A digitization strategy is not rocket science

Swiss municipalities agree: a clear strategy is an important factor for the success of digital transformation. This is demonstrated by the latest community survey on digitization. However, the “Myni Gmeind” study (available in German and French) also shows that only 20 percent of municipalities have a comprehensive digitization strategy. 

Vision, measures, control 

In day-to-day business, there is usually little time to develop detailed concepts. However, there is no need for hundreds of pages of documentation or complicated analyses. A digitization strategy is no more than a basic plan on how to achieve your digitization goals. In theory, there are various approaches to strategy development. As a basic principle, however, there are three simple questions that you should answer for your municipality: 

1. What do we want?

Formulate your digital vision – i.e. a short, concise guiding principle for digitization. For example: “Our working environment is paperless” or “Our services are digital”. Then define specific goals – these must be clear, measurable and achievable. 

2. What do we need?

Of course, the right technology is key to digital transformation: which programs, platforms and software tools can you use to achieve your goals? And which cybersecurity solutions are suitable for your purposes? Make sure you clarify early on whether use of the chosen resources is legally compliant. Do the new citizen services comply with data protection requirements, for example? Otherwise, you are expending a lot of effort for nothing. 

Plan the additional resources you need to implement your digitization projects. Does your hardware infrastructure also need to be upgraded? You may need new servers, computers or laptops. Define the overall financial and personnel costs for the digital transformation. How will work processes change? Also ask yourself which external partnerships you want to establish in order to gain additional expertise. Create a schedule and define milestones. 

Clarify the organization – i.e. who is responsible for implementing digitization in the various departments. Form working groups and define further responsibilities. 

3. How do we proceed?

Determine how you want to implement your plans. For example, regularly compare your progress with your goals. This will keep you on course. Include residents in the process, too. Their feedback is important in order to develop an e-government service that they will be satisfied with.

How to find the right people and partners for digitization 

Expertise is essential for successful digitization. Determine which skills you need, and provide your employees with further training – for example, “Digital Pioneer: the ‘Myni Gmeind’ service” (available in German and French) also supports you in establishing an external network with other municipalities. Exchanging information on experiences with digitization can be very helpful when developing a strategy.