Municipal Information Technology and the Role of Trust in E-Governance

Scot Barker, Chief Innovation Officer at City of Burlington

Scot Barker, Chief Innovation Officer at City of Burlington

Trust is a fundamental aspect of effective municipal government, and nowhere is that more evident than in E-Governance initiatives. The idea of moving to a digital-first footprint in municipal government can be disconcerting to both internal and external stakeholders. With that in mind, what can municipal information technology groups do to build and maintain that trust as E-Governance initiatives expand?

To understand how to build trust, we must first understand where that trust may be eroded. With E-Governance, trust starts with the integrity and security of the data we collect and store. How do we, as information technology professionals, ensure we are trustworthy stewards of the data we collect and store from our citizens? Citizens want to know what the municipality is going to do with their data: how are we storing it, why do we need it, and with whom do we share it? If citizens don’t know the answers to these questions or doubt their veracity, they will begin to ask whether or not the municipality has their best interests at heart. It is imperative, then, that municipalities have strong cybersecurity teams and that every city employee maintains quality cyber hygiene. Municipalities should publish their data policies to the public, revising and updating them on a regular basis.

“To understand how to build trust, we must first understand where that trust may be eroded.”

Many modern E-Governance packages in use today are cloud-based services. To further ensure trust is maintained, municipal information technology groups should ensure full due diligence is performed on each vendor both at the initial point of engagement, and annually as long as that vendor/partner relationship lasts. Here, due diligence must include audit results such as PCI, HIPAA, and SOC, as applicable. It must also include a full evaluation of the vendors’ own cybersecurity practices, including ensuring backups are maintained, firewalls and operating systems are kept up-to-date, etc. It can be disconcerting for a citizen to know their data is kept “in the cloud” as a result of an E-Governance system being used. Publicly sharing the results of cybersecurity due diligence is an important way to help establish and maintain trust in those systems.

Internal trust is also important when it comes to E-Governance. Experience shows that external trust can be eroded when internal stakeholders don’t trust – or even don’t like – the E-Governance packages in use. Because how we engender trust internally has an impact on how trust is built externally, it is important that internal stakeholders are invested in making E-Governance a success. Municipal employees are more likely to get behind an E-Governance effort if they have a say in how it is implemented. That requires the information technology group to leverage a process whereby trust is built: Listen to the stakeholders, understand their needs and concerns, address those concerns by creating processes that support success, seek feedback, and start back at the beginning by listening to the stakeholders. That cycle, if adhered to, creates a cycle of trust that extends to the external stakeholders. 

I’ve been to several conferences over the past year, and in every one of them, trust has been a core component. E-Governance promises to bring a new era of citizen engagement to municipalities and beyond. Only by building and maintaining the trust our community members have in our people and processes can that increased engagement be realized.

Information Technology