WPP Gov

Executive Summary

Adobe and The Government & Public Sector Practice pooled their knowledge and expertise to conduct this research. The research, executed by Kantar Public, captured the attitudes and experiences of digital public services of more than 7,000 citizens in seven countries to understand what drives a positive experience of online public services.

The research suggests that, unsurprisingly, citizens expect online public services to be highly functional, efficient and well-designed. More fundamentally however, they also want a positive citizen experience that comes from services tailored to their needs, and which promote a closer state-citizen relationship or dialogue.

At a time when trust in government is at an all-time low across many countries – and when spending on digital services is high – it is critical that governments look beyond functional efficiency and focus on the areas of online services that matter most to citizens in order to build trust, improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and ensure that the benefits of government services are more easily accessed.

Research Context

Digital public services can provide significant cost efficiencies and improve a wide range of outcomes for service users across the public sector, provided they meet the evolving needs and expectations of citizens. But these needs and expectations are not always understood by government departments and agencies: to deliver the best possible digital experience, governments need to look beyond just functionality and focus more on understanding the citizens’ needs to provide tailored, personalised online experiences.

To understand what drives citizen needs and influences their online experiences of government digital services, Adobe and The Government & Public Sector Practice pooled their knowledge and expertise to conduct this research. The research captured the attitudes and experiences of digital public services of more than 7,000 citizens in seven countries where Adobe is working with public sector organizations. A series of thorough qualitative and quantitative research was supplemented by social media analysis.

How Singapore Compares

The Singapore Research was conducted in 2018 and as with the global study, 1000 citizens were surveyed. Overall, the experience in Singapore is positive and consistent with the global average. 9 in 10 have accessed at least one online government service in the past year, from looking for information to providing information for a specific service or application. The appetite for digital engagement is strong. More than half of Singapore citizens would prefer to access all government services online versus offline. Digital government services perform better on the functional areas. It is in the more emotional dimensions of design and relationship that should be prioritised to drive engagement and influence.