Optimizing Government with Data-Driven Citizen Engagement

1. Optimizing
Government with
Data-Driven
Citizen Engagement
Sponsored by:Written by Alan Webber

2. EB-7970 > 0414 > PAGE 2 OF 8
Executive Summary
The bar has been raised and citizens are expecting better
experiences and higher levels of engagement from
government agencies. After all, if Amazon, Blue Cross/Blue
Shield, eBay, Wells Fargo and other private sector firms can
do it, why can’t government? Just like the private sector,
government needs to make sure it is delivering the right
services, manage and reduce the cost of delivering services,
and increase citizen satisfaction.
The good news for government agencies is that there are
technologies and platforms able to provide more insight
about citizens, services, and processes that can make
government not only more effective in delivering what
citizens want, but also making sure that they get what
they need through more cost effective delivery channels.
For example, the State Courts in Nebraska were facing an
increased number of filings with the resulting attached
workload while at the same time facing significant budget
constraints. As a result, an application that allowed for online
filing of motions and other actions in front of the courts
was developed and implemented. The result was that an
estimated 15,000 hours of court employee time was saved,
expenses of the courts and attorneys was reduced, and there
was a higher level of standardization1
. As long as the will is
there, the technologies and platforms exist for government
to operate on par with the best private sector examples.

3. EB-7970 > 0414 > PAGE 3 OF 8
Citizen Engagement
Should Be A Priority
In his Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln referred to a govern-
ment that was “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Now,
over 150 years later, technology is able to provide the ability to create
the level of engagement and interaction between government and its
citizens that Lincoln and others envisioned, commonly referred to as
citizen engagement. But ask most citizens their opinion and govern-
ment still is not there.
Fundamental to improving citizen engagement is understanding
what citizen engagement is and what it is not – according to the
citizen, rather than government or a consultant. Citizen engagement
is not just a nice Web site, or a quick phone tree, or a new channel on
Twitter. Citizen engagement is more, though all of those contribute to
citizen engagement. Citizen engagement is a set of technologies and
processes such as public participation, collaborative governance, digi-
tal democracy, eGovernment and others that contribute to a nucleus
of citizens being able to better engage with, dialogue with, participate
in, and be served by the established model of governance.
Though often supported and developed through various underly-
ing technology platforms, citizen engagement is platform agnostic
and can happen in-person, on the phone, via email, through a Web
site, other platforms, or across all of them. The primary promises of
citizen engagement are to engage citizens and business with govern-
ment, to improve the efficiency of how government operates, and to
improve the effectiveness of government programs.
Citizen Satisfaction Highs And Lows
Through traditional brick-and-mortar service centers, a significant
increase in government’s Web presence, and even pushing into new
channels on social media, the foundation of citizen engagement has
been successfully established. Citizen engagement is shifting to more
online interactions and, in general, citizens seem to be pleased with
eGovernment efforts up to this point.
Current citizen satisfaction with U.S. digital government is solid
and government websites as a channel for engagement are well
established. According to the most recent ACSI E-Government
Satisfaction Index, the 105 Federal websites that were examined
scored an average of 74.9 on a 100-point scale (down from a high
of 76 in 2009) with a score of 80 being considered excellent2
. This
channel seems to work well for those Americans who have access
to the internet, know which agency to contact to get help with their
problem or information request, or have a problem that is actually
solvable by government.
But, as it has been pointed out, citizen engagement is more then just
having a great Web site to disseminate static information, or using
Survey Monkey to gain a basic insight into citizen preferences, or
having a presence on Facebook or Twitter like @SF311 to respond to
citizen requests. For example, not everyone has consistent, reliable
access to the Internet and the knowledge to be able to use it to get
their question answered, or respond to a survey, or initiate action on
a problem they have. Or technology may not have the solution yet,
because some agencies still require face-to-face interactions such as
most Departments of Motor Vehicles offices. Or government may feel
overwhelming for citizens, with some being confused by which of the
over 450 different Federal agencies they should call for their particu-
lar issue3
. Even some of the best planned and promoted efforts with
significant resources behind them, like the launch of Healthcare.gov,
fall flat or fail to meet citizen expectations.
Current citizen engagement efforts are great starts, but more needs
to be done to get from dissemination to engagement to collaboration
for true citizen engagement. Given that government is further bound
by other limitations such as constrained budgets, shrinking staffs
and larger workloads, data management issues, privacy, and other
problems, citizen engagement still has a long ways to go.
“We have not solved the citizen engagement
problem. What we have done so far is establish
a small foundation for digital engagement
between citizens and government.”
–– Web Manager, Federal government agency

4. EB-7970 > 0414 > PAGE 4 OF 8
Four Stages Of Citizen
Engagement
To understand where citizen engagement should be evolving,
government agencies need to understand the maturity curve for
citizen engagement. This maturity curve for citizen engagement
stretches from the lowest level of informing the citizen to the
highest level of collaboration between citizen and government that
produces outcomes greater than either could have produced indi-
vidually (see Figure 1).
The benefits to government agencies of moving beyond informing up
the stages of engagement and collaboration are numerous. For exam-
ple, with revenue agencies’ improved citizen engagement, studies
have shown increased tax compliance and decreased delinquencies.
In other cases, improved citizen engagement leads to increased
government efficiency, such as through reductions in paperwork and
faster processing through digital systems. But agencies need to move
beyond just informing citizens. To match what citizens expect and
the experience that the best in class private sector firms are providing
along with realizing the returns on efficiency and effectiveness that
improved citizen engagement provides, government agencies need
to move from just informing citizens to engaging and collaborating
with them.
Stage 1: Inform
The lowest level of engagement involves primarily one-directional
communication and outreach from government entities to citizens
with limited feedback and input channels from citizens, usually via
public hearings and other feedback methods. The primary purpose of
this level is to inform the public.
Stage 2: Dialogue
The next level of engagement involves different forms of facilitated
dialogue between citizens and government agencies. At this level,
information is gathered from citizens, either actively such as input
into a form or passively such as through web measurement technolo-
gies. In this stage, there is a lack of back-end processes and systems
to drive value from the data and other data sources back to both the
government and the citizen. Citizens are enabled to interact and par-
ticipate but still on a limited basis. There is often not a feedback loop
back to the citizen on how the information was used and the result.
Stage 3: Engagement
The third stage of citizen engagement is that of a fully mature
citizen-to-government relationship. At this point, both government
and citizen engage in a relationship that is useful to both, but does
not generate extraneous value. Government more openly com-
municates the value of the products and services it provides to
citizens, based upon learned or expressed preferences, with more
focus on the establishment of a long-term relationship. These
services are often personalized based upon these preferences and
managed throughout the lifecycle of engagement. The citizen is able
to choose, on their own, to more actively engage as a part of the
process and provide immediate or near-immediate feedback on the
use of the information.
Stage 4: Collaborate
The final stage of citizen engagement is beyond what most govern-
ment agencies will be able to attain, but represents those unique
programs and agencies that can truly and fully partner with citizens.
At this level, there is not a prescribed set of solutions but unique per-
sonalized solutions are developed within the context of the program
and then a preferred solution is identified that meets both govern-
ment and citizen needs.
Though much great work has been done, citizen engagement is near-
ing a plateau with most government agencies stagnating at either the
Inform stage or the Dialogue stage.
Figure 1. Four Stages of Citizen Engagement. Adapted from IAP2
STAGE 1
Inform
STAGE 2
Dialogue
STAGE 3
Engagement
STAGE 4
Collaboration

5. EB-7970 > 0414 > PAGE 5 OF 8
Data Drives The Next
Phase Of Engagement
Citizens have become accustomed to outstanding experiences from
consumer companies like Amazon, Starbucks, Apple, Netflix, and
others. In order to continue to improve citizen engagement, agencies
need to adopt government-specific models of engagement similar to
top consumer firms. This evolution starts by shifting to data-driven
citizen engagement.
Data-driven citizen engagement is a continuous set of interactions
that are a loop between learning about what the citizen wants and
then using that information to drive better engagement and service
delivery (see Figure 2). Government has different constraints on its
ability to collect data about citizens and interactions with citizens,
primarily driven by privacy concerns. It is likely that this tension
between privacy and improved services will not go away soon. But in
order to provide the experiences and services citizens say they want
and need, and that agencies are more and more being asked to pro-
vide, government needs to be able to collect appropriate information
about citizens, successfully engage through third-party platforms
and use the data available through these channels.
Teradata broke down data-driven citizen engagement into four areas:
Integrate and understand what the citizen wants.
Government agencies have the potential to tap into a number of
different streams of information about the citizens they serve.
This data comes from experience and previous delivery of the same
or similar services, analytics about who is using which channel
(including Web sites, mobile platforms, social media, email,
brick-and-mortar), and data provided by the citizens themselves.
Analyze and learn about citizen preferences
and behavior.
Once the agency has begun to gather these different streams of
data, the data needs to be analyzed for what citizens like and do
not like, what the normal and optimal interaction paths look like,
Figure 2. Data-Driven Citizen Engagement. Adapted from Teradata

6. EB-7970 > 0414 > PAGE 6 OF 8
what general behavior patterns citizens have around the issue or
program, what affects citizen behavior, and what insights can be
developed from this to assist in better service delivery.
Act to optimize communications.
Based upon the data gathered and the insights from that data,
agencies need to act to optimize the communications channels
employed, the messaging sent based upon citizen segmentation
models, and the processes for engaging with citizens with the goal
of optimizing citizen understanding of the agency, program, and
service delivery model.
Execute and deliver.
Once agencies have the necessary information based upon the data
and derived insight, it is now time to deliver the requested and neces-
sary communications and services in a consistent manner through
multiple channels that are targeted towards specific citizen group
attributes and personalized when possible, thus increasing the value
delivered to the citizen.
“The next phase of eGovernment is employing
data and analytics to provide targeted and
personalized solutions for citizens and
communities.”
–– Digital Engagement Manager, Large metropolitan city
Using Social Channels For Good
If you find a pothole on the street in front of your
house or that there is a street light out down the
block, and if you happen to live in San Francisco,
all it takes to let the city know and move towards
resolution is twitter. The City of San Francisco
launched SF311 as a way for citizens to engage with
city government and track the engagement other
than by standing in line or calling a phone number
and then waiting on hold. SF311 is San Francisco’s
primary platform for citizen engagement, providing
information and access to some city services via
digital platforms including a web site, a mobile
app, and via common social media channels. One
of the most forward thinking parts of the SF311
effort was to develop a process for engaging and
handling citizen requests via twitter in 2009. Since
that initial launch, the city has continued to develop
and deploy new methods and platforms for
engaging with citizens including the recent launch
of SF311 mobile apps for iOS and Android platforms
that functions on the same database the city
customer service representatives use. Today in
San Francisco you can initiate a service request,
track that request, and see the resolution across a
multitude of platforms and devices.
IRS Rethinks Citizen Engagement
“There are only two sure things in life – death and taxes” or so the old truism from Benjamin Franklin goes. And
though taxes are not going to go away, at least the IRS is working to make the experience for the citizen less
painful. For example, the IRS has developed and deployed an app called “IRS2go” that allows citizens to fulfill their
four most frequent online requests via a mobile app. The four types of engagement that the app provides include
checking on the status of a refund, receiving tax law updates via twitter, order a copy of your tax record, and find
contact information for relevant agency personnel, all via mobile app. This app matches the functionality of some
of the more commonly used citizen engagement aspects on the agency web site and taps into the agency’s rich
set of data. Though it won’t reduce your tax bill, it does make interacting with the IRS a bit easier.

7. EB-7970 > 0414 > PAGE 7 OF 8
Next Steps: Four Steps To Data-Driven
Citizen Engagement
3. Learning and leveraging best practices.
Moving beyond the simple high ROI changes to the next stage of
citizen engagement requires a significant amount of time and energy
on the part of an agency. The best way to get there is to learn from
and leverage mistakes and successes of other government agencies
and programs. Government leaders need to start by being clear in
their understanding of what the intended outcome is based upon
what the government agency wants and needs from the interaction,
as well as what the citizen wants and needs. Too often, what works as
an engagement strategy and process in one agency will not necessar-
ily work in another. Officials can then learn from other government
agencies and public companies that have gone before them about
what works, what does not, and why. Then, they actually need to
apply these lessons to the program they are leading.
4. Keeping it simple.
As almost anyone who has served in government knows, it is easy
for any government program or effort to grow in complexity quickly.
The same can be said for citizen engagement efforts – as new
channels are added, new metrics are developed and included,
changes are made to interaction patterns all in the name of “improv-
ing engagement” but too often just complicating the process and
generating no additional value. Everything that can be done by
agency leaders to reduce complexity and keep engagement efforts
simple should be done. Agency leaders should evaluate every new
effort, process, channel, and technology that is introduced to
understand the impact and ensure that the tradeoff in complexity is
matched with an equal or greater value to government.
Government agencies have reached a new milestone with the
ability to adopt the best-in-class technologies, platforms, and
practices of both the private sector and the best government
programs. Government agencies can now use data and platforms
that engage with citizens and provide service experiences that are
best-in-class by understanding what the citizen wants, optimize
communications and services against that understanding, and then
deliver services within an experience that is as good as they could
receive in the private sector.
Citizen expectations about how government engages with citizens
and the experience these activities provide will continue to increase,
driven by the experiences and interactions they receive from the
private sector. At the same time, the constraints against govern-
ment adopting best-in-class data-driven examples from both other
government agencies and the private sector are falling away. The only
constraint is acting, and to get to data-driven citizen engagement
government leaders need to start by:
1. Adopting an integrated citizen view.
There is the potential for any government agency or program to
quickly generate and collect enough data that the engagement
channels, data, processes, and even the insights become overly
complex and unwieldy. Instead of falling into that trap, agency
leaders need to leverage technology. The primary approach to
converting all of this data and insights into usable information is
through the use of integrated engagement management suites and
similar tools to integrate the data and deliver the necessary insights.
2. Evaluating internal and external processes to
identify targets.
Agency leaders must constantly and consistently analyze and
evaluate internal and external engagement processes to understand
what is working, evaluate what is not working, and fix what is broken
against the integrated citizen view. As agency managers evaluate
processes, there will be areas that are identified as having a high level
of citizen interest. When mapped against available technologies in
the market, specific features and efforts can be identified with a
relatively high level of return against investment. These high ROI
efforts maybe as simple as putting certain government forms and
processes online, creating mobile apps that meet specific citizen
needs, or opening government data sets to citizen and private sector
use. With a continuous cycle of evaluation and improvement,
government managers are able to ensure that all engagement efforts
remain both useful and usable for the citizen and the agency while
improving agency efficiency and effectiveness.

8. EB-7970 > 0414 > PAGE 8 OF 8
End Notes
1. See the NASCIO case study of the Nebraska Court’s efforts at
http://www.nascio.org/publications/documents/eFiling-for-
District-and-County-Courts-in-Nebraska.pdf
2. The ACSI ForeSee E-Government Customer Satisfaction Index
for Q3 2013 lays out the scores for different Federal government
agency Web sites as a measure for eGovernment. Citizen
satisfaction with Federal government Web sites has dropped since
2009 but has remained relatively steady for the last two years.
http://www.foresee.com/research-white-papers/_downloads/
e-gov-q3-2013-foresee.pdf.
3. The most current list of U.S. Federal agencies can be found on
the USA.gov Web site at http://www.usa.gov/directory/federal/
index.shtml.
4. There were early indications of issues with the launch of the
Healthcare.gov platform and the experience it would provide
to citizens. Failure to heed those warnings because of political
sensitivity resulted in an almost catastrophic failure of the
program at launch. See http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/us/
politics/from-the-start-signs-of-trouble-at-health-portal.html.
5. The citizen engagement stages are adapted from a presentation
by Alan Webber of Forrester Research title From eGov to iGov
available at http://www.adobe.com/engagement/pdfs/forrester_
from_egovt_to_igovt.pdf and the Public Participation Spectrum
framework constructed and published by the International
Association for Public Participation at http://www.iap2.org.
6. See two articles on how citizen engagement has effected tax
collection in Europe - Feld, L. and Torgler, B. (2007) “Tax Morale
After the Reunification of Germany: Results from a Quasi-Natural
Experiment.” CESifo Working Paper No. 1921. And Feld, L.P., and
B.S. Frey (2007) “Tax Compliance as the Result of a Psychological
Tax Contract: The Role of Incentives and Responsive Regulation”,
Law and Policy 29: 102–20.
All rights reserved. No portion of this report may be reproduced or stored in any form without prior written permission. Teradata and the Teradata logo are registered trademarks of
Teradata Corporation and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and worldwide.
Biography
Alan Webber is the Principal Analyst at Asymmetric Insights. Alan
is a public sector professional with more than 20 years of analyst,
management, and technology experience working with government
vendors and government clients. Alan advises clients around the
globe on issues pertaining to digital government, eGovernment, and
technology adoption/disruption as well as digital risk and privacy.
During his career Alan has been a Partner and analyst at the Altim-
eter Group covering digital risk, a Principal Analyst covering public
sector at Forrester Research, and has led various strategic planning,
performance management, eGovernment, and Web initiatives for the
US government at the Department of the Interior and the National
Science Foundation. Alan has also been a technology, management
and performance consultant in the government market. He has also
implemented enterprise-wide ERP and business systems and man-
aged the accounting department for a Fortune 500 subsidiary.
Alan has been quoted in numerous business and technology publica-
tions including B2B Magazine, Business Week, The Washington
Post, Government Computer News, Congressional Quarterly, CIO
Magazine, CIO Today, Government Technology, and French CIO
Magazine among others.