What’s New in Digital Equity: Improving Government Service

A new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) looks at federal goals to better serve constituents, and how digital services are key to success.

The report was released this month, and it notes that the Biden administration has made improving the experience of interacting with government a priority, which hinges on the federal government's ability to provide robust digital services. With that in mind, the report goes on to note that many federal agencies are behind in digital adoption, and that they generally are not doing enough to measure customer experiences on digital platforms.

In addition, the report offers six other key takeaways. These are that measuring customer satisfaction with digital services from federal agencies is insufficient; overall satisfaction with the federal government is low; adoption of best-in-class digital services is also low; and more.

Providing better digital services from government agencies is often seen as an equity issue. When services are easier to use and access, it opens up government to more people, enabling them to get the service and support they are entitled to. Improving digital service for constituents is not just a priority at the federal level, but also increasingly a goal among the central IT shops within state government. Local government — particularly in larger cities — has also made quite a bit of progress in this area in recent years.

As the report points out, federal government digital services lag behind, which tends to be the case generally. The larger a government structure is, the longer it takes to catch up to service standards set by smaller governments as well as by the private sector.

This new report can be read in full via the ITIF website.