Digital tools and new technologies could have a massive impact on how government services are accessed and delivered—if governments can harness them in a way that benefits all citizens. That depends on more then just timely tech investments. Governments around the globe are rethinking how they communicate with citizens, how they handle data, and how they can make services more comprehensible across the board.

In this episode, we speak with Michele Causey and Jean Barroca about the promise and challenges of digital service delivery. Causey served in the US Department of Treasury for several years before joining Deloitte Consulting LP, where she leads the digital government transformation practice. Barroca worked on smart cities, mobility, and open data projects in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa for the World Bank, where he was part of the Innovation Lab team. He now serves as the global public sector digital modernization leader for Deloitte Technology SA. 

Barroca notes that thinking of digital service delivery as simply a tech issue could miss the point: “One of the things that is critical is for governments to stop doing digital and start being digital. And the way for that to happen is that the whole organization revolves around how to create the best experience taking advantage of technology.”

 We look at governments that are making strides in providing digital services, from a state that transformed applying for a business license into a one-stop process, to a nation that brought its citizens together to plan for a postpandemic future. We consider how a life-event approach to service delivery could transform interactions with government, and we talk to someone looking at how to achieve that on a national scale. Finally, we consider the challenges associated with widespread adoption of digital government, and consider how to ensure that digital service delivery does not itself become an obstacle to obtaining needed benefits.