Sponsored Content
Six Essential Strategies for Digital Transformation in Community Development
Sponsored Content from Tyler Technologies
Out of necessity, many local governments took an important leap toward digital community development during the pandemic. However, in many cases, because this shift was reactive, it was quicker and less strategic than anticipated, leaving organizations wondering how to continue the digital journey.
Strategic Steps for Digital Transformation Success
By staying informed about permitting and licensing tech trends and key strategies, local governments can make a purposeful transition to a stable, citizen-centric digital infrastructure that will not only serve today's community development demands but also allow organizations to scale for future growth and challenges. Get the key questions for purposeful transformation in the essential guide for digitalizing development.
1. SELF-SERVICE: NO LONGER A "NICE TO HAVE"
When evaluating community development solutions, the ask is no longer simply: "Do you offer self-service technology?" The questions have become: "How is self-service built around my constituents' needs?" and "How does it prioritize their digital experience?"
Think Amazon. The customer can search, place an order, track shipments, compare products, ask questions, and view trends — all within one cohesive platform. Citizens have grown accustomed to this experience in all areas of business, including community development. With a strong software partner, you can make permitting just as simple, transparent, and seamless for constituents.
2. CONSISTENCY IS KING
When community development stakeholders are connected, everyone is more efficient and informed. By using one centralized platform with a consistent toolset, staff can work from the same shared data in real-time, allowing for equal accountability.
With a system that's managed consistently, it can be easier to identify bottlenecks to optimize both the sequence and speed of a given workflow. In turn, a connected, automated process can mean your staff has more time to focus on their key responsibilities, rather than tracking down project details or documents.
3. THINK BEYOND DEVELOPMENT
As digital transformations mature, local governments are realizing that a comprehensive civic services platform can not only increase efficiency organization-wide but can also maximize cross-departmental collaboration by dissolving silos. Instead of leaning on third-party integrations, consider one complete, connected software solution for all areas of civic services — from community development and business management to asset management, citizen requests, environmental health, and fire prevention.
4. THE "WHO, WHAT, WHEN, AND WHERE" MATTER
While a track record of successful implementations is important when evaluating technology, it's all in the details. If these implementations were not recent, or if they're all in the same region or among the same population size, it's hard to know if that success will carry over.
Beyond implementation, it's crucial to know if a vendor can remain strong through adversity. And don't forget to consider the stability of the financial partners a software vendor chooses. This can serve as an important clue for how well the vendor can weather a storm and what types of resources they have to invest in research and development.
5. FREE THE DATA
Giving your community access to permitting and licensing data is a start, but the real value is when data is available in an easily digestible format — that can be easily tailored to the various roles in your community, whether it's a citizen, a developer, staff, or even an executive. Rather than using staff resources to pull together data, they could use that time to dig into the data's findings to make decisions and optimize performance. That's why it's so important to team up with a software partner who offers out-of-the-box, native data toolsets that will do the heavy lifting for you.
6. CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT
Last, but not least: Aspire to work with a future-ready technology partner who isn't simply reacting to industry changes, but who is helping to drive the change. Five years down the road this could mean the difference between hearing "Sure, we can integrate with that," or "Yes, we have that."
ABOUT THE CONTENT AUTHOR AND SPONSOR: Tyler Technologies
Tyler Technologies (NYSE: TYL) provides integrated software and technology services to the public sector. Tyler's end-to-end solutions empower local, state, and federal government entities to operate more efficiently and connect more transparently with their constituents and with each other. By connecting data and processes across disparate systems, Tyler's solutions are transforming how clients gain actionable insights that solve problems in their communities. Tyler Technologies' client base includes more than 15,000 local government offices in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, and other international locations.