The Association for Computing Machinery's global Technology Policy Council has released " TechBrief: Government Digital Transformation ." It is the latest in a series of TechBriefs —short technical bulletins that present scientifically grounded perspectives on the impact and policy implications of specific technological developments in computing.
In today's world, almost every process or interaction between people and governments—from paying taxes to renewing passports to reporting potholes—requires the use of devices such as computers. While this changeover began in the early 1990's with the advent of the World-Wide Web and continued through the early 2000's, essential work remains. "TechBrief: Government Digital Transformation," co-authored by experts from diverse disciplines, emphasizes that recent advances in technology make a renewed public focus on digital transformation even more urgent.
"The COVID-19 pandemic brought home how essential access to government services is during severe situations," explained Carlos E. Jimenez-Gomez, an expert in public sector digital transformation and co-lead author of the new ACM TechBrief. "For example, we saw the importance of information sharing and interoperability in digital services. At the same time, the pandemic exposed where we need to make improvements —whether we are in a severe situation or not."
The TechBrief recommends six key pillars that should guide a successful government digital transformation. They are:
- Digital Public Infrastructure
- Digital Identity
- Data Governance and Privacy
- Interoperability Frameworks
- Information and Data System Modernization
- Citizen-Centered Design
"In this ACM TechBrief, we emphasize that public well-being increasingly depends on successful and inclusive digital transformation," said Shrinivass A.B, Senior Full Stack Engineer at Fidelity Investments and co-lead author of the new ACM TechBrief. "The public today interacts with governments through digital channels making reliability, security, and accessibility foundational to trust. Achieving this requires not only modern technology but also sound governance, interoperability, and citizen-centered design. The six pillars we outline in this TechBrief offer a holistic, multidisciplinary roadmap for governments to modernize responsibly and sustainably. We believe that with informed, strategic, and collaborative approaches, governments can accelerate digital transformation while preserving transparency, equity, and public confidence"
"Governments around the world have made good progress in their embrace of digital technologies over the past 25 years," added Simson Garfinkel, Chief Scientist, BasisTech and co-lead author of the new ACM TechBrief. "Nevertheless, most governments have a patchwork quilt of services, rather than a unified system that is easy to navigate, secure, and interoperates across national borders. We hope that this TechBrief will be a roadmap for policymakers who are eager to help transform the systems that their governments have today into the unified system that we all hope to use in the future."
ACM's TechBriefs are designed to complement ACM's activities in the policy arena and to inform policymakers, the public, and others about the nature and implications of information technologies. Earlier ACM TechBriefs have covered topics such as accessibility , generative artificial intelligence , and climate change , among others. Topics under consideration for future issues include Explainable AI, Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), and more.
About the ACM Technology Policy Council
ACM's global Technology Policy Council sets the agenda for global initiatives to address evolving technology policy issues and coordinates the activities of ACM's regional technology policy committees in the US and Europe. It serves as the central convening point for ACM's interactions with government organizations, the computing community, and the public in all matters of public policy related to computing and information technology. The Council's members are drawn from ACM's global membership.
About ACM
ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery , is the world's largest educational and scientific computing society, uniting computing educators, researchers, and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources, and address the field's challenges. ACM strengthens the computing profession's collective voice through strong leadership, promotion of the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life-long learning, career development, and professional networking.
