I’ve been hearing this question more and more lately: “What exactly is a digital service?” And I think it’s time to clarify, because the answer is important to everything we do in government.
Technology is changing quickly. AI is changing how people find and consume information. And the way people interact with government is changing too. Government information is no longer something we simply publish on a website and expect people to find. It is part of a connected set of digital services that help people accomplish something - across websites, mobile devices, online forms, applications, notifications, and the systems working behind the scenes.
But one thing remains constant: Government's responsibility is helping people complete important life tasks.
A digital service helps someone get something done. It might help a resident apply for assistance, renew a license, find a benefit they qualify for, submit a form, check the status of a request, or understand what they need to do next. The website or application is only one part of that experience.
That shift requires a different way of thinking. Building digital services is not just about technology and more, it requires product thinking.
It all starts with the people who will be using this service, understanding what they are trying to accomplish, removing unnecessary complexity, and keep improving the experience based on what we learn.
For agencies, this means success isn’t simply publishing content online. It’s making sure the right information and services are easy to find, understand, access, and use, and continuously improving the things that matter most to the people we serve.
You don’t have to figure it all out on your own! Our Digital Services team can work alongside your agency to help implement: an HTML-first approach, improve accessibility, suggest content strategy, review analytics and set up governance. We help agencies spend less time managing the technology and more time focusing on what matters most: serving North Carolinians.
That is ultimately what Digital Services is about: working with our users, bringing the right people and technology together, and making it easier for North Carolinians to get what they need from government. Creating seamless, accessible, end-to-end experiences across government systems and agencies, and making those services easy to find is at the heart of what we do.