IT excellence: lessons from the VA, the Air Force and abroad
Briefly

American taxpayers seek online government services that rival Amazon's reliability and efficiency, desiring higher quality without increased costs. Countries like Singapore, Switzerland, and Denmark demonstrate effective digital governance with high accountability and integrity. These nations differ from the U.S. not just due to size, but through adaptive public administration that shifts based on needs. Over time, U.S. federal agencies have become perceived as inefficient, losing trust and responsiveness due to factors like political polarization and a focus on compliance. Their experience offers significant lessons for improving U.S. government services.
Nations like Singapore, Switzerland and Denmark consistently deliver high-quality digital experiences with accountability, integrity and trust. This intelligent delivery of government services ensures administration is the means to an end, not the end in itself.
Today, many view the federal bureaucracy as rigid, inefficient and untrustworthy. This didn't happen overnight; it reflects a gradual loss of legitimacy, capacity and responsiveness.
The rise of New Public Management in the late 20th century brought corporate-style focus on technocracy and compliance, often at the expense of citizen empowerment and mission fulfillment.
In contrast, the public sectors of leading digital nations have avoided stagnation by developing adaptive administrative capacity. Agencies scale according to policy needs, fostering social consensus around trusted digital tools.
Read at Nextgov.com
[
|
]