Local governments stand to reap significant rewards from the adoption of modern technology. With a rapidly evolving technology ecosystem, how does a local government know where to start? We start with the most impactful opportunities first.
The Pareto principle (aka 80/20 rule) says that 80% of outcomes are driven from 20% of causes. So what technology solutions have the potential to drive the most impact for local governments? Let’s start the top 2 technologies offering the greatest benefit to local governments.
Platform as a Service
With the rise of the platform as a service market (i.e. low-code and no-code platforms), local governments are now empowered to design and implement digital transformation solutions that are tailored to their specific needs, without incurring the costs and ramp up time associated with a fully custom system. These low-code platforms vary widely in terms of capability and level of skill required to configure them, with some platforms offering the ability to create software programs using natural language inputs augmented by software developers for the more complex tasks.
A key benefit of low-code platforms is the ability to automate and streamline government processes, enabling local governments to spend more time focusing on constituent services and less time focusing on administrative burdens.
For example, a local government might find themselves spending an inordinate amount of time managing event registrations. Some local governments may find that the implementation of a traditional turn-key system is the right solution for them. Government Software Providers are sometimes slow to adopt change, which can result in legacy systems that lag significantly behind current offerings.
This is where Platform as a Service comes into play, there are a plethora of low-code and no-code platforms that municipal governments can leverage to configure an event registration and management system that is specific to their needs, with robust self-service tools, the latest in artificial intelligence and automation of workflows.
Evaluation, selection and implementation of a platform can be a daunting task and ultimately distract local governments from their core mission, to serve your constituents. Engaging the services of an IT Project Consultant will enable your organization to maximize the ROI on your digital transformation project.
The IT Project Consultants at GovTech Innovators will apply the Pareto principle, starting with the 20% of your processes that drive 80% of your results. Next we’ll work hand-in-hand with our customers to define their specific needs, develop a platform selection checklist to fulfill those needs and evaluate available options. Read more here for details on how we help our customers maximize their ROI on digital transformation projects.
Artificial Intelligence in Local Government
With the rapid evolution of generative artificial intelligence, our communities stand to benefit from artificial intelligence in local government. When local governments are able to implement digital solutions at a fraction of their historical cost, significant costs savings are achieved. Those cost savings can then be allocated to other priorities such as youth sports, parks and trails!
As an example, let’s say your local government makes the incredibly wise decision to hire GovTech Innovators to facilitate the modernization and/or digital transformation of their event registration and management software. GovTech Innovators gets to work configuring your event management solution, back-office processing and reporting and mobile applications if needed. A short time later and your state of the art event registration system is launched.
Artificial intelligence in low-code platforms has enabled organizations to supercharge their product development lifecycle, enabling citizen developers to rapidly identify and execute design updates, resulting in solutions that meet the intended purpose very well that can be developed, tested and deployed faster than ever.
When your local government achieves digital transformation at this level, the next time you register your child for a sports league or summer camp, the process will be faster and easier! All that time spent managing inefficient processes is now saved and can be re-allocated elsewhere. This results in happier government servants, higher levels of service to constituents and cost savings.
Beyond the realm of digital transformation platforms, when considering a local government’s digital strategy, incorporating artificial intelligence in local governments should include chatbots such as those powered by GPT or Microsoft CoPilot Studio. Local governments can leverage tools such as ChatGPT plus or Microsoft CoPilot Studio to create, modify and train their chatbots via natural language prompts. Google has a product called Gemini that is reported to be very impressive as well.
As an example, a local government could upload their 5 year parks and recreation plan to a GPT chatbot and then train the chatbot on how to correctly interpret the plan. Users who have interest in understanding the details of the plan can query the chatbot and get a fast and accurate answer. Another use case could be to upload a township’s policies on handling delinquent tax debts and training the chatbot to address inquiries relating to delinquent taxes.
Configuring and training a chatbot can be a challenging and frustrating task so don’t hesitate to call your partners at GovTech Innovators to get started!
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