Real People, Real Stories

Introduction

This is the first of three core sections of the report, New Zealand E-government 2007: Progress Towards Transformation:

• Real people, real stories presents research findings from the perspectives of New Zealanders who use government services.
• Delivering e-government offers insight into progress towards e government in New Zealand from the perspectives of agencies which deliver government services.
• Towards transformation draws together "think pieces" by 15 individuals from various stakeholder groups, who were invited to contribute their views on the future of e-government in New Zealand.

The full report assesses the extent of achievement towards the Networked State Services Goal and the 2007 milestone of the E-government Strategy: "that networks and Internet technologies are integral to information and service delivery in the New Zealand State Sector to citizens".

Approach

The stories of those who are users of government services, particularly when told in their own words, provide a very "real" perspective on government service delivery. The following stories derive from research and in-depth interviews of 24 people with a wide range of life experiences. The stories illuminate the variety of users of government services and the complexity of their needs, and provide a useful context for considering the extent to which e-government has helped to meet those needs.

Six users' stories were selected for inclusion in this report because, taken together, they best reflect the overall themes that emerged from the research and 24 interviews:

• Awareness of and access to information
• Role of intermediaries in service delivery
• Empathy and understanding the user’s context
• Innovating traditional processes using information and communication technologies
• Delivering value to users

Each story is available as a pictorial representation (in PDF format), underscoring salient features and bringing into relief both the positive and negative experiences of using government services. The accompanying narrative, incorporating the user's own words, highlights key points and possible implications.

Interpretation has remained faithful to the user's account of their experience as recorded in the interview transcripts. Only their names and some personal details – such as profession or gender – have been changed, for reasons of privacy.

Following the users' stories, the common themes are discussed.