Building Civic Trust Through Civic Tech

Civic tech makes it easier for people to interact with government agencies. When well-designed, it improves constituent experiences (CX) and promotes equity and engagement.

A new term to some, “civic tech” relates to technology that directly facilitates CX, constituent experience or communication. It can include applications such as community platforms that connect constituents to services and resources, open data initiatives and participatory budgeting tools. The benefits of thoughtful civic tech are big, and include the potential to promote constituent trust.

Citizens who interact with their local government entities through easy-to-use technology feel more positively about their municipalities. A recent CivicPlus survey of more than 16,000 people indicated that better civic tech facilitates civic trust, and especially when the technology provides self-service options. Among other key findings, American City and Country reported that constituents who access their city’s website more than once a month have almost five times the amount of trust in their city than those who don’t access it much, if ever.

In a world where so much can be completed online, constituents need accessible effective virtual connections to government agencies, just as they have with commercial entities they interact with daily.

As agencies introduce artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations, there’s more possibility for enhanced civic tech — and therefore enhanced civic trust — at the federal, state and local levels. Chatbots can now speak to people in more languages, and weather alerts can be translated instantly, which means more constituents are included and served. Cities can use AI for more targeted and informed efforts in urban planning, traffic management, environmental initiatives, wildlife monitoring, crime and violence prevention, social services and in a variety of ways that improve the health of cities and the lives of residents. AI can also reveal weaknesses in local government’s digital services and what constituents feel they lack in their connections with government. By analyzing citizen data more efficiently, agencies can connect with constituents in a way that better engages them and meets their needs.

When constituents have the technical capability to meet their own civic needs, or at least to communicate what they need, they feel both empowered and included in civic life. And when agencies at all levels seek to make civic life less burdensome through employing better civic tech, residents trust their government more.

Image by Frederico Beccari on Unsplash