Why Read This Report

In the current age of the customer, the power has shifted from the provider of goods and services to the consumer. These individuals — your citizens — are bringing their expectations to engagements with their local, regional, and national governments. These empowered citizens increasingly demand more government transparency, increased operational efficiency, and better government service delivery, ushering in the age of the citizen. Social and mobile technologies have recast citizens' expectations for service, and improved data collection and analysis, coupled with innovative thinking, allow governments to deliver new and more appropriate programs and contacts. Delivery of these demands, coupled with tight and highly scrutinized budgets, require major government transformations. Not only must governments embrace the imperatives, but also, in many cases, they have the responsibility and the ability to enable others to embrace them. This report illustrates how market imperatives in the age of the customer apply to the age of the citizen for government organizations and how governments of all sizes must evaluate use of new tools and embark on new civic mandates for smart government.