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Emerging technologies in government

Tomorrow's government today

Emerging technologies create extraordinary opportunities for governments to enhance how they fulfill their missions. But governments will need to continue the pace of modernization by adopting and embracing new technology, or they risk being left behind as the private sector rushes forward. 

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Lorna Stark

National Sector Leader, Government & Public Sector, KPMG LLP

Tomorrow’s government today draws on surveys and interviews with federal and state government leaders and constituents, along with our experience working with public sector organizations. We explore how governments serve a unique role in driving innovation, the forces and investments fueling the next great wave of breakthroughs and how public sector leaders are approaching emerging technologies. View the highlights below and download the full report for the trends, tools, and leading practices that can help governments accelerate their technology-enabled transformation.

Tomorrow’s government today

Dive into our thinking:

Embracing emerging technologies

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Technologically equipped

Leaders show broad confidence. 

1

Technologies with impact

Emerging technologies drive change.

2

Constituent experience

Personalization and efficiency are key.

3

Data and privacy protection

Leaders face the challenge head-on.

4

A future-ready workforce

Tools and training lead strategies.

5

Leaders express confidence in current technology

Ninety-four percent of the leaders surveyed report that their agencies are either well-equipped

or moderately equipped with the technology needed for their mission.

6% of leaders report being poorly-equipped with technology needed for the mission

62% report being moderately-equipped

32% report being well-equipped with technology needed for the mission

Preferences surface for technology implementations

Leaders seek to address current challenges through emerging technologies. They perceive cloud

technologies, generative AI and machine learning as the technologies with the greatest potential

for agency improvement.

1 Cloud Technologies

2 Generative AI

3 Machine Learning

Prioritizing the constituent experience a top goal

Government leaders report that they will prioritize technology use over the next 3 to 5 years to

create services more responsive to constituents, with nearly half very focused on streamlining

and personalizing constituent interactions.

44% of leaders very focused over the next 3-5 years on using technology to streamline and/or personalize the constituent experience

An emphasis on data protection ranks high

Alongside its rewards, digitalization brings new risks, leading to a targeted effort by leaders to

prevent compromised data security and privacy breaches. In fact, 68 percent of leaders list data

protection as a highly focused objective.

68% of leaders very focused over the next 3-5 years on preventing compromised data security and privacy

Building the workforce of tomorrow

With a vision for the future of government, nearly half of leaders are very focused on services

aimed at helping the US workforce become future-ready, such as programs to support upskilling

and reskilling. A combination of emerging technologies and well-structured training will be

required to support that vision.

46% of leaders very focused over the next 3-5 years on supporting upskilling/re- skilling to help the U.S. workforce to be future ready

Our recommendations

Establish or refine the incubation process within your agency

Any agency can adopt aspects of an incubation model within their organization. This requires ensuring practices are flexible enough to encourage prototyping and pilot programs while establishing a disciplined process to refine ideas into secure and cost- effective solutions.

Adapt technologies to your environment with an ecosystem approach 

Many government agencies have access to an abundance of technology products and licenses. The challenge is determining how to effectively utilize technologies and fit solutions into an agency’s unique environment. Avoid treating applications in isolation and instead take an ecosystem approach that maps how technologies fit together and serve an overall purpose.

Determine when to maintain legacy systems or build new ones  

Advanced technologies cannot function without accurate, accessible, and secure data. However, governments often work with data and IT systems that are fragmented or insufficient for the latest technologies and methods. Agencies may benefit from simply building new systems in a cloud environment that will be easier to keep secure and update over time. Consider building new environments using a now-popular modular approach and platforms that can integrate both new and legacy systems.

Cultivate strategic partnerships to strengthen your talent community

Recruiting tech talent is difficult across industries, but the challenges are often amplified for governments. Strategic partnerships can help. We are seeing more agencies develop private-sector working groups to collaborate on shared challenges such as cybersecurity. Agencies can also engage with educational institutions to align on talent training. Interagency rotational programs that encourage upskilling are another option to develop talent.      

Are you prepared to shape the future of innovation and the future of tomorrow?

Download Tomorrow's government today for additional survey results, insights and analysis.

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Lorna Stark

National Government & Public Sector Leader, KPMG US

Ty Enmark

Principal, Federal Advisory, KPMG US

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