An Introduction to Government Use of SMS

State Services Commission Crown Copyright

An Introduction to Government Use of SMS State Services Commission Crown Copyright

How it’s going to go • Why SMS? • What the Introduction is and what it isn’t • Case studies • Lessons learnt • Where to from here? State Services Commission Crown Copyright

First, a caveat: Think first about a problem you have that you need to solve. Then consider if SMS may provide a solution to. Don’t jump on the SMS bandwagon just because it is new(ish) and shiny. State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Why SMS? • 90% of people in NZ own a cell phone • SMS can be used for communication AND service delivery • Plenty of corporations are doing it, so it is an entrenched part of society • There is buzz around 3G, iPhones, mobile internet and so on but SMS is holding strong State Services Commission Crown Copyright

About the Introduction • It is a collection of case studies and some lessons learnt • It is meant to be a starting place for agencies considering SMS • It is not a definitive guide to everything you need to know, nor is it law State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Case Studies In this talk I’m not going to go into great detail, but the Introduction isn’t signed off yet, and Chatham House rule apply. State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Four case studies: • MED • Immigration NZ • Collections • Electoral Enrolment Centre State Services Commission Crown Copyright

TXTB4UBUY (the MED) • People can text in the number plate of a second-hand car before they buy it, to check if there are any unpaid fines or the like on the car. • On average, in 2008 there were 2500 text inquiries per month. • Having the search available via text message makes it accessible when people need it the most – when they’re in car yards. State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Immigration New Zealand (Department of Labour) • SMS updates on work permit status • Reduces calls to call-centre = great value for money • Potential to mine data further • They have had overwhelmingly good feedback from the scheme State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Collections (The Ministry of Justice) • Collections Wellington ran a pilot scheme using text-messaging to contact people to remind them that they were due in court the next day. • Attendance rates have risen from 60% to a 90% attendance rate. • SMS is a non-intrusive way of contacting people State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Electoral enrolment centre • Since 2002 the EEC have let people request enrolment packs via SMS. • They receive a large response – 124,000 before 2008 election • 37% of people who signed up for the electoral roll in the last six months before the 2008 election requested an enrolment form by text. • The service is free to users with EEC paying the text costs State Services Commission Crown Copyright

What agencies thought were the best things about SMS • Improved service delivery (really good feedback) • Efficient one-way communications channel • People have their cellphones with them, immediacy of messaging • Large audience, most people text • People who may not have landlines will still often have cellphones • Non-intrusive State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Lessons learnt: SMS is exactly that – a short message State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Privacy issues need to be considered State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Get your records management team involved from Day One. State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Protecting the authenticity of text messages from the government is vital State Services Commission Crown Copyright

SMS is a two-way communications channel State Services Commission Crown Copyright

SMS services are sometimes delayed and may not be ideal for time-critical messages State Services Commission Crown Copyright

SMS can be helpful for those who are hearing-impaired State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Paid services delivered via SMS can be charged to the customer easily State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Consider your customer’s preference for how they would like to be contacted State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Have a plan for a massive response and also no response at all State Services Commission Crown Copyright

How will agencies define success? State Services Commission Crown Copyright

The SMS service may need to be promoted and customers may need to opt-in State Services Commission Crown Copyright

The use of SMS by a government agency may have an impact beyond the team it emerges from State Services Commission Crown Copyright

SMS may be superseded by another technology in the future State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Where to next? 1. Read it! 2. Share your own experiences! 3. Talk to Victoria University about it! 4. Report back to groups like this! State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Read it – just as soon as it’s finished The Introduction to Government Use of SMS will be available soon at these locations near you: State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Introduction to Government Use of SMS available from: • The Participation Wiki: http://wiki.participation.e.govt.nz/wiki/Main_Pa State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Introduction to Government Use of SMS available from: • The E-Initiatives Wiki http://initiatives.e.govt.nz/wiki/E-initiatives What is the e-initiatives wiki? This site is a library of interesting projects across the New Zealand Public Sector that you can edit. What is an e-initiative? Any project across Government, often involving some kind of information and communications technology. State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Introduction to Government Use of SMS available from: • Web Standards Wiki http://webstandards.govt.nz/index.php/Home_ The New Zealand Government Web Standards and Recommendations aim to help government make well- designed web sites that enable access regardless of disability, web browser, mobile device, or connection speed. State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Introduction to Government Use of SMS available from: • Me! joanna.mcleod@ssc.govt.nz I’m also happy to meet with you to discuss the Introduction in greater depth. As long as you contact me before June 30, that is. State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Victoria University Research Effective Electronic Records Management in the 21st Century The project is led by Professor Miriam Lips with research activities by Anita Rapson and Tony Hooper. Anita.Rapson@vuw.ac.nz State Services Commission Crown Copyright

Any questions? State Services Commission Crown Copyright

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An Introduction to Government Use of SMS

by JoannaTMcLeod on Jun 10, 2009

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An Introduction to Government Use of SMS — Presentation Transcript