Page 32 - GCN, June/july 2017

INDUSTRY INSIGHT
BY JESSE BERST
The race to become ‘digital by default’ will have winners and losers
AS CHAIRMAN OF THE SMART CITIES COUNCIL,
I get an inside look at the plans and progress of the world’s cities. I can verify that high-performing governments are reinventing the way they provide services. They are going digital and delivering city functions via web, smart- phone and kiosks. By doing so, they are saving money while simultaneously increas- ing citizen satisfaction.
Equally important, digital cities are boosting their economic development by at- tracting tech-savvy businesses and talent.
Much of the smart-city conversation centers on in- put, such as sensor networks that pull in data about the city’s conditions. But output is equally important. Citizens and businesses increasingly demand the kind of digital convenience they routinely get from Amazon, Facebook, Google, banks and others.
Cities don’t need an expensive sensor network to get started. They are already sitting on troves of data from their legacy applications. They simply need to com- mit to “digital by default,” a pledge to eventually deliver all services through digital channels. Pioneered in the United Kingdom, that con- cept has since been adopted by dozens of national, state, provincial, county and city governments.
According to one British study, it can cost 50 times less to deliver services digitally versus face to face and 20 times less than doing so by phone.
The trend is so important that the council has added a new chapter on digital city services to its Smart Cit-
ies Readiness Guide, a free handbook for urban trans-
tions are completed digitally. For instance, documents are electronically signed, and updates are sent to users who report problems via a smartphone.
6. Personalized. Applica- tions “recognize” users and know their preferences and key data.
7. Proactive. Alerts are sent for warnings, opportunities or
regulations as customer ser- vice, so employees must often first go through an attitude adjustment.
Part of that adjustment involves understanding that “smart cities” is more than a trend — it’s a race. Cities that take off early will prosper at the expense of those that miss this opportunity.
At the end of the last
28 GCN JUNE/JULY 2017 • GCN.COM
Cities that invest in digital services can save money and attract tech-savvy businesses at the expense of cities that fail to do so.
formation. It documents 16 flavors of digital services and five best practices gleaned from cities worldwide. One of those best practices remains poorly understood by many government officials though it is quite familiar to technolo- gists: customer-centric design.
Here are the 11 character- istics of such solutions:
1. Single account. Users sign on once for access to all city services.
2. One-time data entry.
Data is shared across depart- ments so citizens don’t have to re-enter it.
3. Multichannel. Citizens can access services through any channel.
4. Self-service. Citizens have an option for self-service whenever possible.
5. Fully digital. Transac-
completion notices.
8. Instrumented. Applica- tions capture information about how, when and where they are used so officials can continuously improve perfor- mance.
9. Standards-based. Ap- plications are built on open standards.
10. Trustworthy. Solutions adhere to citywide privacy and security policies.
11. Integrated with so- cial media. Users can easily post to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other sites without leaving a city’s app.
It’s not a new idea that governments should be customer-centric. In practice, however, it can be difficult. City officials generally do not think of issuing permits, giving tickets or enforcing
century, some cities — San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Austin, London, Singapore and others — jumped onto the technology bandwagon. They welcomed technology companies that attracted talented employees and then brought in more companies that became a magnet for more talented employees — and around and around in
an upward spiral. Cities that failed to embrace the technol- ogy boom lost out, and many of them continue to struggle.
We often talk about the digital divide that prevents the disadvantaged from climbing out of poverty. In the years to come, that divide will apply to cities as well. •
— Jesse Berst is founder and chairman of the Smart Cities Council.