This past week, I had the opportunity to attend the ICMA Local Government Reimagined Conference in Milwaukee on behalf of STEPS Consulting Group. As we continue to work with more entities in this sector, it was important to us that we engage deeper to continue learning and bringing more value to our clients. It was truly a great experience that revealed both challenges and tremendous opportunities for digital transformation in the municipal sector.

The Current State: Challenges as Opportunities: Walking the networking hub and attending sessions, a clear pattern emerged. Local governments nationwide are wrestling with remarkably similar challenges:

• Technology Fragmentation: Municipal operations often rely on a patchwork of disconnected systems—each performing its designated function adequately but creating data silos that prevent holistic service delivery.
• Legacy System Limitations: Many cities have invested in technologies that solved specific problems years ago but now lack the integration capabilities needed for today's connected citizen experience.
• Experience Gaps: Both citizen and employee experiences have room for improvement. Residents want the same seamless digital experiences they enjoy with private companies, while government employees need tools that reduce administrative burden rather than create it.
• AI Curiosity: There was a genuine curiosity about artificial intelligence adoption. Some entities have gotten started, but the majority are still in the infancy and in need of taking the first steps—from policy and guidance creation to understanding what possibilities they should prioritize.

What's Working and What's Next The conference showcased several promising solutions gaining traction:

• Conversational Interfaces: Website chatbots have become increasingly common, though the success of these implementations varies dramatically based on content readiness and knowledge base quality.
• Multi-Channel Communication: Leaders are recognizing that citizens want to interact through their preferred channels—whether that's web, mobile, text, or video. Viewing residents as customers and investors was a fantastic insight that really helped drive this idea home!
• Automated Administrative Functions: Solutions addressing meeting minutes, reporting, and public records requests show particular promise for freeing staff time for higher-value work.
• Yet the most compelling opportunity lies not in any single solution but in integration—connecting disparate systems to create coherent, end-to-end digital experiences that serve both internal and external stakeholders.

Building the Right Foundation One aspect I appreciated was the presenters that noted that the technology selection is not the only part of the equation, and that an enterprise-view must be taken. Successful digital transformation in local government, just like the other industry sectors we work with, requires:

1. Strategic Vision: Technology decisions must align with clear citizen experience and operational efficiency goals.
2. Content and Data Readiness: AI and automation tools are only as good as the underlying information they can access.
3. Process Evaluation: Digitizing broken processes just creates faster broken processes.
4. Change Management: The human element remains crucial to successful technology adoption.

The best part, these are all considerations that we consider in our approach at STEPS Consulting Group. It was extremely validating to hear that and understand that this approach will resonate in this sector as well.

Moving Forward Together The road to digital transformation and AI adoption in local government isn't just a "flip of a switch," but by focusing your efforts on the most important areas in a pragmatic approach, the potential rewards are tremendous: more engaged citizens, more efficient operations, and more fulfilling work for public employees.

As we continue this journey into local government, I'm excited to connect with the fantastic people I met who are all working at this intersection of technology and public service. The opportunities are tremendous for all involved to make a real impact!

About the Author 

Craig Sizemore is the co-founder and managing principal of the STEPS Consulting Group. He's also a Kansas City 40 Under Forty award winner and Certified Project Management Professional.