For most people, there comes a time when they must come into contact with their government, whether it’s to obtain a driver’s license, appear in court, or apply for social benefits. Regardless of the scenario, government interactions are often synonymous with frustrating logistics and long wait times. Until now.
In this article, you will learn how today's government-to-citizen (G2C) communication, as a part of e-government, is focused on modernizing public services and how video plays a key role.
Many citizens may have to take time off work, travel long distances, and wait in line to access essential government services. All of this takes time, and time is money. For instance, the cost of transportation, parking, childcare, and unpaid time off from work can add up. This can be especially true for low-income families and those living in rural areas. This disproportionately impacts some citizens, causing inequity in accessing government services that should be available to everyone.
G2C agencies can ease some of these challenges using video conferencing by offering remote meetings with citizens. Some of the G2C services that could be made more accessible with video-powered communications include:
Learn how Pexip helped the New Mexico Justice System
to deploy an interoperable, easy-to-use G2C video solution.
It’s only natural that both government workers and citizens are wary of the inefficiencies caused by bureaucratic bottlenecks. Wait times for case processing in some government areas can significantly impact entire communities and citizens’ well-being. At the same time, government bodies are increasingly challenged to provide essential services on a limited budget and use taxpayer funding responsibly.
Video-empowered G2C can help by improving work flexibility and cutting costs. For instance, video chat could drastically reduce overhead costs for government buildings and service centers. Remote meetings reduce the number of employees needed on-premise, and opening hours, parking spaces, and waiting rooms could also be reduced.
In addition, G2C communication leveraging a modern video platform can help reduce wait and processing times for various essential G2C services. This could have a significant effect on services provided by:
One of the most potent ways video can make G2C interactions more effective is its ability to instantly connect citizens and government employees with remote experts and specialists. This possibility provides benefits for many scenarios, including:
In addition to the e-services mentioned above, citizen engagement is another critical aspect of G2C communication. Citizen participation in government processes, decisions, and services was already relatively low in modern times, especially in local government. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, virtual public meetings were implemented widely to support G2C interactions, and suddenly these kinds of gatherings became easier to access, with more opportunities for participation.
In the United States, research by the Center for Digital Government (CDG) found that over 80% of senior government executives in both state and local government reported using virtual public meetings during the pandemic. 37% also said they expected to continue using virtual public meetings as part of the "new normal" going forward.
Virtual public meetings have been used successfully for G2C in other parts of the world, including UK city councils. The increased accessibility and convenience of video break down barriers to citizens participating in their local governments. This is poised to play a fundamental role in sustaining functioning democracies for a long time.
“Multichannel citizen engagement,” listed as one of Gartner's top 10 trends for government technology in 2021Gartner, involves seamless and bidirectional G2C communication in whatever channel citizens prefer. Video meetings through Pexip Engage - our citizen engagement platform to enable government-to-citizen communication - are accessible via any device or browser, making remote or virtual G2C services available even to citizens with older technology or those who are less tech-savvy.
Pexip is designed to take the guesswork out of video meetings, meaning that sessions are always easy to join, with no extra downloads or plug-ins required. Organizations can also add custom branding to meeting screens to assure citizens that they’re in the right place and that their conversation is secure.
As a result of strict regulations and the large volumes of personal data and confidential information shared through G2C interactions, security is one of the prime concerns for deploying video chat for government services. With a strong emphasis on data sovereignty and protection, Pexip’s secure deployment options, including on-premise and in-country private cloud, make it easier to ensure regulatory compliance.
Ready to learn more? See our Government page for more information about Pexip solutions tailored to the unique needs of the public sector.