For some years, states and local governments have pointed to technology as the silver bullet that was going to provide more efficient, timely services at lower costs. And there’s no question that with the remarkable advances that have been made – most recently in artificial intelligence – this is a valid, and indeed inevitable hope for the future. 

Still to roughly paraphrase the centuries old aphorism that “there’s many a slip between cup and lip,” it would be fair to say that there’s “Many a slip between hope and chip.”

Consider some of the findings from the EY Government & Public Sector (GPS) Federal, State and Local Trends Survey, which was commissioned by the EY Center for Government Modernization. The survey asked 300 leaders across federal, state, and local government agencies about their perception of and experience with emerging technologies. Following were some of the most significant findings:

• About two in five state and local agency leaders say one of the biggest barriers to technological modernization efforts at their agency is a shortage of skilled employees (46%), overworked staff (45%) and insufficient training and/or upskilling opportunities for existing employees (43%)

• Many state and local leaders are worried they won’t have the funding to hire skilled/trained staff (65%) or to upskill current staff (65%) to use emerging technologies. They say increasing technological modernization efforts and adopting emerging tech is part of the solution.

• According to government leaders surveyed, outdated software (42%) and hardware (38%) are some of the biggest barriers to tech modernization efforts at their agency.

Though the survey demonstrated some of the significant challenges, it also indicated that there’s hope in sight. Over nine in ten state and local leaders said that technology modernization efforts will help attract more potential employees to the public sector and emerging tech adoption will make their agencies more attractive to future talent.

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