From the Department of One Government

At zu we’ve been researching how governments around the world are using the Internet. I wish there were plenty of good examples to look at but the truth is that most government websites need an overhaul.

The further we have dug into this research the more we have come to realize that governments need to change their online approach as well as the way they do business. With shrinking budgets, aging employees and a skeptical public that is becoming more educated, governments need to adjust quickly or risk further tarnishing their credibility.

Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics and Grown Up Digital, wrote the foreword for a new book called Open Government. He says, “it is the next wave of innovation that presents a historic occasion to fundamentally redesign how government operates; how and what the public sector provides; and ultimately, how governments interact and engage with their citizens. It is truly a time when either government will play an active role in its own transformation, or change will happen to it.”

For governments to control their own destiny online, they will need to follow the three pillars of a good website which I presented at zu’s One Government sessions last week (#1gov).

The first pillar is to adopt human-centred design. Too many government sites are built around the structure of government. Citizens do not care who the Deputy Mininster is or who reports to the Mayor. They care about booking a camping spot or paying their power bill. For One Government to work, websites need to be developed from a user perspective. Focus should be on the user, not the technology.

The second pillar for effective One Government is to create a unified vision in every department. This has nothing to do with the website, but rather with internal communications. Governments, like large companies, operate in vertical silos where staff communicate with their superiors and underlings. Imagine if they started communicating with their colleagues. They would save time and money, and provide an enhanced user experience.

The third pillar is to go where the people are. Governments that are still publishing print pieces and doing billboard campaigns are wasting money. For a fraction of the cost you can hit a larger audience online. More people, lower cost: makes sense to most people doesn’t it?

Of course, I have glossed over most of the details of the three pillars for an effective One Government. If you want to learn more, drop me a line and let’s talk. We are living in a once-in-a-lifetime period for government right now and we should all try to get it right.