The time has come: the new eGovernment MONITOR 2024 from D21 e.V. was published today. The annual study provides information on the usage behavior and acceptance of digital administrative services in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and thus enables society to track developments and progress and to see in a transparent manner where there is a need to catch up.
The focus here is on how citizens perceive eGovernment services, what hurdles they face when using them and how the situation has developed over the years. Topics such as the intensity of use, satisfaction and the reasons for not using digital services are examined.
Relevance of the results
As one of the main sponsors of the eGovernment Monitor, we are following the results of the study with great interest. It shows that the digitalization of administration is not an end in itself.
The results of the eGovernment Monitor provide policymakers with an essential basis for political decisions. They clarify which measures are required to promote the digitalization of public administration and in which areas the legal framework or investments should be optimized. In this way, the Monitor contributes to the further development of digital strategies.
Citizens’ trust in the state through digital offerings
For more than 50% of citizens, digital services that are quick and easy to use increase their trust in the state. Services from the private sector seem to serve as a role model here, as 70 percent want administrative services that are as easy to use online as in the private sector – a full 6 percent more than last year. The result is in line with the 71 percent of the 8,100 respondents who see an advantage of eGovernment over analog administration. Just under half of those surveyed hope that eGovernment services will enable them to receive services more quickly than in the traditional process.
The openness of citizens towards new technologies in administration, especially artificial intelligence, is positive. The majority of citizens (80 percent) feel able to explain the term. More than half have even used AI at least once. The positive development in the assessment of the state’s performance is also encouraging. Even if most respondents still do not think that public authorities work as efficiently as commercial enterprises and that the state simplifies the lives of its citizens, their number is decreasing noticeably. In addition, more and more people (2023: 26%, 2024: 29%) are confident that the state will be able to provide a comprehensive digital offering in the next three years.
Particular attention should be paid to the acceptance and use of online ID cards: Since last year, the proportion of online ID card users has risen sharply by 8 percentage points to 22%, in contrast to previous years. Although this figure still needs to rise in order to represent a central key function in eGovernment, the positive trend is obvious.
There is potential for expansion in the transparency of the services offered. Ideally, these should be available, known and easy to find. Almost half of those surveyed would like to see a central platform that bundles all digital services. This already exists in the form of the federal portal, but only 30 percent were aware of this platform – and only 6 percent have already used it. Furthermore, 42% of citizens would like to see more personalization. Accordingly, it should also be possible to use data already provided for past applications for new ones.
Overall, the monitor shows that a lot is moving in the right direction in the area of administrative digitization, but that there is also a lot of untapped potential.
You can find more exciting insights here.