Government information and services are usually delivered through a mix of channels. You can speak to a customer service officer in-person, write a letter to the agency, call an 0800 number, or do a range of things online. You can search, email, pay, e-petition or comment on blogs such as this one – all via the Internet.
Agencies want to make sure that citizens can access services through their preferred channels, and have generally tried to widen the choice of channels in the name of greater accessibility. These good intentions have, however, led to a proliferation of channels as well as some challenges for agencies, such as increasing costs and synchronising information across channels.
Research has shown that people prefer certain channels over others, depending on their needs. The user’s preferred channel may differ according to whether they are trying to find information, make a transaction, or provide their views and feedback. In other words, we may not, as previously assumed, need to make all channels available for all purposes in all contexts. The State Services Commission has recently commissioned a survey on user satisfaction with e-government services, which attempts to investigate such questions more fully.
So, it is interesting to consider rare examples on the other end of the spectrum, like Landonline. Since 2007, Land Information New Zealand started phasing in 100% e-lodgement of all land title transactions and survey plans. Users of such a service are required to use the online channel. What are the drivers for this? When is it justified? How should agencies go about thinking and implementing the online-only option? What lessons can we learn from others?
Robyn Nicholl, the Services Owner for Landonline, will share her learnings from the project at the next Government Online Services Forum on 12 December. This meeting will also provide an opportunity to take a first look at the high-level preliminary results from the State Services Commission’s research on user satisfaction with e-government.
Government Online Services Forum: The online-only option
12th December 2008
Level 5, State Services Commission, 100 Molesworth Street, Wellington
12.15 - 2 PM
To register, emailgosforum@ssc.govt.nz before the meeting.
