What Government Services Will Look Like In 2020

With the government’s botched rollout of HealthCare.gov, it may be difficult to imagine a future where federal agencies effectively leverage technology to better serve the American public. Yet a vast majority of public-facing government employees believe that by 2020, technology will make that vision a reality.

A new GovLoop survey of more than 250 federal, state and local employees who consider their work to be customer service-related or oriented found that technology holds the keys for ultimately ending the negative perceptions many in the public have about government service.

By 2020, many of those negative perceptions may be put to rest as the analysis and use of big data along with Web-based and mobile platforms radically transform the way government agencies deliver customer service, respondents noted. Among the most promising technologies were improved website design, search and navigation (72 percent), live online chat (52 percent), mobile applications across multiple devices (39 percent), engagement via social media (36 percent) and online discussion forums (33 percent).