The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is causing citizens in Germany to make more frequent use of online services provided by public authorities. According to the survey, 15 percent of respondents stated that they carry out administrative procedures online more often. This is an increase of eight percentage points compared to the previous year. In addition, the proportion of those who are going online to deal with the authorities for the first time has increased significantly by eight points to twelve percent.
However, it is clearly not just the need for more distance that is leading people to digitalized offices. Two out of three respondents (66%) generally find it easier to go to the authorities online. And a majority (56%) want to book new appointments at the town hall online even after the possible end of the coronavirus-related restrictions, while just under half (49%) want to use the option to exchange documents digitally. Tim Brauckmüller, Managing Director of aconium, sees these results as trend-setting for public administration. “People need to feel just as professionally and personally looked after when they visit the authorities online as they do when they visit the district or town hall. Then they will also use the services.”
Digital services of general interest increasingly in people’s focus
People’s growing openness towards digital administrative services is also reflected in the details. Almost one in two people (48%) find the idea of storing ID card data on their smartphone interesting. According to the study, people are also very open to digital services of general interest, i.e. offers and services with which the state fulfills its mandate to provide basic care: around three quarters (73%) say they would like to use the digital vaccination card. The electronic patient file (ePA) – introduced in Germany at the beginning of the year – is already known to a large majority (65%), even if it is still used by only a few (5%).
The respondents’ experiences with digital education were rather forced. During the coronavirus pandemic, nine out of ten students received lessons via webcam, learning platforms and with the help of other digital tools. However, only just under half (48%) of those affected were satisfied with this.
There is a lot of room for improvement in the offers
This is another finding of the study: despite the openness with which people view the digitalization of the state, they are not always satisfied with the quality and design of the services. Within a year, satisfaction with digital services provided by the state has fallen by a significant 15 points to 47%. The authors of the study attribute this, among other things, to the increased attention and use as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. People’s expectations and demands of digital services have grown. The federal, state and local governments have some catching up to do, especially when it comes to private-sector services: While three out of four respondents (76%) have mastered online shopping without any problems, only one in two (53%) can confirm this positive experience for digital visits to public authorities.
aconium Managing Director Tim Brauckmüller nevertheless sees great opportunities for public administration. “Simple, convenient and reliable – that’s how digital administration should be received and function by citizens. That’s why we need to get to grips with the processes! If public authorities manage even better in future to turn the purely online offering into a genuine dialog process, for example by actively giving people feedback on the processing status, this will have a clearly positive impact on usage figures.”
Around 8000 people took part in the study
aconium supports the current eGovernment Monitor 2021 by Initiative D21 and the Technical University of Munich as a premium partner. For the study on the use and acceptance of digital administrative services, the Kantar online institute surveyed around 8,000 people in Germany from June 1 to 21, 2021.
The network for the digital society – Initiative D21 for short – is an association of around 200 member companies and institutions as well as stakeholders from politics, administration, business and science. aconium is a long-standing partner of the non-profit association D21.
All results of the study can be found here: https://initiatived21.de/egovernment-monitor/