Government Forms as Friction

Identifying Opportunities for Innovation at the Intersection of Staff and Public Needs

Bibliographic Data

ID5948626
AuthorsNadine Levin (0000-0002-8175-0465, San Francisco Digital Services), Matthew Glibbery (San Francisco Digital Services), Nichole Lee (San Francisco Digital Services), Liz Avalos (San Francisco Digital Services), Darcy Bender (San Francisco Digital Services), David A Bender (0000-0001-9842-2110)
Year2023
Volume2023
Issue1
Pages448-464
Publication date2023-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthnographic Praxis in Industry Conference Proceedings (CONFERENCE)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1559-890X • E-ISSN: 1559-8918
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/epic.12181
OpenAlexW4406322965
LanguageEN
References cited26

This paper explores the friction inherent in forms as they flow between government institutions and people. Drawing on two case studies-a street vending permit form and a building permit form-we explore how forms are a nexus of different goals, needs, processes, and constraints for the delivery of government services. We show how reducing some types of friction through digitization creates other types of friction. Here friction is both destructive and generative: moments of friction crystallize conflicting needs between government constituents and institutions, and also point towards holistic opportunities to improve the delivery of government services. This paper expands the ethnographic lens to focus on both government staff and the public, while also exploring the friction ethnographers encounter as they work in complex bureaucratic settings

Business · Government (linguistics · Intersection (aeronautics · Political science · Public relations · Transport engineering · Engineering · Information Systems Theories and Implementation · Innovation and Knowledge Management · Management and Organizational Studies

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Open DOIOpen Access