This eBook is brought to you by our friends at Whispir.
Local Government 2021: The State of Citizen Engagement
Historically, citizens have placed more trust in their local government than they do state and federal governments. This has remained true throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, where trust has been more important than ever. A recent Economist/YouGov Poll1 showed that while only 38% of surveyed citizens gave the federal government excellent or good marks in handling coronavirus, the majority (55%) said their local government was doing a good job. Still, the challenge remains for local governments to be able to maintain this trust and foster deeper connections with citizens. To do so, the right tools and technology are needed. It’s paramount that local governments adopt established and engaging communication tools that meet citizens where they’re at – within the digital space. COVID-19 has further normalized interacting online, and with this, the need for new methods of communication is growing. The most successful governing bodies are reinvigorating their current tactics as well as creating new approaches to foster citizen trust and connection.
Effective communication as a tool for citizen engagement
A successful government and community relationship is built on transparency, openness, and accountability. These pillars can only be forged through effective communication, with a focus on delivering timely messages, facilitating two-way communication, and meeting constituents in the digital space they live in. Effective communications, by definition of being “effective”, also needs to make life easier for local government teams. It needs to give you and your staff time back to focus on long-term planning and new initiatives; or just time back in your day to create better work-life balance. Communication and operational leaders that are paving the way in engaging their citizens are doing so with integrated and seamless communications, which effortlessly transition between email, SMS, voice, web, and more.
In this guide for local government leaders and their teams, you will discover the power of the multi-channel approach driven by Whispir’s unified communications platform. You’ll discover how you can use it to re-energize the relationship with your citizens, and galvanize your team around a software platform that increases efficiency and reduces your communication team’s workload.