By Keith Ellery, Avenu Justice Solutions Leader

By Kennon Walthall, Avenu Senior Vice President

We learned many things in 2020, but one of the most important lessons is the value of building crisis-resistant government by adopting a digital strategy. As we slowly start returning to a “new normal,” it appears that remote work, virtual conferencing, and a more digital-first economy are all here to stay. Avenu’s Ann Kirkbride explains in her recent op-ed, the importance of having a digital strategy and steps you can take today.

COVID-19 has upset business as usual for the American economy, and businesses have hemorrhaged jobs over the last year to compensate for COVID-19’s impact. But governments are among those that have been hardest hit by the pandemic. State and local governments lost close to 1,000,000 jobs in 2020. Governments need a way to reverse this trend and emerge stronger in 2021.

Governments are rapidly upgrading their digital offerings to meet heightened demand for quality government services during the coronavirus pandemic. This shift to digital presents many opportunities, but it also comes with unique challenges. In particular, governments must build and maintain citizens’ trust in digital government.

In a natural disaster, state and local governments are more important than ever for their constituents. But to prepare for the kind of crisis a natural disaster can bring, governments need a contingency plan.

Millions of Americans are struggling with their personal finances this year. The coronavirus pandemic has hurt small business, limited work opportunities and stretched personal savings to the limit.

5G has the potential to be particularly transformative for government, since it promises faster internet speeds and more performant networks for everything from data transfer to the burgeoning Internet of Things.

Trusted by more states than any other system, Avenu’s Unclaimed Property Solutions provides administrators with a suite of comprehensive tools to unite owners to unclaimed property they didn’t know they were missing. We were happy to learn about the success that Arizona’s program is having and their recent campaign to unite military personnel to their unclaimed property.

The coronavirus pandemic has decimated the revenue of state and local governments. Businesses are closing and citizens are spending less, generating deficits in tax income vital to many government budgets. In response, governments are firing employees and cutting key services just in order to get through the 2020 budgeting season.