Delivering better outcomes for citizens now and post-pandemic.

1. US human services: Lead with impact
US human
services:
Lead with
impact
Delivering better
outcomesnowand
post-pandemic

2. US human services: Lead with impact
This slideshare includes key findings
of two global online surveys Accenture
conducted in late 2020.
We surveyed 7,000+ people who had received a
social service in the past two years. We also
gathered the views of 660+ executives in
social services, employment, public pension
and child welfare agencies working in C-suite
roles or as agency directors, directors of IT,
policy directors, function heads and line of
business heads.
Respondents came from Australia, Canada,
Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway,
Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United
States.This deck highlights key findings from
US respondents.
Explore here:
• Rising demand for human services
• Three priorities for reshaping tomorrow’s
human services
• Change-in-action success stories

3. US human services: Lead with impact
Human services
agencies’ response to
COVID-19 has been
extraordinary
Yet underlying weaknesses have been
exposed andchallenges aremounting

4. US human services: Lead with impact
of US respondents expect to
use human services more in
the future.
36%
of US respondents say their human
services agencies’ response to the
COVID-19 pandemic has been strong or
very strong.
63%
Human services agencies face significant challenges in
helping get people back to work, keeping them safe and
providing other types of vital support.

5. US human services: Lead with impact
Agency leaders are focused
on key organizational
changes to recover
But nowthey feel less prepared
of US human services
executives believe their
agencies are highly prepared
for current
and future challenges.
60%
felt that way before the
pandemic.
73%
vs.

6. US human services: Lead with impact
Change is
needed—and
on the way
of executives and citizens expect
human services to look very different in
the years ahead.
+70%

7. US human services: Lead with impact
As agencies
rethink how—
and what—
they offer, three
priorities stand
out
Priority 01
Become more
responsive
Priority 02
Become more
accessible
Priority 03
Embrace new technologies
with human ingenuity
US human services: Lead with impact

8. US human services: Lead with impact
Agencies that are making
a difference deliver services
by effectively meeting citizens
where and when
they want—with frictionless,
personalized experiences
Despite pockets of excellence, most social services
agencies across the world are not making the most
of the powerful tools now available to evolve
services.
Priority 01
Become more
responsive

9. US human services: Lead with impact
Accenture helped the Canadian government launch its new
unemployment package Canada Emergency Response
Benefit in March.The Department of FinanceCanada
program was designed to provide financial aid to Canadians
impacted by COVID-19.
In just four days, Accenture set up a call center for
a team of 2,600 Canada-based agents, produced
over 25 dual-language supporting process documents and
delivered 1,400 training hours to enable remote handling of
calls on the new system.
Canadian government
Case Study
Launchingnew benefits tomeet quickly
evolving needs
Priority 01 Become more responsive
of US executives said that their agencies
deployed new services on a large scale
during the pandemic.
13%

10. US human services: Lead with impact
Making services more relevant
does little good unless people
know their choices or can access
them
US respondents said they lacked guidance
on eligibility and cited long wait times as the
most frequent obstacle to receiving services. Greater
accessibility and transparency aid trust and belief in
government leadership and services.
Priority 02
Become more
accessible

11. US human services: Lead with impact
said reducing wait times was
the best way to boost their
trust in government.
36%
of US respondents said they
lack sufficient guidance on
what services they’re eligible for.
82%
Priority 02 Become more accessible

12. US human services: Lead with impact
Even as vaccines become more freely available, citizens will be
seeking virtual services into the future. Accenture’sVirtualVisits
Solution is another way that governments can make services
accessible while increasing trust through safe and on-demand
services. It’s a completely virtual approach that allows for self-
serve appointment booking, along with document and
information sharing.
It also enables easy follow-up and ongoing engagement
between customer and service provider.
Virtual Visits Solution
Case Study
Empoweringcitizensthroughself-service and
on-demandtools
Priority 02 Become more accessible

13. US human services: Lead with impact
Agencies must become more responsive
and more accessible
Each of these goals brings its own challenges—and agencies
need to devote effort and investment inside their organization for
citizens to see results on the outside.
Priority 03
Embrace new
technologies with
human ingenuity

14. US human services: Lead with impact
Priority 03 Embrace new technologies with human ingenuity
In virtual work environments, innovation,
communication and collaboration increased but at
a steep cost to employee morale
Increase
No Change
Decrease

15. US human services: Lead with impact
Pre-pandemic,Accenture launched a joint research project with
theAustralian National University’s (ANU) Centre for Social
Research and Methods (CSRM). Its aim was to extend its
microsimulation policy modeling platform with leading desktop
visualization tools to
fast-track the discovery phase for new policy options.
This approach creates a powerful desktop analytics platform to
conduct real-world modeling and forecasting of the fiscal impact
of social policy decisions.
Australian National
University
Case Study
Sharingideasanddata
Priority 03 Embrace new technologies with human ingenuity
Only 41% of US executives
strongly agree their agencies can
pivot swiftly.

16. US human services: Lead with impact
Executives who said that their
agencies had not yet invested in…
'Modular and flexible
infrastructure’ such as cloud.
56%
Virtual work solutions.
57%
Artificial intelligence.
71%
Big data and analytics.
57%
Priority 03 Embrace new technologies with human ingenuity
Responsiveness and accessibility require new
investments in technology. But they’re being
postponed—delaying benefits for citizens and
employees

17. US human services: Lead with impact
To strengthen the continent’s public and private
sectors, in October 2020 the E.U. committed
up to €10 billion over the next seven years to develop
Europe-based cloud computing capacity.
European cloud computing
Case Study
Investing forthefuturethroughcommitment
toa longer-termtechnologystrategy
Priority 03 Embrace new technologies with human ingenuity

18. US human services: Lead with impact
Alongside its other impacts, COVID-19
has dramatically underlined the crucial role
of human services in supporting the most vulnerable
individuals and families. It has also demonstrated
the need for more effective human services delivery.
Technology is clearly part of the solution.
But embracing new ways of working and
new mindsets will be equally important.
Agencies that commit today to
meeting both challenges will
open the way to a brighter future
for their citizens—
and for themselves.

19. US human services: Lead with impact
Social Services Research Overview
Globally, 7,000+ residents
and
660+ executives were
surveyed in Sept 2020
Australia
70 execs
1002 citizen
Germany
70 exec 1001
citizen
Singapore
60 exec
500 citizen
United Kingdom
70 exec
1000 citizen
United States
70 exec
1000 citizen
Canada
71 exec
501 citizen
France
71 exec
500 citizen
Finland
60 exec 500
citizen
Norway
60 exec
500 citizen
Italy
60 exec
501 citizen
Executives responding were part of their
agency’s COVID response, across 5 public
service segments; Pensions exclude the US;
Child Welfare includes US, Canada, Australia
only; Citizens had received at least one kind of
social service within the last 2 years.
Social / human services (N=34) Public employment (N=26) Child welfare / child support (N=13)
Title / Role
C-suite
Director
Manager,
Head
State
46%
Federal
54%
White
Hispanic or Latino
Black or African American
Native American or
American Indian
Asian / Pacific Islander
Other
US
Residents
(n=1,000)
US
Executives
(n=70)
US Survey Participants Summary
20
14
17
19
Over $10b
$2b - $10b
$500m - $2b
Below $500m
Age
1,220
1,923
1,729
934
681
518
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-65
65+
Government level
Services used
in last two years
Race and Ethnicity
Agency Budget
765
535
739
Public
Employment…
Child Welfare /
Child Support
Other Social or
Human Services

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Authors
Copyright © 2021 Accenture.
All rights reserved.
Accenture and its logo are
registered trademarks of Accenture.
Valerie Armbrust
Managing Director
Public Service
valerie.c.armbrust@accenture.com
Gaurav Diwan
Managing Director
Public Service, NorthAmerica
gaurav.diwan@accenture.com
Rainer Binder
Managing Director
Public Service, Social Services Lead
rainer.binder@accenture.com
Meghan Yurchisin
Senior Principal
Public Service,Accenture Research Lead
meghan.yurchisin@accenture.com