Why building trust is the foundation of successful digital transformation in government

“One of the things about trust is it takes a long time to build and can be lost in a split second.” 

In this, the penultimate episode of Government Transformed Series 1, guests Eilidh McLaughlin, head of the Scottish Government’s Digital Citizen Unit and Ben Roseth, modernisation of the state senior specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank, discuss why trust is a prerequisite for the delivery of successful digital services – and how to earn it. 

“If users don't trust the digital services, they're not going to use them. And if they don't use them, then neither the government nor the citizenry are going to get any of the benefits that digital services can entail – the greater efficiency, the greater transparency, the greater objectivity,” Roseth says.  

McLaughlin highlights the importance of inclusivity when designing digital services if trust is to be gained and maintained, and of balancing such services with the in-person engagement some citizens require. 

Both guests share insights into how governments can prevent loss of trust, focusing particularly on data protection, cybersecurity, transparency, and communication. On the latter, as McLaughlin says, it’s important to “communicate with people even when you don't have much to communicate. It's the silence that breaks the trust”.   

The episode also touches on why citizens so readily hand their data over to private sector companies yet are reluctant to do so with government, and trust in the context of digital services in Latin America and the Caribbean. Join this episode’s guests for a fascinating deep dive into trust in government – at a time when so many institutions are lacking it.  

In this episode, we refer to:  

Ben Roseth’s blog: Trust: An Obstacle and an Opportunity for Digital Transformation - Ideas Matter (iadb.org)  

Scottish Government report: Building trust in the digital era: achieving Scotland's aspirations as an ethical digital nation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)  

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