The goal of improving citizen experience (CX) within the public sector is gaining momentum, in both the administrative and legislative branches of the federal government. CX has been a cross-agency priority in the past and with the release of the President’s Management Agenda (PMA), it is clear CX remains a top priority for this administration. Additionally, both houses of Congress have introduced bills to bring standard practices and more accountability into the way government interacts with citizens.

At GovExec’s recent Customer Experience Summit, entitled “Putting the Citizen First,” Anahita Reilly, chief customer officer at the U.S. General Services Administration, shared her thoughts about “What’s Different in CX?” for this administration. She noted that legislation, executive support, and CX trends are converging in the way the Federal government is currently approaching CX.

The PMA builds on the momentum from previous administrations in its specificity. “Improving Citizen Experience” is one of three cross-agency priorities (CAP) identified in the PMA. CX focuses on improving the way citizens interact with government’s digital services, which should lead to increased citizen trust in the government. The PMA also sets out goals to leverage technology to break down barriers in communication between citizens and government.

Suzette Kent, the new U.S. CIO, reinforced that the government’s focus on CX is not a pivot from previous IT modernization plans. The CAP performance goals are a way to bring short-term accountability into the longer-term modernization process.

All CAP goals have action plans associated with them. Instead of checking on progress yearly, each plan has specific deliverables expected on a quarterly basis.

In a nod to the importance of employee experience as a key driver of improvement of CX, the government is also providing recognition of employees who deliver excellent citizen experience. For example, the Service to the Citizen Awards highlight “champions of change” that “work tirelessly to provide the best services possible under sometimes difficult rules, politics and circumstances.” Final award winners will be recognized on May 1.

The emergence of CX as a driving force behind administrative and legislative policies illustrates just how important CX is. HighPoint is thrilled to see the steps the government is taking to bring citizen experience to the forefront. Naming CX improvement in policies, setting quarterly goals for accountability, and rewarding employees for excellence in citizen experience delivery are great steps in the journey to better interactions with government for all citizens.

This article was originally published on LinkedIn by Cal Shintani, Chief Growth Officer at HighPoint Global.