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Accelerating government digitalization: Governments are taking accessibility seriously

Governments are heavily investing in online infrastructures and systems to make their services accessible and convenient for everyone.

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Quantumrun Foresight
September 1, 2022

Insight summary

Governments globally are rapidly moving public services online, a trend amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure accessibility and resilience. These digitalization efforts vary and focus on streamlining services, such as tax filing and healthcare transactions through centralized online portals. The shift towards e-government poses challenges and opportunities, including the need for improved cybersecurity, digital literacy, and ethical considerations around AI and automation in public services.

Accelerating government digitalization context

Governments worldwide have made significant advancements in their respective digitization efforts in recent years, albeit at varying rates. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated these efforts making digital delivery of public services increasingly urgent and necessary. This trend will not slow down as governments attempt to make their services more accessible and equitable for all.

Government digitalization (known as e-government) encompasses systems and tools that make public services accessible online. These services include tax filing, requesting birth and death certificates, checking social welfare pensions, and healthcare transactions. Some governments are more advanced in their digitalization efforts than others. A prime example is Estonia, which launched its e-Estonia program in 1996 and has been aggressively digitizing its services since then. The country replaced multiple digital dashboards and platforms with a centralized, streamlined online portal where its citizens can update their information; this data would automatically sync with other public services.

Estonia is so effective in its digitalization efforts that it was ranked number one for digital public services by the 2021 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). The index was established by the European Commission to monitor digitization efforts across member states. While digitization efforts have varied across different countries, the recent pandemic made it clear that an e-government is a resilient government. From telehealth to online education, many countries have realized that their systems and infrastructures cannot remain as they were. The economy and social welfare depend on online portals that are data-driven, accurate, accessible, flexible, and convenient.

Disruptive impact

There are different ways governments are accelerating the digitization of public services. The first approach is scaling online infrastructures, which includes ensuring that telecoms and Internet service providers (ISPs) can accommodate a surge in demand. The continuation of business activities depends on stable online networks and connectivity supporting millions of people working remotely. Automation and the increasing use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) solutions are a by-product of these scaling efforts.

For example, the Romanian Ministry of Labor used robotic process automation (RPA) to send direct payments to self-employed people who lost income during the pandemic. With each claim taking 36 seconds rather than 20 minutes when handled manually, 96 percent of the 285,000 claims processed were automated.

Another digitization initiative that governments are accelerating is the development of a digital-ready workforce. From providing training in cloud-based software to building data analysis teams, governments are creating a digitally fluent workforce that can adapt to rapid technological developments. For example, the UK government announced plans to train 500 public sector data scientists as part of its National Data Strategy unveiled in September 2020.

Meanwhile, the US Office of Management and Budget put its data science reskilling pilot to practical use by allowing program graduates to analyze data sets from their respective agencies. Another method governments use to enhance digitalization is building infrastructure in remote, rural, and low-income communities to enable connectivity for everyone. Such efforts include investing in satellite-based Internet technologies.

Implications of accelerating government digitalization

Wider implications of accelerating government digitalization may include:

Enhanced employment opportunities in the telecom sector due to governments partnering for digital projects, boosting economic growth.

Citizens gaining round-the-clock access to public services online, enhancing communication and satisfaction with government responsiveness.

Governments creating virtual replicas of physical structures such as city halls, improving efficiency in public service management.

Stronger collaborations between tech firms and governments, driving significant investment in cybersecurity to safeguard digital infrastructures.

Rising apprehensions about the use of automation and AI, including facial recognition and biometrics, in public services raising privacy and ethical concerns.