Government at warp speed
How agencies are accelerating public service delivery and reducing burdens on citizens and businesses.
With environmental and societal factors driving changes quickly, it is increasingly necessary for the government to accelerate its pace, not only to deliver services quickly but also to help save lives.
Consider wildfires, whose rising scale, intensity, and frequency—amplified by global warming—strain agency capabilities more with every new fire season.1 In the United States, flames have consumed five million acres, endangering human lives, wreaking havoc on infrastructure, and potentially displacing and destroying entire cities.2 And the impact goes far beyond community and state lines: Wildfires release massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to increased temperatures and the chances of extreme weather events—including future megafires.3
Government agencies are responsible for controlling and stopping wildfires, and that begins with responding as quickly as possible, from immediate detection to rapid activation of resources. California, reeling from years of severe fires,4 is deploying new technologies and engaging in various partnerships to address this issue.5 Most notably, the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has joined forces with a consortium of universities to introduce a network of more than 800 artificial intelligence–aided infrared cameras placed in and around the state’s most fire-prone regions.6 The ALERTWildfire system aims to enable quick wildfire discovery, location, and confirmation, allowing first responders to make rapid, informed decisions based on real-time situational awareness. In the past, fireground commanders needed as much as 20 to 30 minutes to determine where to deploy to a fire, gather information, and act. But now, thanks to cameras and AI-based analysis, they can react within seconds of the initial detection.7 Other countries, such as Australia and Turkey, are also utilizing AI to predict, detect, and prevent wildfires.8
Breaking trade-offs
Governments are becoming faster at delivering services, responding to disruptions, and reacting to citizen feedback even when lives and homes aren’t in imminent danger. This change can also be seen in organizations with long-standing structures and practices as they adopt new technologies and processes, jettison outdated rules and regulations, and strike a balance between speed and checks and balances. These mechanisms are revolutionizing the way agencies operate.
Speed of action can be a particular challenge in the public sector. Unlike commercial companies, agencies must adhere more strictly to a set of broad public commitments, such as democratic processes, proper stewardship of public money, and equal treatment for all. While these obligations are necessary and important, they can also affect planning and execution, imposing added obligations on both citizens and businesses.
However, agencies around the globe are challenging the common assumption that the government must move slowly and deliberately. Public sector leaders are speeding programs and operations by up to 10 times without sacrificing democratic accountability and fairness by progressively integrating cutting-edge technologies, reimagining processes, and collaborating with diverse partners to enhance their capacity to operate more swiftly.
Convergence: A key to 10x increase in speed
Agencies are overcoming constraints to achieve 10x improvement in speed by using robotic process automation and data analytics to minimize processing times and reduce paperwork burdens. Additionally, they are sharing data more effectively to break down jurisdictional silos and deliver better and faster services. They are also employing new AI-based technology—generative AI in particular—to improve interactions with citizens and businesses, analyze and summarize large volumes of stakeholder input, automate administrative tasks such as report generation, code software solutions, and even suggest tailored solutions.9
A convergence of technology, processes, and policy tools can create greater transformational change. Consider how combining different tools might have tangible impacts on constituents, businesses, and government operations:
- Digital technologies + human-centered design + evidence-based policies + contracting = Reduced wait times
- Digital infrastructure + customer-centric mindset + regulations + shared governance = Simplified business license application
- Robotic process automation + AI + human-machine teaming + human-centered design + cloud + machine learning = Accelerated grant application process
Trend in action
Government leaders worldwide increasingly recognize the benefits of increased operational speed, from facilitating timely access to citizen services to fostering a thriving business environment. Agencies are applying tools in three distinct areas to help accelerate their operations:
- Between government and citizens to speed up service delivery
- Between government and businesses to fast-track permitting, licensing, and regulatory processes
- To procure services and issue grants
Speeding up constituent services
Accelerating action begins with understanding. By fully grasping citizens’ ever-evolving needs, agencies can better determine how to respond more effectively and efficiently, address challenges, and provide timely solutions.
Simplifying government processes can speed up service delivery and aid users by eliminating redundant steps. In the United States, completing the application process for college financial aid once required more than a dozen hours.10 Today, however, through process improvements, human-centered design, and technology adoption, college-bound students can quickly apply for financial aid online. This process takes around 10 minutes and pulls income and tax information directly from Internal Revenue Service data. Moreover, the system also saves students’ information for next year’s application.11
Scores of government agencies have significantly reduced wait times, which has been a source of perennial constituent frustration and also contributed to operational inefficiency. Leaders have seen streamlined processes enable innovation and the ability to improve citizen experiences more proactively. In the Northwest Territories of Canada, getting access to mental health counseling “was like waiting to get access to a backhoe when all you need is a shovel,” one service user told the Mental Health Commission of Canada.12 No longer: The Mental Health Commission of Canada slashed average wait times for mental health counseling from 19 days to just four by implementing a system for organizing and delivering evidence-based mental health and substance-use services. The agency has streamlined its intake processes, introduced drop-in counseling sessions and e-mental health services, and established a mental wellness and addictions recovery advisory group.13
Fast-tracking business success by speeding government processes
Boosting speed and efficiency can do more than just raise constituent satisfaction scores. Easing government regulation and streamlining permitting processes can have an outsized impact on business investment and activity.14 Reducing time delays in permitting, easing reporting requirements, and eliminating friction between government and private enterprises can help make the business climate more competitive and hospitable for innovation. A customer-experience mindset—based on understanding customers, focusing on user design and experience, and creating a unified vision for change15—can help regulators make compliance much easier for consumers and businesses, boosting voluntary compliance rates.
Take the ongoing transition to renewable energy. As governments race to meet climate goal deadlines, faster regulatory approvals of green energy projects are crucial.16 Securing all the requisite licenses for project initiation and operation and obtaining permits for renewable energy projects typically necessitates engagement with government entities at both the national and local levels. Engaging with multiple agencies can place serious administrative burdens on businesses. It can delay projects by months, years, or even longer—a disincentive to initiating projects at a time when climate imperatives should be paramount.17
To minimize delays, Denmark has eliminated the need for businesses to liaise with multiple distinct agencies for various clean energy projects.18 The government has adopted a one-stop-shop approach, with the Danish Energy Agency serving as the sole point of contact, coordinating with relevant public authorities and granting all key wind-farm licenses.19 The streamlined permitting means a more efficient process for establishing wind farms.20 Denmark can now process wind farm permits in just over 10 days, compared to potentially months required to navigate other European nations’ labyrinthine systems.21 Denmark’s system also enables businesses to install an offshore wind project within a 34-month time frame, versus other EU nations’ processes, which can stretch to as much as eight years or more.22
Other European countries are taking steps to replicate the Danish approach. The European Commission’s REPowerEU plan aims to accelerate the transition to green energy by minimizing policy uncertainties and streamlining permitting processes.23 Estonia’s online platform allows companies to submit permit applications, track progress, and receive integrated permits within 180 days.24
Simplifying regulatory procedures and reducing unnecessary processes can foster innovation, promote economic growth, and attract investment. Access Canberra, an Australian Capital Territory government service that connects customer and regulatory services, established an Event and Business Coordination team to simplify applications and streamline risk and approval processes for road closures, public land use, liquor sales, gaming, noise control, security, and food services. Businesses used to need to ask 17 different organizations for approvals for territorial events, providing the same information over and over to different agencies. By consolidating processes based on a tell-us-once approach, the Event and Business Coordination team has saved businesses tens of thousands of hours previously spent filling out paperwork.25
Procuring services and issuing grants
Some agencies have tapped the power of technology-enabled process reengineering to achieve 10x improvements in speed. This can be seen across a spectrum of government activities, including human services agencies processing claims faster, education and health departments issuing grants quicker, and human resources units speeding hiring processes.
At the US National Institutes of Health, the world’s biggest funder of biomedical research,26 staff had long manually reviewed applications to categorize them by scientific discipline—a laborious and repetitive process stopping up the referral pipeline. However, a system by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences now deploys AI technologies to allocate grant applications to suitable peer review groups. It uses a tool that reads and analyzes the application’s text, title, and abstract and assigns it to an appropriate group with a 92% accuracy rate. This implementation slashed the typical grant review time from two to three weeks to less than a day. The approach not only expedites the process but frees up program officers, enabling them to redirect their efforts toward higher-value activities.27
Reimagining outdated processes can also improve an agency’s likelihood of mission success. Take military procurement, which is essential to military readiness and national security. Historically, it has been challenging for defense agencies that need to mobilize resources and people quickly. Modern military software is usually built on commercially developed technologies and products that are updated every 12 to 18 months. However, agencies often struggle to align it with their current, sometimes outdated, systems. Traditional defense procurement processes, with lengthy requirements and detailed solution specifications, can leave not only warfighters poorly equipped but also systems that struggle to do what decision-makers need.28
To counter this issue, the US Department of Defense established the Defense Innovation Unit to analyze and update how the military acquires critical capabilities and resources. Central to the agency’s approach is novel uses of transaction authorities, such as other transaction agreements that can allow government entities to circumvent traditional acquisition procedures and award contracts to companies developing prototypes. Viable prototypes can directly transition into production without additional competitive processes. Leveraging these authorities, the Defense Innovation Unit has increased the number of dual-use technologies that have civilian and military use.29 Since its establishment in 2015, the agency has awarded more than 350 contracts to commercial companies in half the time it traditionally takes.30
My take
Simplifying regulatory procedures can improve the speed and efficiency of government
Inês dos Santos Costa, former Secretary of State for the Environment, Portugal31
For businesses, navigating government regulations can be a complex and time-consuming process. With multiple overlapping regulations, several government entities involved at different levels, and legacy processes, it's easy for businesses to lose track of different processes and simply give up, which can lead to the loss of valuable opportunities.
In Portugal, we are making it easier for businesses to interact with the government, reducing friction points between the two in the regulation space. Take the environmental licensing system. We introduced several reforms to our existing system to simplify and expedite it, accelerating our transition to a green economy.
The Portuguese Single Environmental Licensing (LUA) system was launched in 2015 to streamline and speed up the environmental licensing system. Since then, we have been consistently evolving and integrating new requirements for ease of organizations. The latest changes introduced in 2023 have been a game-changer in making it easier for businesses to comply with environmental regulations.
Today, the LUA issues a Single Environmental Title that consolidates all environmental licensing decisions and summarizes all information related to the business requirement for a given project.32 The goal is simple: one request, one certificate, one fee. This streamlines environment-related licensing requirements and coordinates with various institutions in charge of the permits under the portal, ultimately reducing the time it takes to obtain multiple licenses.33
A key of the LUA system is a time simulator. This tool guides users through the entire process, helping them understand which regimes apply to their case, the associated fees, the licensing entity, and the expected time of issue. Once the process starts, an integrated timeline is included in the dashboard that allows users to visualize where the process is and the expected time of issuance.
Portugal has also made significant strides in reducing fees associated with environmental licensing. Depending on the type of licensing, some fees have been reduced by more than 50%, with the average reduction being around 20%.
These reforms to the licensing process also aim to eliminate redundancies and the need for resubmission upon license expiration. This not only speeds up the licensing process but also represents an important step forward in fostering a more business-friendly environment.
Reducing administrative and regulatory hurdles is a continuous process for the government.34 The Portuguese LUA system has been a significant achievement in our efforts to streamline businesses regulations. By simplifying the environmental licensing process and reducing fees, the LUA system has made it easier for businesses to operate more efficiently, ultimately promoting growth and investment in the green economy.
What the 10x future holds
- Proactive service delivery: By harnessing emerging technologies and advanced analytical tools, governments can proactively anticipate citizens’ unique needs, thus providing services even before receiving formal requests. For example, Austria’s family allowance system triggers enrollment in the country’s family allowance program upon a child’s birth without new parents having to apply for a claim.35
- Instant government: Agencies can use AI-aided technology to provide real-time answers to citizens, businesses, and employees, and swiftly offer numerous benefits. The US Navy’s Amelia conversational AI program can resolve help desk tickets in under 45 seconds.36 Additionally, by implementing robotic process automation, the state of Ohio has made Medicaid accessible to newborns on their day of birth, a process that previously took seven to 10 business days.37
- Intelligent matching: Estonia’s AI-driven job-matching helps unemployed citizens find suitable jobs. Nearly 75% of candidates who found a job through the system were still employed six months later, compared to only 58% of those who received advice from human officials.38
- Transparency in approval processes: Conversational AI can provide instant, real-time status updates for everything from businesses inquiring about permits to nonprofits wanting to see where grant applications stand. To encourage transparency and census response rates, the US Census Bureau created a public map of response rates by neighborhood to show how much funding local governments receive from the federal government for infrastructure, education, and other uses. “It was important that we found a way to connect with citizens, to be accountable and transparent,” said Gerard Valerio, solution engineering director for the public sector at Tableau, in an interview with Federal News Network. “The more data that’s collected results in a higher response rate, and the better it is for a community. With this visualization, residents and community leaders could see their progress and take action to increase the response rate before the collection deadline.”39
- Intelligent automation of tasks: Generative AI has the potential to accelerate administrative tasks, freeing up government employees to focus on higher-value creative or problem-solving tasks. The US Department of Defense is currently testing an AI tool called AcqBot. The tool is designed to streamline and accelerate the department’s acquisition and contracting process, which has traditionally relied on manual processes and outdated methods.40
- Government by simulation: AI and digital-twin technologies can help agencies test policies and programs in real-life scenarios. A digital-twin solution helped San Diego tackle traffic congestion. Citizens were able to visualize how construction projects might affect their travel by generating findings within a few hours or days.41
Steps governments can take now
To help achieve 10x increases in speed, governments should consider:
- Breaking down silos: Encourage departments to work together, share data, and coordinate efforts, to eliminate friction points and speed service delivery. Integrate services on a single platform to help make it easier and faster for individuals to access and navigate citizen services.
- Reviewing existing regulatory processes through a customer-experience lens: Identify bottlenecks, complexities, and inefficiencies to optimize speed and outcomes.
- Redesigning how work gets done: Human-machine teaming has the potential to speed up processes radically but achieving 10x improvements will often require re-architecting how work gets done. This entails determining how work should change, who should do the work, and exploring options for human-machine pairing.42
- Reducing response times: Leverage real-time data and predictive analytics to enhance response times—it could save citizens’ time, property, and even lives.