Government Technology

Out of the Cubicle and into the Field: Mobility Matters in Extending Public Service Delivery


By the Center for Digital Government

Dilbert is dead. The age of civil servants in fabric-covered cubicles is over. It is over because the public expects services to be delivered where and when they want them, anywhere at any time. It is over because the new generation of public servants will not work in the boxed-in confines of an Industrial Era workplace. It is over because governments cannot afford the legacy costs of delivering services by conventional means. It is over because mobile technologies are making mission-critical data (voice, data, video, maps) available on-demand and on-site through mobile devices and the networks that support them.

According to one industry forecast, most industries - including the public sector - will continue to move away from fixed, location-based work environments to a "dispersed mobile world where workers are deployed in the locations where they are most effective." This mobilization of the workforce is a result of decreasing costs and increasing availability of mobile devices.

This paper explores the drivers and benefits for going mobile in the public sector. It also includes success stories from early adopters, as well as suggestions for getting started.



Government Technology
Public CIO
Emergency Management
Digital Communities