Isle of Man Government has today announced key findings of the recent Digital Services Survey. In summary, the survey has found that:
- 70% of the 1,229 respondents would prefer to use a digital channel for Government services;
- Although there are some good digital services already available, Government must work to provide simpler access to information and services online;
- 88% of respondents want to be in control of their relationship with Government – something digital services can assist with;
- The digital strategy needs to focus on people and meeting customer needs not just technology.
Hon. John Shimmin MHK, Minister for Policy and Reform said:
‘I would like to thank everyone who took the time to share their opinions with us as part of the Digital Services Survey. The survey information is part of a broad piece of work to develop a digital strategy for the next generation of digital services. It is providing clear improvement themes that we can focus on over the next couple of years. We had an excellent level of engagement, with over 1,200 responses and a wide range of constructive feedback. I am also hugely encouraged by the number of people who volunteered to provide more detailed information. This will be vital as we move forward and really start to understand how Government’s digital services can best serve everyone in the Isle of Man.’
The survey, launched on 26th January 2015, concluded on 10th March. It received 1,229 responses, with a good representation from various different age groups. The goal of the consultation was to understand what is working well in today’s digital services for customers through the Government’s website Gov.im and why, identify where improvements are needed and gain insight into the prioritisation of new digital services.
Mark Lewin, Director of Government Technology Services said:
‘We have learned a great deal from this research along with all the other focus groups and I appreciate how honest and constructive every respondent has been. In all, some 35 focus groups with more than 400 participants have taken part in this phase and when viewed with the public survey, it has provided a wealth of information, comments and ideas to shape the strategy.’
Explaining the survey’s conclusions, Mr Lewin commented:
‘Overall the survey found widespread support for digital services, with positive comments around existing services such as income tax, vehicle tax, planning searches and jobs. There was strong feedback to make more services available online, with 70% of respondents telling us that they would prefer to use Government services in this way. Many of the suggestions for future digital services we received were requesting online access to services currently only provided offline or asking us to simplify basic administration processes such as booking, requesting or paying for services.’
‘There were areas for improvement identified; in particular we need to improve the way information is presented to customers. Despite frequent use of Gov.im and the high online capability of respondents, the feedback has shown that people confident in using the internet are not as confident when finding information and services they are looking for on Gov.im. So we need to work on making information easier to access.’
Mr Lewin continued:
‘Another key theme is that people want to be in control of their data and their relationship with Government. This is something that digital services can assist with – increasingly placing the customer in control of their own information. 78% of respondents believe Government should only have to be told once when changing something like names and addresses, 88% want control of their own data and 71% said that they want to be the ones making the decision to access data held by one Department of Government to use a service within another. This is compelling evidence that the public believe that Government needs to fundamentally consider its approach to data ownership and simplify access to services.’
Mr Lewin concluded:
‘This has been an extremely useful exercise and complements all the other focus groups and discussions taking place. This whole process is proving that it’s actually about people first and foremost, not technology. It’s about staff inside Government, who listen, respond and design services around our customers. It’s about our customers who value the service they receive today and are looking for more digital services tomorrow; and it’s about the choices we can all make as citizens and businesses in the Island to use those services.’
‘We do not need to compel people to use digital services. If we invest in understanding the needs of our customers and design digital services with the customer in mind first and foremost as well as keeping them simple and compelling, then those who can use digital services will increasingly choose to do so. This has to be good for the public and good for Government in releasing more capacity to deal with front line services and support initiatives that foster inclusion in an increasingly digital age.'
The Executive Summary of the survey is now available to read on Gov.im and at the Isle of Man Welcome Centre and the Digital Strategy is planned to completed and be presented to Tynwald by June 2015.
