The vision for Digital Programme ‘is to provide a citizen-centred digital environment for the Government to serve its people with the desired information and services in an accessible, consistent and intuitive way.
We want to ensure that our digital services are shaped and prioritised by citizen need.
We are planning on running a public consultation exercise and we are very interested in hearing about learnings from other public consutations, and suggestions on how we can better understand the needs of our citizens and businesses.
Our proposed public consultation brief is outlined below.
Digital Public Consultation Brief
The purpose of this brief is to define how this public consultation will be executed in order for the Government to improve the delivery of digital services.
Citizens and businesses expect to be able to access Government services easily and get what they need in a timely fashion. This consulation involves actively seeking the opinions of interested and affected groups so that we have a clear view on how to meet the citizens and businesses needs for digitalisation of our services.
Our aim is to gain a better understanding of what will make our public services convenient and easy to use, but also trusted.
This consultation is to engage with the public in a genuine, meaningful, timely and balanced way with the ultimate objective of leading to better outcomes and a greater understanding of the digitalisation needs of our citizens.
The purpose of this exercise is to;
- Understand what, if any, other public consultations or surveys have already been executed that will provide data relevant to the digitalisation of services. For example, surveys on citizen and business on-line usage is very relevant in providing contextual information.
- Learn more about the needs and values of the Irish citizens and businesses in regards to service delivery so that:
- We can focus initial digitalisation of services in high priority areas of identified neeeds
- The digitalisation plan will be balanced and reflect the citizens need for services over the short to long-term, at the pace of implementation the public is comfortable with.
- We understand the current level of satisfaction with existing on-line service offerings, and on-line interaction with the public via the various Government websites and gov.ie.
- We understand the assisted digital services needed to enable citizens to interact with digital government services. We recognise that there are barriers to moving whole services online and this consultation will help us size the requirement for assisted digital.
- We understand how the public would ideally choose to use their MyGovID authentication service. For example, the level of services the public is comfortable endorsing the use of their MyGovID account to digitally authenticate identity.
- We understand how the public think about Government digital services and what suggestions, if any, they may have of improving access to digital services. We are open to recommendations on services naming conventions/taxonomy, and suggestions they may have on making Ireland a top digital country for government digitalisation of services.
- Understand how to build confidence in the Government’s approach to digital services and how to identify the management programme for implementation so that:
- A Citizen and business communications plan can be developed to meet their needs
- We understand the concerns and barriers the public has in using Government digital services
- The Government understands how to build trust with our citizens and businesses and this is incorporated into the overall digitalisation programme
Objectives of the Consultation
The context of this consulation is to understand the voice of the public.
This will enable us to develop a digitalistion plan that will reaslise the potential of on-line services, and in the process by understanding the concerns of the citizens and businesses, strong plans can be developed to address these.
The objectives of the public consultation is to gather relevant information in order to:
- Understand what value for our citizens and businesses means.
- Design digital services that truly adds value for people and incorporate these into a clear roadmap on services that have been identified as priority areas for Government to focus its efforts.
- Ensure our digitalisation plan adopts a cohesive approach across all sectors which brings value to citizens and businesses by delivering services in the most effective and efficient way possible.
- Understand the privacy and security needs of our citizens and businesses.
- Understand how to build trust with our citizens and businesses.
- Provide opportunities for the public to engage with their eGovernment Minister and vice-versa
- To understand any legislative requirements there might be to deliver the required outcomes
Stakeholders and Methods
The stakeholders for this public consulation are Irish citizens of all ages and locations in Ireland and potentially the wider Diaspora, including businesses. The aim of the consultation is to hear directly from the public and experts about their ideas and concerns about the MyGovID/public services card, current online services and digital service delivery in general.
We want to engage with the public using a variety of different methods to ensure the the breath and depth of the consulation captures as many different views as possible.
It is envisioned that the interaction will include various methods for capturing data. These are outlined below.
This consulation will kick off with the Traditional Research Services method, and as alternative methods are explored and signed off, these will be initiated in subsequent phases.
Traditional Research Services
We will engage with OGP to run a competiton under the Research Services & Surveys framework. The scope of this work will include defining the survey questionnaire, market sizing and data gathering as recommended by the organisation selected.
Focus Group
The focus group participants are asked questions in an interactive setting and are encouraged to discuss thoughts freely with other participants. Is is expected that the open and free discussions will generate ideas and will provide a wealth of information.
Open Public Input
The main areas feedback is sought on will include;
- My Daily life
- My Child’s needs, including education
- My small business
Participants can chose which sections to complete, as not all questions are relevant to each person.
Online Survey
Public input will be gathered via an online survey. The survey will ask people about digital service and the potential uses of the PSC.
Face to face
It is also proposed to meet citizens face to face in order to ensure sufficient levels of feedback is received from people who do not use online services. Is it envisioned that these interviews will be initiated and conducted in a number of town centres. The same survey will be completed by both on-line and face to face participants
Library & DEASP Offices
To help broaden awareness it is proposed the survey is promoted in libraries and DEASP offices around the country. These may be completed with assistance from staff on-site
The method of completion to be explored and still to be agreed. The preferred option is via a digital survey.
Sector Feedback on On-line Services
Ascertain if the various sectors currently have a process for capturing citizen feedback on the on-line / digital services currently offered, or requests from the public on on-line service enhancements.
Alternative Methods
OGCIO is running this public consultation and alternative methods of public engagement will be explored.
At this stage, alternative methods for further exploration include engaging with ETB’s, Further Education and Training Providers and Third Level Institutions, and mystery shopping.
Training Providers offer a range of eCommerce, Digital and Research courses. The aim is to understand what, if any, options maybe available to hook into existing courses to harness students to work with OGCIO on this exciting public consultation opportunity.
Mystery shopping is a recognised tool to measure the quality of a service. This approach maybe adopted to verify the validity of the feedback from the public surveys and/or as a way to understand the various digital service offerings from a user-centricity perspective.