The power of no-code to modernize government

The state and local government mission to help constituents and ensure public safety is unique, complex and requires thoughtful management to execute properly.  

Legacy technology and manual processes have worked in the past, but they become less practical as the world grows more connected. The benefits of technological modernization are no secret.

In fact, modernizing legacy platforms is one of the top priorities for state CIOs in 2022. 

Even as challenges to local governments become increasingly complicated, agencies are being asked to do more with less.  One way local governments can continue to drive innovation is with no-code solutions. They can help agencies embrace modernization and hit the gas pedal on digital transformation -- ultimately keeping constituents happy.  

Tech’s role in mopping up inefficiency 

Technology adoption and modernization are both key to the overall health of government – manual processes not only bog down work, they can frustrate staff and constituents. 

Government IT leaders must treat modernization of tools and systems with the same rigor the private sector has while adapting to constituent needs. For example, when COVID shut down schools and many businesses, front line government workers had to pivot quickly. Modernization went at super speeds to ensure the public’s health and safety. State and local governments were empowered to make decisions quickly, updating technology for work from home, contact tracing, vaccine management, etc. When government can rely more on in-house expertise and less on vendors and their costly services, there are fewer approvals and streamlined modernization. 

The case for no-code technology 

To adapt to the changing needs of their constituents and advances in technology, agencies must tap into the rising trend of non-tech folks being involved with app and system development -- with the decline in available workforce talent, it is a necessity.  At a Gartner symposium last fall, analysts predicted that by 2023, the number of active developers without IT backgrounds at large enterprises will be four times (at least) the number of professional developers. 

By opening up the development of applications and critical systems to employees without a traditional technological background, the burden of creating efficiencies is spread beyond the IT team, enabling innovation to happen across the agency and at a much quicker pace.

This type of development and the no-code technologies that support it allow for non-IT professionals without a coding background to write and build applications. This is an ideal solution for agencies as they are adapting to market-shifting events, such as when in 2019 1 million IT jobs went unfilled or a global pandemic that accelerated digital transformation.

At a time when the government is involved in complex, impactful projects, no-code enables agencies to be flexible and create solutions on the fly to better manage programs. In Paterson, New Jersey, for example, a no-code solution was developed  to help combat opioid use. The solution, developed with those directly involved with helping identify people in need, featured a network of call centers to help improve consultation between patients and medical professionals and streamlined the process the city used to prescribe anti-opioid medication Suboxone. The solution helped to coordinate and connect all of the moving pieces in the process, like doctors writing prescriptions, pharmacies fulfilling orders and insurance companies covering costs. 

But how can agencies determine which processes and tasks could be improved through no-code? In the public sector, that’s any process that directly advances digital transformation. Additionally, any tasks that are still largely driven by manual operations or paper-based forms would be perfect opportunities to create efficiency. These can include replacing old databases, cleaning up processes done on spreadsheets and creating efficiencies through state-run agencies like 911 that centralizes third-party data that’s needed to help callers. 

Another benefit of more flexible technology is the ability to easily manage governance and permissions across apps, systems and organizations – key for agencies processing sensitive information about their constituents. No-code allows agencies to automate compliance and easily manage the users on the systems, along with clearly identifying their roles. 

How to make the move to no-code: Advice for IT

Much like deploying any other technology, proper alignment is one of the biggest considerations for agency IT teams when rolling out new technology like no-code. These applications and systems must be compatible with the tech stacks of all players involved, or else the very inefficiencies that were supposed to be solved can creep back in again. 

Additionally, more agile technology allows agencies to streamline governance and access to certain applications and data. No-code offers permission-setting guardrails that are put in place from the moment applications are built, ensuring that only the right people have access to these systems and data at the right time. 

For no-code to truly have an effective role in modernizing government technology, there needs to be an IT leader at the top advocating for it. Accelerating the pace of change from legacy to technology stack modernization requires agencies to secure top-down buy-in from government leaders who are willing to embrace change and want to solve complex problems.