A talk on online government content in South Africa, drawing on the experience at the Western Cape Government. Presented by Thomas Bevan at the Cape Town Content Strategy Meetup held in November 2011.
24. Content strategy can make
the difference.
Content strategy, even rudimentary,
will help you show how
good online content
can improve service delivery.
30. Also…
Applying for a passport / ID
Vehicle licences & registration
Old age pensions
Unemployment insurance
Liquor licence applications
Getting a firearm licence
The importance of putting government content online:Becoming policyGive public access to documents, forms, howtosReduce costs, esp at contact centres.Better participation and feedbackLess corruptionAccountabilityInteractionImprove communication with public
We’re getting online. More info available every year. Starting to be part of policy.
We’re getting online. More info available every year. Starting to be part of policy.
Include “Just make a website” and lack of ownership/maintenance
Put it on the home page. Now!The Minister/Director-General/Head of Department wants..Things change – all the time.
NB – change this by showing the value of good online content.
Content strategy =achieving business goals by maximizing the impact of content.Rahel Bailie: In the public sector, the ROI of content likely means efficiency of delivering services.KPI: Allow the public to get answers to questions or problems in a self-serve way, by providing helpful information.
- Keep it simple
Find out who your users are, and what they are looking for.
What do you think is the most popular section of our website?
What do you think is the most popular section of our website?
Expand on Westerncape.gov.za, and why this fails at gov.za. Also, always question whether the content is relevant.
A style guide people will actually use.
Tell anecdote of people from a prominent national department.
A basic content strategy has helped us get from here.
Cleaner
Very clean and focused
Visits up by 50%, pageviews by 40%.Complaints down by plenty!
Very few govt websites or online teams have a clear content strategy. It shows. Combined with the cultural challenges, means we’re stuck with poor online govt content. However, we’re starting to demonstrate the value of good content, combined with good design and navigation, and with that we’re starting to show the value. Many departments are now starting to understand about what we mean with good online content. Stats are very helpful!Content strategy =achieving business goals by maximizing the impact of content.
