BITKOM, the Federal Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media in Germany, surveyed 1000 citizens over the age of 14 to ask them about their digital service needs and wants.  

The most prominent findings are: 

• Citizens expect more transparency and time savings through digitalization
• Legal regulations have been slowing down the implementation of digital services
• 77% think that 'public administrations in Germany take too long to process my requests
• 68% think that 'It is very difficult to get an appointment with a public administration on short notice' 
• 65% think that 'The administrations in my vicinity seems overburdened' 

According to the survey, digital public services for families in particular have great potential. For example, six out of ten citizens would like the application for child benefit (62 percent) and the registration for day care (61 percent) to be available online. Four out of ten respondents (41 percent) also want to apply for parental benefits online. When asked about other citizen services that were to be offered digitally, 83 percent said they would like to report shortcomings such as potholes online. 74 percent want to register or change their place of residence via the Internet. More than one in two (55 percent) would like to be able to apply for a certificate of good conduct online. Also for citizen services such as a car registration (48 percent) or the application for an identity card (45 percent), many German citizens no longer want to go to public administration office. 

These results highlight the need for more digital solutions in the public sector among citizens and also show the prioritization of services that are most important to citizens. 

For more information: 

• BITKOM survey (press release 19.09.2018)