What’s New in State and Local Government CX?

This article is an excerpt from GovLoop’s guide, “Government’s Customer Experience Playbook.” Download the full guide here.

Although there is not a uniform movement across state and local governments to improve CX, various efforts are underway. Laws such as the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA) do not apply to state and local governments, but that hasn’t stopped them from forging their own paths.

For example, several states — Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon and Utah — have made strides to improve the digital experience for residents. New York City and Washington, D.C., are among the local governments making strides in CX. We’ve highlighted some of the legislation and initiatives below:

Illinois

HB0816 would amend the Department of Innovation and Technology Act and require each state agency to submit a plan to improve the provision of digital services, including modernizing websites and enhancing the use of data analytics, by July 1, 2020.

New Jersey

The 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act is aimed at modernizing state government websites and would require agencies to develop an IT modernization improvement plan to improve digital services. The bill calls for intuitive and adaptive electronic forms, electronic signatures, mobile-enabled websites, and digital processes and workflows.

New York City

BetaNYC’s Digital Roadmap was formed to “share NYC’s past success in digital and tech initiatives and simultaneously ‘spur’ the development of the city’s tech scene” by focusing on internet access, open data, engagement, open government and industry. As of fall 2017, 14 of the ideas in the original roadmap were drafted into legislation, nine were made law, and an additional nine became public-private partnerships.

Oregon

SB 240 would direct state agencies to use electronic records and electronic signatures by July 1, 2020.

Utah

launched a statewide Customer Experience program in July 2018. It’s expected to save the state money by promoting more in-house research and consolidating CX programs on a single platform.

Washington D.C.
Grade.DC.gov strives to improve customer experience at participating D.C. government agencies by collecting feedback through a website and through comments posted on social networking sites like Twitter to form a grade for each agency. The goal is access to customer opinions to help government agencies improve CX.

GovLoop also spoke with state and local leaders around the country to learn about CX priorities. Here’s what they said:

“We’ll be moving off of some of our legacy mainframes — moving them into the cloud — in the next few years. We’ll be seeing some artificial intelligence systems, including chatbots and phone bots, being used to improve customer service, and more of these state-of-the-art emerging technologies being used, including blockchain, and more diffusion of mobile apps. And so, there’s no lack of opportunity — while we keep it all safe, of course.”

– Theresa Szczurek, CIO, Colorado

“If [residents] have to come in to City Hall, that’s not being efficient and effective for the customer. And so, you’re now able to download and fill out forms online, pay for things online, which has been very, very helpful. Really, technology push has been a big thing for me in developing customer experience.”

– Tara Campbell, Mayor, Yorba Linda, California

“We rolled out the mn.gov website, which basically changed the way that our customers, our citizens, are able to interact with their state government. And so being able to intuitively find what you’re looking for, to be able to shop from home for that fishing license, or to find out what the hours are of the Department of Motor Vehicles, to understanding where your local officials are, all that’s now consolidated in one place … It’s about accessibility.”

– Johanna Clyborne, former Commissioner and CIO, Minnesota