Delivering services on-line, not in line: 3 Es of Branding for Government

 

 

 

The increased thrust on e-governance is fast transforming the traditional notion of public administration to modern notion of ‘public management’. Although governments are hardly a harbinger of Internet innovation, yet use of the net to deliver services by governments world over, seem to be something like a silent revolution over the past few years. The real value of e-governance does not lie merely in putting public services on-line, but it has more to do with the ability ‘to force its agencies to rethink, reorganize, and streamline their delivery before doing’. The offices are meant to facilitate the customers, i.e.., citizens, not to frustrate the customers. The online facilities tend to lessen such frustrations of the customers by facilitating untaxing services catered to them. It is an established fact now that citizens love to be on-line instead of waiting painfully in line, for accessing services delivered by governments. In the online system, there are lesser risks of errors and biases. Fashioning more and more services on-line, improves efficiency, enhances effectiveness and makes the experience better for the target customers i.e., citizens, here.

The above reality brings us to the point that though Efficiency, Effectiveness and Experience (3 Es)— all three are essential to be a successful public management system, but primarily it's the experience part that makes all the difference, as far as delivery of services to the citizens is concerned.

It is, therefore, the fundamental question for governments to ponder over as to how a proportionate balance is maintained amongst efficiency, effectiveness and experience? It should always be clear that e-governance is purely in pursuit of delivering a better experience as efficiency and effectiveness of government machinery will lose its purpose if these do not facilitate a pleasant experience for citizens. To borrow the words of my teacher Prof Nader Tavassoli, if it (read e-governance) really is about experience, the vital question is  how do policy makers design and deliver experiences?