Quality digital solutions can build public trust, report finds
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Digital services that are transparent and informative can help build residents’ trust in their local governments, a new report from CivicPlus says.
Digital tools and services don’t just improve workflows and increase efficiencies for local governments. They can also help build resident trust in local leadership and community support for government innovation, a new report suggests.
Indeed, the majority of residents believe the quality of digital services is a “direct reflection of community leadership,” according to a report released yesterday from government software company CivicPlus. The report includes survey responses from more than 26,000 participants.
“Digital experiences are not just service channels anymore,” said Brenden Elwood, vice president of market research at CivicPlus. They are “avenues for a local government to really improve the resident-government relationship.”
It’s not enough to just have a city website, he explained. A digital service like that, for instance, needs to be easy to use and provide relevant information and resources for residents. A complicated, cumbersome digital environment can lead to frustrated constituents, resulting in a negative perception of their local government, Elwood said.
According to the report, for instance, “residents with easy-to-navigate local government websites have twice as much trust and more than four times as much satisfaction in their local leadership as those with difficult-to-navigate sites.”
These findings present a unique opportunity for local governments, Elwood said.
With an overwhelming majority of respondents — 72% — saying that they use digital methods to engage with their local government, and an additional 39% saying they planned to interact more with their local government this year, local officials can leverage technology as one way to build residents’ confidence in their leadership.
In fact, survey respondents said that with a municipal mobile app, they most desired features that would alert them of emergencies and safety information, at 54%, local news and events, at 47%, and notifications about issues in the community such as areas under construction, at 45%.
Cobb County, Georgia, is one municipality turning to a local app to boost resident interaction and engagement with the local government. Launched last month, the Cobbgov app provides residents alerts like severe weather warnings or county events. Residents can also use it to manage bills or report community issues.
Such apps “makes it easy for government to leverage technology to communicate proactively, but also [allows] residents to communicate back,” helping the public understand what the government is doing and why, Elwood said.
When you start breaking down those barriers, leaders can start building resident trust and satisfaction in government and government services, he said. That dynamic can also help governments build the public’s support in innovative initiatives, like adopting artificial intelligence.
In fact, 42% of respondents said they support their governments’ exploration of AI for public services, under the condition that they understand how and why it is being used, according to the report.
For governments looking to leverage AI to further improve digital services and residents’ experiences, “you have to communicate to your residents why you’re making that investment, and what the benefit is that the residents get,” Elwood said. Because ultimately, “lifting the veil on how government works is an incredible way to build trust with your community. And it’s easy to do through digital technology.”