced, especially in the case of paying moving violations, where citizens reported that they’re more likely to pay fines if the process for doing so is quick and convenient. One Ontario municipality found almost immediately that 20-30% of its parking tickets were being paid online. These early numbers have leveled off.
The situation is not unique to paytickets.ca. According to the Accenture e-Government study, “it has become clear that governments around the world are at a crossroads with their online programs. With few exceptions, their advances in e-Government maturity have slowed.”
Canada has one of the world’s highest Internet access rates and a range of online services has been an instant hit with citizens. So why hasn’t the number of e-Goverment users grown more quickly?
ATTRACTING AND RETAINING USERS
Developing and refining the technology to make online service delivery possible has been the focus of any initiatives so far. But the next challenge must confront the human factor, where the task is to encourage people to overcome their natural resistance to change and to embrace new technology. Marketing plays a key role in helping people make that change. Early adopters are by nature tech-savvy and don’t need much convincing but that isn’t the case for many others.
Communicating with constituents on an ongoing basis will ensure the investment pays off. If citizens don’t understand the features and, more importantly, the benefits, of an online offering, there’s little chance they’ll use it. In an age of heightened concern over online privacy, clearly posted security policies can remove apprehension of transferring personal and/or financial information over the web.
Traditional and non-traditional marketing tools can be implemented to drive people to online government services as well as to highlight the advantages of using them. Equally important is the usability and location factor. Approaching the site from the user’s perspective may help to make the experience as pleasant as possible for them. Governments are learning that just putting a service on their web site isn’t enough – they have to show people that using it is easy and carries benefits. Also, the “Internet real estate” is key: if it’s buried deep within a site, it’s less likely to be found and used.
Simplifying online activities by offering a dedicated portal – one point of access to multiple services – is one option. People simply visit one website that channels them easily to the department or service they need. Steps to complete a transaction can be laid out in a clear manner in language that is understandable.
There’s really nothing that revolutionary here, when you think about it. As with the traditional delivery of services, the customer’s needs must remain the focus. Making the effort to get to know the demographics and psychographics of citizens will help determine what they most want from a website.
CANADA: A WORLD LEADER
There is some good news: The Accenture e-Government study ranked Canada number one in e-Government service delivery. Clearly e-Government is here to stay, so taking action now to increase uptake will pay dividends later on. Statistics Canada’s online products and databases provide Canadians with the ability to purchase various data reports with ease.
“Efficient payment processing is key to our ability to provide Canadians with the ability to purchase reports and have access to data in an efficient manner,” says Dan McCorkell, Chief, Electronic Services, Dissemination Division, Statistics Canada. “Since first setting up the online facility we have seen a steady increase in the amount of information being purchased on line.”
Some governments report that implementing a convenient online solution – one that makes the system more efficient and doesn’t create a new set of problems – can be expensive to accomplish.
But it doesn’t have to be so. Many service providers have developed white-labeled, ASP (application service provider) modules that seamlessly fit into any website. For instance, the backbone of the paytickets.ca feature that you can find on many municipal websites is a transaction-processing engine built and maintained by Teranet and RBC Financial Group. Constituents still visit one point of entry and have the comfort of dealing with their own city government, but they’re actually using services provided by a third party.
Using a vendor usually also means the capital expenditure of building an online application doesn’t fall entirely on the government agency providing the service. Instead, the vendor covers the startup costs and ensures the service is up and running smoothly. With perseverance, smart marketing and intelligent sourcing, the uptake of eGovernment will surely increase, giving civil servants a better way of delivering the services their constituents need.
Al Shaver is Director, New Business and Technical Development for Teranet. More information concerning paytickets.ca and other online services please visit www.teranet.ca. For more information about Accenture’s Annual e-Government Study please visit www.accenture.ca
