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Jan
07
2013
Report Number:
RARC-WP-13-003
Report Type:
White Papers
Category: Innovation

e-Government and the Postal Service — A Conduit to Help Government Meet Citizens’ Needs

January 7, 2013 (RARC-WP-13-003)

e-Government has developed over the past 20 years in response to the changing needs of an increasingly digital society. Federal, state, and local agencies have adopted a number of e-Government initiatives to increase access to information and services, improve government operations, cut costs, and promote civic engagement. Recently, the White House released the Digital Government Strategy that sets guidelines for federal agencies to follow in order to innovate and enhance the quality and efficiency of public services. Nevertheless, there are still lingering gaps in security, access, and ease of use that have hindered full, public adoption of existing e-Government services, as well as the development of new services.

This paper discusses the opportunity for the Postal Service to establish a one-stop, shared, multi-channel service platform to help all levels of government fill these gaps, while addressing massive duplicative costs across agencies.

By leveraging its retail and delivery networks, digital platform, address databases, and its trusted intermediary role, the U.S. Postal Service could offer other agencies a wide range of physical and digital e-Government solutions. These services could include communication services, online identification, electronic payments, in-person services, and broadband access. The physical-digital platform could also provide a crucial bridge to enable users to access government services through whatever channel best meets their needs, while adding a layer of resiliency to essential public functions during emergencies.

For more information on how the Postal Service could assist agencies in improving quality, cutting costs, and enhancing security and convenience of services, read the full report below.