Government funded tool gamechanger for online form creation

As digital transformation continues to evolve, the need to offer seamless, efficient and secure online experiences has never been greater – especially at the interface between government and business.

Businesses deal with government agencies and councils in multiple ways every day and it can be time-consuming and frustrating – particularly when it comes to completing online forms. PDFs can be inaccessible and hard to use, there’s often duplication of effort involved with re-entering of information across different forms and the process fraught with delays.

On the flipside, for agencies and councils, developing online service forms that are compliant, secure, accessible and enable a speedy and responsive delivery can be equally time consuming and resource intensive.

As part of its priority to move all services online, the Government has unleashed a new product under its Business Connect initiative designed to make it easier for businesses to interact with government.

It’s called FormBuilder.govt, a specialist tool created by government, for government that gives agencies and councils a way to develop online service forms in days – not weeks or months with significant benefits to businesses.

Adopting the tool, which is fully funded by government, should be a priority for the CIO of any agency or council that hasn’t already digitised the process of completing forms.

FormBuilder not only fast-tracks the process, cutting the time and cost involved in external development, but smooths over complex compliance and procurement processes and streamlines privacy and security. With external development if you get something wrong – you might not find out until it’s too late.

In short FormBuilder takes the hard work and risk out of the process of creating forms. Forms are mobile responsive on the latest devices with guaranteed and pre-approved, proven standards of accessibility, security and privacy – and certainty of outcomes – reducing the need for formal assessments.

This means services can be implemented faster and changed quickly in response to fast-moving events.

It’s also good for agency and council budgets, which benefits everyone. Form creation and maintenance are fully funded by government allowing resources to be directed to other priorities. Smart features can also help reduce everyday admin and enquiries for staff. FormBuilder also replaces the troublesome PDFs.

Ultimately, FormBuilder is about making life easier for business users, giving them a smoother, more consistent experience – reducing duplication and waste, while improving completion rates and delivering higher quality data.

Agencies that are already working with FormBuilder such as Customs and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and councils like Kāpiti Coast and Manawatū are seeing the results in speed of turnaround and customer experience. The Fog Cannon Subsidy Scheme available to retail businesses on Business Connect has facilitated 1300 installations to be booked with high customer satisfaction.

Adopting this tool needs to be a priority. Businessconnect.govt.nz/formbuilder-govt