5 trends shaping council websites in 2016

We’ve spent ten years helping Australian

cities deliver better digital services to their communities

Need to find image

that represent

s

5

The days of desktop are numbered

Source: ACMA, June 2015

92%of Australians

have access tothe internet

Source: ACMA, June 2015

70%access the

Internet on a mobile device

Source: ACMA, June 2015

20%Access the internet

ONLY via their mobile device

The elderly Disadvantaged

• Tablets lower the hurdles of traditional computing

• Tablets lower amount of other features needed

• Easy of use of tablets gives older users confidence to do more with their device

• Youth and financially disadvantaged people have limited budgets, and many are therefore choosing to bypass PC’s in favour of mobile phones, which become their primary access point to the internet

Visitors Mobile vs. PC

Source: City of Ryde, 2012 - 2015

Mobile

Desktop

80%

60%

40%

20%

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

• City of Tea Tree Gully receives 70% visitors from mobile & tablet devices

• New website built mobile first, focused on large, thumb friendly tiles

• Mobile visitors want to complete their tasks quickly, so a large predictive search makes it easy for them

• Pages are light-weight for connection black-spots and have high contrast to accommodate to outdoor environment elements

• Forms are location aware to minimise typing and increase accuracy of data collection. They can also tap into the mobile camera for instant reporting.

• Content itself can also be location aware, to show people their nearest parks, events, road works, etc.

Build for mobile first

4

Complexity is bad for business

• Yarra Ranges Shire put users at the centre of its website, focusing on top tasks

• Following launch most visitors are now finding content without using the main menu

• Devonport followed suite using OpenCities, and has seen an improvement in residents being able to self-service online

• City of Ryde takes simplicity one step further by hiding away the nav menu in favour of search and top tasks

• Simply using the right language can mean the different between a visitor completing their task successfully online or calling into council

• When you can’t avoid acronyms, do use a glossary to help residents understand

• Split long, complicated topics into smaller, more digestible chunks of information

• By answering 2 – 3 simple questions, Tea Tree Gully helps residents access the correct form

• Great Lakes has an ageing population, so on top of making its site easy to use, text-to-speech technology can read out the content on pages and forms to visitors.

Source: U.S. Veterans Benefits Administration

Cost savings achieved thanks to reduced follow-up of customers after simplification of

language

$44,000,000

Australians are blind or vision impaired. A further 3.5 million Australia’s have a physical

disability.

350,000

Source: Vision Australia

Design for users needs

3

Residents WANT to self-service

Internet usage by over 65’s

50%68%

2012 NOW

Source: AMCA, July 2015

Internet usage by over 65’s

Source: AMCA, July 2015

PAYING BILLS, BANKING (55%)

TRANSACTING WITH GOVERNMENT (50%)

SOCIAL MEDIA (20%)

Sutherland Shire Case study

• New website launched in 2015, focused on helping residents complete tasks online

• 64 online forms were created (including council clean up requests, leisure centre memberships, child care applications, bin request forms and event RSVPs)

Today eForms generate…

• 48% - Potholes & Roads requests

• 38% - Blocked Drain requests

• 36% - Graffiti requests

• 26% - Rubbish requests

Online requests submitted, going directly to relevant officer/department

for actioning

552,884+

eCertificates (Zoning, Rates, Outstanding Notices) are issued through council’s

website

10,000+

Build online services, not just websites

2

Residents feel disempowered

Source: Western Australian Electoral Commission, 2015

Non-compulsory voting• Voter turn-out is declining.• Only 27.5% in recent WA

elections.• WA Electoral Commission called

for “online voting” to boost engagement.

Source: Local Government Satisfaction Survey, 2015

Compulsory voting

• “Community consultation and engagement” satisfaction fell for first time since 2012.

• Improvement: Road maintenance, consultation and making decisions in the community’s best interests.

Use of social media in AustraliaAustralians that use some form of social media at least once a

day

18 - 29 79%30 - 39 64%40 - 49 49%50 - 64 37%

65+ 17%

Source: Sensis Social Media Report 2015

Australians visit Facebook every month

14m

• The availability of social media means there’s a power flip

• Anyone has a voice that can reverberate as far as a community will carry it, with spending a cent

• More than every before, Councils need to engage early and frequently with their community

Case Study: City of Ryde

• By leveraging the online channel, Ryde was able to reach a whole new segment of the community and engage in a more meaningful way

• Rather than simply consulting its community around key project, Ryde gives residents full visibility of all council projects, from inception to delivery

• A map-view helps residents understand what’s happening in their area and increases engagement with locals

• From early stages through to complete projects, residents have full visibility of what their rates contributes to

• By allowing residents to submit private feedback or publicly comment on selected projects, Ryde was able to generate healthy conversation from a broad range of stakeholders

• By sharing project successes with its community, Ryde helps residents genuinely feel involved in their community

Create two-way engagement

1

How we do business has changed

Use of government services & info onlineHave you accessed central government information or

transactional services online within the past year?

46% Online and have used a government transaction online

8% Online and have accessed government information online

28% Online and have not used government information or transactions online

6% Offline and willing to get online

12% Offline and unwilling to get online

Source: Digital Landscape Research, Gov.UK 2012

of people are already using or willing to use government services online

88%

Benefits for UsersWhat are your reasons for using government services online?

Source: Digital Landscape Research, Gov.UK 2012

Saves time

Clear and easy to use

I could do it outside office hours

Less hassle than the phone

85%

62%

61%

55%

WALK-IN

TELEPHONE

ONLINE

Benefits for GovernmentBased on total channel cost of delivering exemplar services in UK

Councils

£0.15

£2.83

£8.62

Source: Potential for Channel Shift in Local Gov, SOCITM 2012

Case Study: Gov.UK

• Since 2012, information and services from more than 300 separate departments have been moved to Gov.UK

• So far, Gov.UK has digitised 808 popular and widely accessed services!

• Gov.UK has made data about the uptake of its services publicly available.

• Gov.UK is continually evaluating and building additional services. Australian Federal Government has launched a Digital Transformation Office in the hopes of mirroring Gov.UK’s success

Most people over 65 prefer digital services, and those that don’t have told us that they feel they are too hard to find, non

user-friendly and too complicated.

Source: Australian Digital Transformation Office, July 2015

What about Local Gov?Municipal websites are the digital front door to

a city - a place for sharing information, conducting business, and collecting feedback

about what residents want and need.

Council’s front-door today

Summary1. Start with mobile2. Design for your users3. Build online services4. Engage your community5. Create channel-shift

Resources & next steps:• Happy to send you copy of slides• Talk through any examples you saw

today• See how OpenCities can help your

Council