How to Utilize Government Services that Impact How Citizens View You

In today’s connected world, citizens are increasingly looking to their local government to provide seamless, digital services that match their experience elsewhere in the modern world. But what truly makes a digital service valuable to citizens? When it comes to community development processes, simply allowing submissions via email or uploading PDFs isn’t enough.  

True citizen-first services are purpose-built experiences that remove barriers to provide pleasant and efficient experiences in government interactions.  

How and Why Traditional Processes Fall Short 

Despite their importance, the permit processes at many local governments remain disjointed, cumbersome, or lack visibility. At the same time, citizen expectations have evolved dramatically. Individuals today expect seamless, intuitive, and purpose-built services for everything from their medical experience to their dealing with local government.  

When it comes to permitting and planning applications, whether dealing with physical paper applications or basic digital tools, these approaches create significant pain points: 

• Applicants face unclear requirements and cumbersome submission processes.
• Feedback is often vague or contradictory, leading to multiple resubmissions. 
• Lack of visibility into application status generates unnecessary calls to staff and general frustration among applicants. 
• City and county staff waste valuable time managing administrative tasks instead of conducting reviews.

Key Principles for Valuable Citizen Services 

Creating truly valuable digital services for plan review and permitting requires local governments to adhere to a few core principles: 

1. Transparency is non-negotiable: Citizens need access to real-time status updates and visibility in the review process. 
2. Create clear educational pathways: Help applicants understand submission requirements to get it right the first time.
3. Eliminate unnecessary barriers: Prevent common submission errors through Avolve AI technology, which uses AI to automatically check submission standards, such as document types, sheet references, and scales to save staff time and accelerate approvals. 
4. Design for the entire journey: Select solutions that consider both the applicant experience and the internal workflow efficiency. 

Value-Add for Citizen Services — Workforce Efficiency 

Beyond improved processes for citizens, electronic plan review solutions create better working environments for municipal staff. This enables more efficient back-office operations, which in turn supports a better citizen and applicant experience.  

Adopting modern technology also supports municipalities in attracting new tech talent — a growing necessity given the growing need for digital services support. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO)’s 2024 State CIO survey revealed that respondents consider workforce skills and constraints one of their top three challenges.  

The Economic Impact 

Forward-thinking municipalities recognize that streamlined processes aren’t just about customer satisfaction. They also directly impact economic development. 

“Facilitating a smooth, transparent process for developers and builders of all sizes enhances the appeal of investing in our community,” said Nidia Logan-Robinson, Deputy Director of the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development. 

 “Welcoming economic investment is not just beneficial—it is essential to sustaining growth and vitality. Our regulatory systems and processes play a significant role in seeding that growth. When local governments and regulatory agencies demonstrate efficiency and readiness, we signal that our community is ready and open for business and strategic development,” she added. 

By implementing purpose-built electronic plan review solutions, municipalities create a win-win: happier citizens who more favorably view their governments, more efficient operations, and stronger economic growth. The future of government services isn’t just digital — it’s intentionally designed for everyone’s success.