What is Municipality DX? Detailed explanation of the background and specific promotion steps

With the promotion of DX by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, many companies are paying attention to DX. DX must be actively pursued not only by general companies but also by public institutions and local governments. However, some people may not be able to imagine why DX is attracting attention in local governments. Therefore, this time, I will explain the background and promotion procedure that the local government DX is attracting attention.

What is Municipal DX?

In recent years, with the declining population due to the declining birthrate and aging population and the rapid changes in lifestyle due to the new coronavirus, digital transformation has attracted a great deal of attention. Here, we will explain about DX and local government DX.

DX overview

DX is an abbreviation of “Digital Transformation”, which means to utilize digital technology to provide society with unprecedented value. Recently, new technologies and business models are appearing one after another, and the environment around us is changing at a dizzying pace. DX leverages a variety of technologies to enrich our lives.

What is Municipality DX?

In the first place, a local government is a public organization recognized by the state and means a local government. Municipal DX is an initiative to transform local governments with digital technology. In the local government DX, in the “Basic Policy for Reform for the Realization of a Digital Society” decided in 2020, the vision to be aimed at is “By utilizing digital, it is possible to select services that meet the needs of each individual, and diverse happiness. -A society that can be realized-People-friendly digitalization that leaves no one behind- “.

Difference from ICT

A word similar to DX is ICT. ICT is an abbreviation for “Information and Communication Technology” and means information and communication technology. The purpose of ICT is to shift the digitalization of analog business and the infrastructure environment such as on-premises implemented by companies to the cloud, which will lead to the improvement of business efficiency and corporate value. On the other hand, DX conversion is to promote digitalization through ICT, which will lead to changes in the business model and the business itself. Local government DX will also improve services for changing the digital technology used by residents.

Background to the attention of local government DX

There are three main reasons why local government DX is attracting attention.

• The problem of declining birthrate and aging population
• Diversification of residents’ needs
• Generalization of digital technology

The problem of declining birthrate and aging population

Local government DX is attracting attention for reducing the workload due to the declining birthrate and aging population. Recently, the declining birthrate and aging population have become a major social problem. Due to the declining birthrate and aging population, the movement of “people, goods, and money” that local governments use in their daily work has been reduced, and it is no longer possible to carry out the same work as before. For example, as the population declines, the number of people responsible for regional administration is decreasing, and as a result, the amount of tax and money that can be earned from the economy continues to decrease.

Diversification of residents’ needs

One of the reasons why people are paying attention is that the needs of residents are diversifying with the spread of digitalization. While the development of digital technology provides immediate information, each inhabitant has different needs, making it difficult to meet all of them. However, while demands are increasing, there is a limit due to the shortage of administrative personnel.

Generalization of digital technology

With the generalization of digital technology, the fact that digital has begun to be used as the fourth element following “people, things, and money” is also a factor in promoting DX. With the spread of smartphones, we are now in an environment where we can access the Internet and get the information we want at any time and place. Local governments also need to utilize digital technology to meet the needs of residents.

Local government DX promotion procedure 1: Change consciousness

There are three steps in how to proceed with the local government DX: “awareness reform,” “policy formulation,” and “system development.” Here, I will explain about the change of consciousness.

Change your mindset

First, leadership leaders and executives should have a good understanding of DX and transform their mindset. DX needs to be advanced after the top class of the company makes an accurate judgment. In particular, top management is required to make a big decision when introducing or renewing the system, so it is important to make a decision after understanding the purpose and how to proceed. Furthermore, by spreading it from the top down to the inside of the company, it will lead to a change in the mindset of general employees.

Prepare your skill set

After the mindset has changed, it’s time to put in place a skill set to practice DX. Even if only the mind changes, it is impossible to realize DX without skills. In particular, human resources with knowledge of digital technology and AI are required, so if you are absent, you need to train them within the company or secure them from outside.

Improve literacy

Since DX conversion utilizes digital technology, each employee who uses it needs to improve literacy for IT. Before making DX, there are many cases where offline work and analog work are the main tasks without utilizing digital technology. The digitization of these operations will require different operations. If you are accustomed to digitization, you can respond immediately, but if you continue to be exposed to analog work, you will not be able to keep up with the changes. Therefore, it is necessary to make efforts to improve the literacy of staff members on a regular basis.

Local government DX promotion procedure 2: Formulate a policy

Next, we will formulate the policy of the local government DX according to the following items.

• Clarify the purpose
• Develop a strategy
• Clarify decision-making and roles

Clarify the purpose

DX conversion is just a means, not an end, so we need to find out why we are working on it. If you proceed with DX conversion without clarifying the purpose, the DX conversion itself will change to the purpose in the middle, and you may not be able to obtain the desired effect after DX introduction. For the purpose, it is effective to reconfirm the reason for existence as a local government and the mission. Then, we will clarify the future outlook and the ideal state of the local government.

Develop a strategy

Once the purpose is clarified, we will formulate what kind of strategy will be used to realize DX. When planning a strategy, it is important to close the gap between the current situation and the vision to be aimed at. The strategy is to think about what you need to do to fill the gap. Furthermore, it is important to formulate a period from a medium- to long-term perspective, not a short-term plan.

Clarify decision-making and roles

DX conversion involves not only a specific department but the entire company. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the decision-making process from management to the field and define the roles that each has. As we move forward with DX, there will be situations where we will have to make decisions in each phase. At that time, not only deciding who makes what kind of decision, but also clarifying the process of collecting the materials for making a decision will lead to smooth decision making.

Local government DX promotion procedure 3: Establish a system

The final step is to improve the system according to the following items.

• Develop a promotion system
• Place human resources
• Secure a budget

Develop a promotion system

Since DX conversion in local governments is an example that is not usually tackled, it is necessary to create an appropriate organization. It is especially important to establish a specialized organization for digital transformation. By creating a specialized organization for DX, we can focus on DX and actively promote it. Furthermore, it is effective for each department to build an environment where they can communicate with the DX organization and exchange information on a regular basis.

Place human resources

After establishing the promotion system, we will allocate human resources to the organization. The human resources required within the organization include leaders such as CDOs (Chief Digital Officers), management personnel who coordinate the resources and schedules of members, and DX personnel who are working units that connect the field and management.

Secure a budget

The last is to secure a budget for local government DX. DX promotion involves the introduction of new systems and tools, which incurs significant costs. Therefore, without a budget, it will be difficult to promote DX. However, some companies may find it difficult to secure a budget for DX. In such cases, it is recommended to utilize the national subsidy system.

Local government DX promotion procedure 4: Implement measures

When we are ready to promote DX, we will implement the measures. When implementing measures, it will be possible to proceed efficiently by utilizing the following frameworks.

• Utilize the PDCA cycle
• Incorporate OODA loop

Utilize the PDCA cycle

PDCA is an acronym for “Plan, Do, Check, Action”, and by repeatedly implementing each action, the accuracy of management work is improved. It is a method to go. DX is not an initiative that can be effective immediately after its introduction, but it is something that will gradually produce results if it is continuously implemented. Therefore, it is necessary to proceed with progress management by PDCA cycle in a timely and flexible manner.

Incorporate OODA loop

OODA is an acronym for “Observe (observation, information gathering), Orient (situation, direction judgment), Decide (decision-making), Act (action, execution)” and theorizes the decision-making process. It is the one that was done. In DX promotion, there are situations where you are forced to make a decision at each step. At that time, you must make the right choice, keeping an eye on the current situation and future prospects. Take advantage of the ODCA loop to optimize your corporate decision-making.

Let’s promote DX with the no-code AI cloud “UMWELT”

In order to promote DX in local governments, it is necessary to proceed in an appropriate procedure. However, there are many people who are worried that it will not be possible to promote it well due to the absence of DX human resources. Therefore, I would like to recommend “UMWELT” provided by TRYETING.

UMWELT can convert existing systems to AI without preparing a special environment, and can significantly reduce the costs associated with AI conversion of existing systems. Since the abolition of legacy systems is a major obstacle in promoting DX conversion, UMWELT can be used to efficiently promote DX conversion.

summary

Local government DX is attracting attention due to the declining birthrate and aging population and the diversifying needs of residents. However, even if you try to introduce it, there are not enough qualified human resources, and many companies are worried that the introduction will not proceed well. With UMWELT, AI analysis can be performed with only intuitive operations such as combining blocks, so AI can be handled without the need for specialized knowledge. For those who want to promote local government DX from now on, why not consider introducing “UMWELT” introduced this time.