10
families in order to accommodate work and home-life schedules. This happens on both an as-needed
basis and, as in the case of Wednesdays at their Baltimore City offices, as part of a regular schedule.
The ultimate goal is to make services available on-demand. By
moving processes online, the customer is able to complete their
transactions with the state when they want, no longer
constrained by complications such as office hours, remote
locations, and transportation issues. Agencies such as the
Department of Housing and Community Development, the
Maryland State Police, the Department of Human Services, the
Maryland Energy Administration moved a number of their
program applications online. At the Department of Assessments
and Taxation, 40% of the transactions on the online Maryland
Business Express platform are performed outside of “standard”
business hours, and one in five users access Business Express on a
mobile device. The Department of Transportation created an online one-stop shop to bring together the
most popular customer service needs from across their transportation business units. The Department
of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation is exploring a similar licensing one-stop shop concept for
implementation in the near future.
Embracing the shift to mobile technologies, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency has
created mobile apps that allow users to check their scratch-off tickets for winners, create a digital
lottery ticket that can then be scanned at their retail location of choice to purchase an actual lottery
ticket, find the latest winning lottery number, view Keno and Racetrax game winners, and more. In fiscal
year 2017, these Lottery apps were downloaded almost 320,000 times.
Connecting Online & Going Social
In today’s modern age, information is shared at the speed of the internet. No longer is it necessary to
wait for the broadcast news or tomorrow’s morning edition to get the news of the day. Instead, critical
updates can be pushed to those who most need it whenever they need it. The use of websites and social
media now allow state agencies to communicate directly and immediately via rich, interactive media.
Every state agency has a website. Combined, those webpages were viewed over 47 million times in fiscal
year 2017. While the websites vary in content from agency to agency, each is intended to provide the
public with information and resources. Contact information, published reports, datasets; these are
common among the agency websites. A number of agencies offer very interactive services via their sites.
While not every service or process is available online, the option to complete an application online is
becoming more and more common across state websites. Whether it is the ability to renew your driver’s
license via the Motor Vehicle Administration’s website or reserve a campsite on the Department of
Natural Resources’ online Compass site, offering these kinds of services to the public on their schedule is
the goal.
Customized reporting and dashboards provide user-driven, real-time reporting options for interested
parties. The Maryland State Department of Education’s State Report Card and the Maryland Department
of Health’s Vital Statistics online interface are both excellent examples of on-demand reporting that is
“It was so refreshing to
be able to speak to a
person that cared about
your issues. Your
customer service is
excellent!”