Federal managers and other government leaders “continue to recognize the value of digital technology, believing it improves workflow and operations, increases productivity, makes agencies more effective at achieving goals, and helps government better serve stakeholders,” a report by the National Academy of Public Administration says.
Those views are held even more strongly than in a similar report a year ago, with for example 72 percent now believing that digital technology had increased their agency’s productivity, up by 10 points. There also were significant increases in those saying they believe that digital technology has helped transform normal operations, those who report that their agencies use it to effectively engage stakeholders, and in those who want greater access because they believe it will make them more productive.
However, they “remain concerned that the public sector lags behind a private sector where leading companies appear to adopt and apply digital technology faster—and at an accelerating rate—more effectively than the government. Those in the private sector face security concerns that are similar to the government, but most do not share the government’s bureaucratic and regulatory hurdles.”
Lack of available budget remains the most commonly cited barrier to greater implementation, cited by 62 percent of respondents, followed by security/privacy concerns, by 53 percent, and slow acquisition procedures, by 40 percent. In each case those concerns were several percentage points below those of the prior report, however.
There also was some improvement in views of agency training of employees to use new technology effectively, but 56 percent still believe their agency does not do it adequately.
