Business View Civil Municipal June 2023

5 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 6 OPENING LINES REPORT: LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TURNING TO DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE Source-Americancityandcountry.com, Andy Castillo, First Published 04, May, 2023 The push toward digital transformation in local government is synonymous with the rising needs brought on by climate change. Beyond convenience, streamlining efficiencies through automation and artificial intelligence is a step element that, increasingly, administrators and public officials are ensuring their organizations take. A national survey of 100 state and local government leaders by the Center for Digital Government shows that most agencies have already digitized their systems to improve safety, efficiency, and resilience within their physical operations—and more investments are planned. More than half of respondents said they intended “to further upgrade operational technologies in the next three years,” according to the report, “Government Agencies are Transforming Physical Operations to Gain Efficiency and Resilience,” which was published in collaboration with the tech company Samsara. “AI and automation are top of mind: Nearly half (49%) are currently implementing or planning to implement by 2025. These technology investments will drive workforce enablement and productivity: As the demands of the workforce evolve, respondents cite a need to invest in communication and collaboration tools (52%), mobile devices or O p e n i n g L i n e s