gov talk
HARDIK BHATT CIO, CITY OF CHICAGO
A new, new
government way Governments that can provide better citizen services will attract more global investment and talent in today’s flat world
D
o you remember the experience you had last time when you stood in a queue to pay your water bill? It was hot, humid and you were behind a hundred other people. You had to be away from your office for two hours to take care of this errand…When was it the last time? Well, if you live in Chicago, chances are that it happened in a distant past. Like at your favorite cellular company, a major paradigm shift would have changed things in the government service delivery. Yes, in order to continue to provide effective government services, the delivery methods have to change and they are changing. It is becoming very important to reach customers where they are, in cost effective ways, rather than expecting that they will come to the City Hall as per its 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, schedule. Providing citizen services on-line, rather than in-line, is becoming a new paradigm of government services. Unlike brick-and-mortar operations, online services are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In Chicago, businesses can apply for a new license
or renew their existing ones, pay their business taxes, get renovation permits for their shops and schedule inspections—all online. If you are a resident, you can buy your vehicle permit; pay your parking ticket fines and water bills—all online. Chicago offers over 400 online services. As a result of this sustained shift, Chicago increased its online revenue collection from $67 Million in 2006 to $286 Million in 2009. And as technologies change, people’s preferences change as well. The millennium generation knows their social networking friends better than the next door neighbour. Even parents need to send a tweet to talk to their kids today. However, many a governments, today are ahead of their private sector counterpart, on this front. City and County of San Francisco’s Facebook page has 259,000 fans. Los Angeles Police Department is using Facebook and Twitter to apprehend suspects of riots following the LA Lakers’ NBA championship rally. Chicago too uses numerous social networking tools to reach out to its constituents. What is driving this change in the government?
It is understandable why the private sector always looks for new and innovative ways of providing services to stay ahead of the competition. But where is the competition for the government? Who is going to drive the government ‘out of business?’ Well, while a government may not go out of business, businesses will go out of that inefficient government. Every major city is competing for the same global resources. A fresh graduate could decide to live in any part of the world, where there are better opportunities and a better quality of life. A new business could start anywhere where better capital, talent and business environment is available. In this ‘flattened world,’ the government’s role is to create an environment that attracts the best of the best from around the globe to their cities. So next time, before you stand in line for paying your water bill, check if you can sit in your air-conditioned office to take care of that errand while selling computers to your new client. If you cannot do that, it is time to look for a city that provides you with that experience, because your city may not remain in ‘business’ for long.
must study Who’s Your City? Author: By Richard Florida Publisher: Basic Books Price: INR 679/It is an excellent book to understand the paradigm shift in government service delivery and why some cities attract better talent and resources than others.
July 2010 / www.egovonline.net / egov
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