Fostering inclusive growth through G2C service delivery models

Executive summary p2/ Assessing the G2C service delivery scenario p3/ Why
e-governance is yet to gain momentum?p5/ Why is digital engagement important? p6/
Getting it right: Putting the citizen first p8/ Conclusion p10/

Digital engagement for

inclusive governance

www.pwc.in
Executive summary
As citizens become more aware of their rights, they have
become more demanding as the primary consumers of
government services. Failure to deliver in time and with
required agility fails to meet expectations which in turn results
in diminishing confidence in the government delivery system.
 Effective public service today, should be characterised by
transparency, efficiency and accountability. Further, to cater to
the young generation, government agencies need to consider
fresh strategies to deliver services through the digital medium.
This can extend the reach of delivered services to the wider
population and also help in faster adoption.
 This report explores the opportunity of effective service
delivery through new digital media. New media not only
aims to meet the demand of the new generation, but also
recommends to the government the means of bringing about
greater agility in service delivery and saving cost. This report
focusses on examining the divide between the expectations
of the new generation and the conventional service delivery
channels and studying the current trends as exhibited by our
young citizens, to finally set the stage for G2C service delivery.
 Assessing the G2C Out of India’s 1.2 billion
population, almost

service delivery 70% reside in rural areas.

scenario 33%
India’s rural teledensity
E-governance initiatives in India have traditionally been
confronted with the dual challenges of automating government
Out of about 1.2 billion population,
departments and taking online services to the common man.
In India, it is not feasible to emulate the western models of there are already around

929 million
e-governance as more than three-fourth of the population lives in
rural areas, with a large section still illiterate. However, we cannot
do away with e-governance implementation nor can we afford to mobile subscriptions.
neglect the rural population. Hence, innovative solutions that suit
the typical needs of Indian society are the need of the hour.
Unfortunately though, existing service disbursal schemes have Government services through a citizen’s lifecycle
become synonymous with painful delays and inefficiency.
These issues can be largely attributed to the manual processes • Birth certificate
Child
that involve long approval workflows and capturing redundant • Healthcare
information through numerous forms.
Absence of a centralised database means minimal data-sharing • School admission
between government agencies. This only prolongs the difficulty • Scholarships
Student
of a citizen looking to avail multiple services. • Elearning
• Examination results
Until recently, requesting for any such service necessitated
multiple visits to the nearest service delivery centre where
information had to be submitted through a set of forms. This was • Employment services
usually followed by a spate of verifications and approvals, further • Driver’s licence
Youth
• Vehicle registration
extending the total turnaround time of service delivery. This,
• Passport and visa
in turn, often encouraged fraudulent actions that undermined
government control over delivery channels and promoted
corruption. • Land record
• Property registration
Cumulatively, these factors have raised public dissatisfaction with
Family • Marriage certificate
the government’s service delivery mechanism and have further • Taxes
discouraged young citizens who seek convenience and speed in • Utility services
service delivery.

Present G2C initiatives • Pensions

• Insurance
Recent initiatives on the government’s part in setting up mission Old age
• Healthcare
mode projects (MMPs) under the National e-Governance Plan • Death certificate
(NeGP) look promising and may well be the breakthrough that
could change the perception citizens have of their government Source: Census Report, 2001; TRAI Jan 2012
and its service delivery schemes.
The programme encourages all government departments and
ministries to manage their internal processes electronically.
Effectively, this means creating almost paperless departments. It
Anytime, anywhere service availability
is still work-in-progress but the lack of a firm deadline means that Citizen
every department is proceeding at its own pace. Since effective Improved service quality centric
co-ordination is lacking, even the departments that adopt solution
electronic processes cannot be fully efficient until other related Transparent, efficient and secure delivery
departments reach the same level.

Digital engagement for inclusive governance 3

 There are a few success stories, though, like the MCA21 mission
mode project, which addressed the challenges faced by the
Ministry of Corporate Affairs in providing services to corporate
entities, and others like e-filing of income tax returns and land
record management systems. The success of e-filing of income tax
returns can be gauged by the significant year-on-year increase in
the number of citizens and users who have adopted the system.

Mission mode projects (MMPs) conceptualised under NeGP

Income tax
Passport, visa and immigration
Insurance
National citizen database
Central government category
Central excise
Pensions
Banking
E-office
Land records
Property registration
Agriculture
Treasury
State govt category Municipalities
Gram panchayat
Commercial taxes
Employment exchanges
E-district
Factors to consider:
Source: National e-Governance Plan, 11th Report
• Degree of efficiency and transparency
• Extent of reduction in cost and improvement
of convenience
• Extent of integration of back-end processes
with front-end
• Amenability for public private partnership
(PPP) arrangement
• Enhancement of revenue for the government
and the service provider
• Technological robustness of the project

4 PwC
 Why e-governance Key barriers to adoption of
technology
is yet to gain • Resistance to change

momentum • Lack of standard processes and poor business

process re-engineering
• Lack of trained IT personnel

In spite of an increased level of IT spending by the government, • Weak change management

which surpasses that of even some of the biggest private • Lack of clearly defined responsibilities and
enterprises, the overall effectiveness of IT systems in government process owners
and public sector enterprises (PSEs) is yet to produce intended
results. The reasons for these are not very disparate from the
private sector failure stories such as poor system selection, lack of Source: Census Report, 2001; TRAI Jan 2012
management, employee buy-in and lack of parameters to assess
the success of any IT initiative. There are, however, a few reasons
unique to PSEs. These mainly include perceived job insecurity
through the introduction of IT systems, loss of power on
information sharing and weak change management. Consistent
failures in ICT implementation owing to these reasons have
further maligned the perception of such initiatives. Mishandled
change management not only jeopardises the current project but
39
minutes a day
also sets the organisation back considerably in its IT roadmap, are spent on
as both service providers and consumers remain skeptical about duplicating the same
communications
newer and better initiatives. 
Currently, most government departments are seen working stand-
alone with separate databases, partly owing to security concerns
about sensitive data. Although integration across various 67
minutes a day is
departments with secured, authorised data-sharing is on the rise, spent trying to find
much is yet to be achieved. key information

A major downside to such a siloed working model is duplication 36%

of time is wasted in a
of activities across services that may be discouraging due to the day at work by trying
extra effort and time involved. Often, various government-run to contact people to
service portals may be seen functioning on obsolete platforms, find information and
not optimised for the latest applications. Worse still, important schedule meetings
links need to be dug out from within layers of web-pages and may
involve multiple data entry points in the process. Such features
are contradictory to the internet usage pattern of the young
generation and therefore, act as dampeners. Source: 2009/2010 Tower Watson Communication ROI StudyTM
Access to on-the-go services is another crucial requirement for
present-day consumers, but highly lacking in conventional service
delivery channels due to fixed service locations, strict process
workflows and multiple verification levels.
There is an evident misalignment between the younger
generation’s expectations and what is currently being offered.
This generation gap arises primarily out of a failure to grasp the
consumption patterns of the ‘digital natives’ and a reluctance to
adapt to new technology and the process re-engineering that it
entails. Steps can be taken to redress such disparity and bridge
the gap, while doing away with obsolete working methodologies.

Digital engagement for inclusive governance 5

 • Internet penetration in India has almost doubled in
the last four years, making it the fourth largest user
base in the world.
• E-commerce has increased from 20,000 crore INR in
2009 to 50,000 crore INR in 2011.
• Out of a population of about 1.2 billion, there are

Why is digital already around 929 million mobile subscriptions.

• Forty per cent of Indian users made a phone call using

engagement
Skype (three times more than US and six times more
than Japan).

important?
• One-third of India’s social media users use micro-
blogging sites such as Twitter at least once a day.

Source: PwC research and analysis; TRAI Jan 2012

Driven by growing consumer expectations, the efficiency and

effectiveness of public service delivery are increasingly seen
as key metrics of a government’s performance. Consumer I am more likely to share(write about/Tweet, review, etc) a negative
expectations from service delivery channels span seven key areas: rather than a positive product experience online

Speed
The time taken to deliver a service should be the shortest possible
for both the consumer and the organisation delivering the service

Engagement
The manner in which services are delivered should be seen as
consumer-centric (i.e. participatory and trustworthy with the
citizens’ needs at the core)

Responsiveness Source: Nielsen, Global Average

Base: All respondents n =27,665
There should be an ‘intelligent’ mechanism in place to address The following factors are the major drivers of change in existing
any variation in meeting service levels and to drive changes in the service delivery mechanisms:
service delivery organisation
Consumer awareness
Value Citizens today are more aware of their rights, have better
access to information on public services and consequently have
The consumer needs to believe that the service delivery
higher expectations of service levels. They also expect a positive
mechanism is cost-effective, and value is driven by consumer
customer experience and better returns on the taxes they pay.
outcomes, not organisational processes
Further, the country has empowered citizens with the Right to
Information legislation leading to heightened awareness about
Integration customer rights and, consequently, customer service.

The service delivery mechanism needs to be integrated, with no Budgetary constraints

‘wrong door’ policy for citizens
Tightening budgets and the need for value for money with
respect to tax payments by citizens and businesses are forcing
Choice governments to address the issue of public service delivery. In
many countries, changes have been introduced, aimed at ensuring
There needs to be multiple channels for service delivery, so that
that the public sector performs under two key metrics: quality of
consumers can have ‘channels of choice’, depending on specific
service including accessibility for all and satisfactory customer
needs at specific times
experiences and outcomes, and cost of service, leading to value
for money.
Experience
Accountability and transparency
Personalisation of service is necessary to ensure that consumers’
experiences are on par with what they are used to receiving from The heightened role of the media and social activism has
other modern-day entities combined to create greater demand for accountability and
transparency. However, the issue of accountability is particularly
complicated.for the government. When things go wrong for
government and public sector organisations, it often makes front
page news and instantly transforms a management issue into a
political problem.
6 PwC
Competitive drive
Conventional marketing
Attracting investment to fund economic growth is a priority
in most countries. Investment fund managers regard public
wisdom long held that a
sector efficiency as one of the important factors in evaluating dissatisfied customer tells
the investment destination. In this context, the cost of doing ten people. But…in the new
business becomes an important measure of public sector age of social media, he or
efficiency. Ensuring reduced cost calls for a balanced approach she has the tools to tell ten
which is aligned both to the needs of the customer and towards million.
realising greater efficiencies in service delivery. Thus, the global
competition for ‘investments’ as a means for economic growth is Paul Gillin, author of The New
also driving the agenda for reforms in the public service delivery. Influencers

Changing interests of Indian youth

Young people’s interest in traditional political parties and
organisations has been declining. They frequent digital terrains
as the internet has become one of the most effective mediums 89%
for mobilising opinions and involvement. The governments, consumers began engaging
organisations and companies all over the world are beginning to with a competitor following a
acknowledge this phenomenon. poor customer experience.
What is even more important is that behavioural patterns and
actions are rapidly changing. This is particularly noticeable
among the ‘digital natives’ who have grown up in the internet Even in a negative economy,
age, and have explored the unlimited possibilities that it offers. customer experience is a
These changes in necessitate an understanding of how and where priority with 60% often or
communication with future citizens will take place. always paying more for a
The youth, in addition to having digital relationships, also seeks better experience.
direct contact with organisations.
Owing to the wide-spread internet usage and a deeper mobile
penetration, there has been a shift in the young consumers’
expectations for delivery channels that are capable of dispensing
81%
companies with stronger capabilities and
the required services faster without any location or accessibility
limitations.
competencies for delivering customer
experience excellence are outperforming
The e-generation seeks faster and convenient means of expression
and collaboration and is constantly searching for different
their competitors
means of engagement with institutions and decision making in
their fields of interest. It is therefore crucial to utilise such youth
involvement through digital channels, which will in turn result in User expectations and behaviour
them having better interaction with the traditional institutions.
are changing. The country now has
Customer segments’ preferences for digital channels a new digital generation. Radical
modernisation of public service
Online Mobile
delivery is the needed in order
to bring a sense of inclusiveness
among these digital natives.

Source: PwC Digital Tipping Point Survey 2011

Combined proportion of respondents who are
“currently using” or “considering using”
Digital engagement for inclusive governance 7
 There are five guiding principles for a
Getting it right: citizen-centric ‘one stop shop’:
• Listen to the citizens
Putting the citizen • Break down the silos

first
• Enable a multi channel service experience
• Constantly improve through citizen feedback
• Set citizen centric service standards

Public sector departments and agencies across the globe are

increasingly adopting a ‘one stop shop’ citizen-centric service
delivery model. The idea is to enable the customers with a Department-centric approach
single access point to information and service transactions. The
development of such models calls for a holistic customer insight. Customer

Listen to the citizens

Government policies have traditionally had internal focus. Owing Intermediaries
to their lack of understanding of the citizens’ interest, public
sector departments and agencies have traditionally designed
models that impose on the citizens rather than collaborating
with them. Not only does this exacerbate a noncitizen-centric
culture but also fundamentally limits the outcomes for citizens
Department 5

Department 4

Department 3

Department 2

Department 1
which it is supposed to serve. To understand the customer’s

Fragmented value
needs, expectations and preferences, a number of techniques are
available to the public sector. These include customer research,
touch point journey mapping and customer segmentation.
Customer’s voice: Engaging with the citizens and having them
participate in designing a one stop shop through customer Departmental Support
research enables their ideas and perspectives to included be in the
citizen-centric service delivery model. Intermediaries

Touch point mapping: Public sector organisations play a number

of roles including setting and administering policy, enforcement, Transformation
customer service, operational delivery, efficiently and effectively
undertaking design, development and maintenance of the
infrastructure. Customer-centric approach
Understanding how the customers see a public sector organisation
and its operating units is critical to understanding their Customer
experience. A structured approach to touch point mapping can
provide this information.
Effective customer segmentation: The public sector is required
Dept 1 Interface Dept 5
to serve diverse customer segments. Unlike the private sector,
where customers are treated differently according to their
capacity to pay for services, the public sector is required to satisfy
Fragmented value

the rights of its entire customer base; equally and up to the Dept 2 Dept 4
standards. It is therefore essential to develop clear strategies for
Dept 3
ensuring the inclusion of all the segments of society as well as
meeting their needs. The needs of these various segments can be
quite distinct and will be driven by multiple factors

8 PwC
Break down the silos Constant improvement through citizen
The design and delivery of a one stop shop needs to take into feedback
account the way public sector departments and agencies are Customer feedback is a powerful tool not only for understanding
structured (hierarchical or siloed). For the customer, the siloed customers’ experience and satisfaction with public services, but
structure means where they are often left joining up between also for developing strategies to improve them. Unfortunately,
agency silos rather than seeing a single organisation that is customer feedback has not been fully utilised by the public sector
working for them. agencies. For such agencies, lack of customer feedback can be
While breaking down hierarchical structures, the emphasis a source of major operational risk and severely hinder their
should be on how to make agency silos more connected rather continuous learning capabilities. As a result, any one stop shop
than abandoning them altogether. Though this is not a simple model should ensure that it incorporates customer feedback into
task, it does not imply that a complete government restructuring the service design, processes and customer interfaces.
is required. It means addressing the silos which exist within
individual public sector agencies and integrating them to form Set citizen centric service standards
what we refer to as a ‘connected government’. The rising demand for better governance standards in the private
sector have spurred initiatives aimed at improving disclosure
and corporate governance. Heightened customer awareness
The Planning Commission and has particularly driven a demand for greater accountability and
the National Innovation Council organised transparency, forcing the public sector to respond positively.
the first ever ‘hackathon’ to involve Technology has enabled increased accessibility to government
individuals and groups from various services. Citizens can obtain information and avail services
spheres of life in collaborating towards through an easy to use, simplified navigation system. There is an
increased visibility of operations for transparency(e.g. agency
innovative communication during scorecard performance, update status of service requests).
the 12th Plan (2012-17) through creative Performance information is used to improve service levels and
visualisations and software applications. increase accountability.

Enable a multichannel service interface

Citizens’ needs, expectations and preferences are shaped by their
experiences with the private sector and consequently, they are
increasingly demanding the same level of channel choices when
interacting with the public sector.
For public sector agencies, engaging with the citizens through
their online networks is a quick, direct and cost effective method.
However, there are challenges which could lead to a poor and
inconsistent customer experience and should be immediately
addressed.

Government agencies are increasingly

adopting social media platforms
like Facebook, Twitter, etc. for better
interaction. However, they should also
try to utilise these platforms for service
delivery.

Digital engagement for inclusive governance 9

 Conclusion
It is evident that technology facilitates effective governance.
The power of the rapidly growing traditional and social media
has transformed how citizens access and share information.
The growth in the number of young, educated people in India
argues well for promoting a new set of ideas that might have
appeared impossible or inconceivable a few years ago. A
one stop shops or a multi channel presence through digital
mediums has unprecedented potential and has revolutionised
the way we communicate. It’s time we make the most of this
positive change.

10 PwC
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Contributors
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Pranav Singh
Sayan Basu
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