Government trends report highlights the pandemic’s profound impact on public service

The pandemic’s societal impact on local government can’t be overstated; two years on and it’s clear there’s no going back to a pre-COVID-19 normal—as signified by a number of emerging government trends. As organizations navigate toward an ever-changing horizon, they’re doing so with renewed priorities and an evolving vision.

A new report from Deloitte’s center for government insights, “Government trends 2022,” quantifies those transformations—from an increase in digitization to a focus on sustainability—through analysis.

“The 2022 report distills extensive research on government, including what’s happening in the trenches. Our collaboration this year with Apolitical brings you voices from the frontlines—public servants who are pioneering these innovative trends,” the publication reads, noting Deloitte first started producing the report three years ago.

This year’s report highlights ten government trends categorized under three groups: Building resilience, the overhaul and integration of digital systems and data sharing, and “government for all the people: Making programs and services truly equitable and inclusive.” 

With the rapid increase of damaging climate change-driven natural disasters in recent decades, and especially in the last few years, municipalities are building resiliency into their budgets and long-term goals. It’s risen “to the top of government leaders’ agendas. … More and more government agencies, even those not directly linked to the environment, are making climate a top priority,” the report notes about its top trend: climate-resilient government. As an example of this, the report notes that “city planners are looking at ways to use data analytics to prepare for climate-related disruptions.” 

From backlogs at shipping ports to businesses of global importance that ran into supply shortages, the pandemic impacted the supply chain in profound ways. With governments now pivoting to secure vulnerabilities, the second trend cited in the report is reshoring and reshaping supply chains. And where it’s not possible to bolster existing chains for economic resiliency, governments are creating networks of trusted suppliers that can be relied on. 

The third trend is future-proofing the public sector labor force through adaptations like remote work, education and skills training. This isn’t surprising given that stay-at-home orders greatly accelerated the existing trend of remote work over the last two years. 

“Labor force participation rates are declining, and employee stress is growing, leading to what some have called the ‘great resignation,'” the report continues. “Governments are trying to bring labor policies in line with this new economic reality, with the broader aim of improving the labor markets’ efficiency.” 

In relation to connectivity, the fourth trend is linked-up government, or collaboration across agencies and organizations. A major driver in this is the advancement of data technologies that are breaking down silos—the fifth trend. As silos break down and governments create collaborative initiatives, they gain economic power and, with it, the ability to drive innovation, which is the sixth trend.  

Another notable shift brought on through the pandemic is the role government plays in public health. The global response to the crisis showed just how interconnected governments are, and the value in that. Because of that, the next trend is “collaborating for better health preparedness.” 

“Some of governments’ greatest achievements have been through playing the catalyst role rather than attempting to do all the heavy lifting on its own,” the report notes. “Governments can catalyze innovation in many ways, serving as enabler, funder, convenor, or ecosystem integrator.” 

Alongside news of COVID-19, there’s also been a steady stream of discourse over the last few years centering around issues of equality, at first triggered by the George Floyd protests in the summer of 2020. When considered alongside issues like remote work, virtual classrooms and telehealth, digital access for all, designing for inclusive engagement and reimagining social care are the last three trends listed. 

“The pandemic has put enormous pressure on social care systems. It has compelled governments to re-examine how they can provide equitable, seamless, and effective social care services. As a result, social care leaders are increasingly integrating data across multiple sources to develop early interventions, adopting a human-centered mindset to design and deliver programs, and providing more holistic ‘wraparound’ support to help recipients quickly gain stability.”