Every two years, each major federal agency establishes Agency Priority Goals (APGs). The latest goals — set for the 2024 and 2025 calendar years — highlight how the agencies would like to improve moving forward. The goals announcement discusses a few major objectives, such as the Department of Commerce and Agriculture’s combined push for broadband access, the Department of Health and Human Service’s goal of improved health outcomes, and Veterans Affairs’ efforts to “tackle aspects of homelessness.”
To achieve these admirable goals, agencies must equip their staff with productive and effective technology, to ensure teams can act efficiently and quickly. Technology will prove crucial to organizations that preside over any sized jurisdiction.
Best Practices will Help Agencies Maximize Technology Used to Accomplish Goals
Analysts predict that during the next two years, “accelerating technology trends will cause disruption” in the government sector. Some of the technologies projected to transform agencies include AR/VR, generative AI and automation of repetitive manual activities. As agencies and organizations continue to digitalize services, the technology that enables these digital experiences will continue to evolve and innovate. Developing strategies for the implementation of AI, system integrations, and digital data and records management will be crucial for governments as they advance their digitization initiatives.
For any agency or organization to reach its goals, it must leverage digitization, the cloud and AI to improve internal processes as well as support communities and constituents. The following best practices can help agencies maximize the technology snowball that is quickly growing as it hurtles downhill.
Digitalization best practices: Organizations that haven’t already built a roadmap or strategy for digitizing their agency or department must do so now. They can begin by implementing tools that facilitate digital forms and data collection, while devising automated processes to eliminate some of the traditional manual work employees have been tasked with. The shift to digital data collection will empower organizations to create automated processes for tasks that were historically handled manually, resulting in time savings in the processing and recording of incoming information within agencies. With the staff time saved, organizations and agencies can consider accelerating the migration of paper records into digital ones or take on new high-impact initiatives.
Cloud best practices: Neary three-quarters of public agency leaders anticipate that their need for cloud computing capacity to more than double in the next few years.
Nearly three-quarters of public service leaders anticipate a more than twofold increase in their demand for cloud computing capacity over the next few years. This trend will continue in 2024 as more government institutions make the move to the cloud. Beyond accessibility and redundancy, the cloud also offers scalability and an abundance of tools and applications available for end users.
When transitioning to a cloud solution, decision-makers should evaluate their organizations’ processes to identify inefficiencies and then develop solutions within cloud systems that can help address these gaps. Additionally, it’s vital to examine all the cloud solutions within the organization and determine if and how to integrate them. Efficiency and productivity are compromised when staff must switch between systems to access the information required for their projects or cases.
AI best practices: In 2024, the public sector will continue to explore and consider the role that AI will play in improving communities and ultimately benefiting citizens. AI is an excellent assistant and can be utilized to extract and summarize information, even serving as a 24/7 concierge for constituents. We can anticipate the emergence of numerous AI tools designed for enterprise use, enabling them to operate within a closed system, extracting organizational data for internal purposes rather than public consumption. These are poised to be extraordinary assets for government operations, as they can significantly enhance process efficiency and data management.
Thoughtful Implementation Must Underpin Public Sector Technology Use
As the public sector embarks on a transformative digitalization journey with the cloud and AI, they should navigate the journey with strategic foresight. The integration of cloud technology promises enhanced efficiency and data management while propelling government agencies toward modern, citizen-centric services at the heart of their broader goals. To reap the benefits of the digital era, agencies must embrace these tools thoughtfully and with best practices top of mind.
The author Noel Loughrin is a Strategic Solutions Manager at Laserfiche.