Blockchain Can Do the Unthinkable , Increase Government Productivity and Innovation

Blockchain, Bitcoin’s underlying distributed ledger technology, has practically unlimited use cases across industries, most of which involves increasing the efficiency of existing processes in a cost-efficient fashion. It is no different with the government operations as well.

A recent analysis and the resulting report published by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization has identified an opportunity to increase the productivity and innovation in the government sector with blockchain implementation. The report is part of CSIRO’s initiative to drive the adoption of distributed ledger technology across the country by the year 2030.

In the report, the organization also lists the possible scenarios for blockchain adoption in government services. The secure, immutable and transparent nature of cryptocurrency blockchain makes it possible for the government to use it as a platform to facilitate coordination between different levels of administration. It will further ensure efficient implementation of various government policies based on the requirements of different regions while keeping every relevant department in the administration appraised of the situation.

The use of cryptocurrency technology for record keeping drastically reduces the amount of paperwork associated with it. It also makes the whole process transparent. Blockchain-based records also promote single window operation across the country, irrespective of the issuing state or local administration. Any record can be easily verified (identity) and titles transferred (land titles) with great ease, almost instantly.

However, adoption of blockchain technology by the governments doesn’t happen overnight. The CSIRO report recommends the government to encourage research and development efforts in the blockchain sector and subject various solutions to stringent tests for the so-called “rainy day scenarios”. It also helps to have a clear regulatory framework to guide the research and development in the right direction. All these steps, combined with a conducive operating environment for the businesses in the sector will help in the rapid development and implementation of blockchain solution.

The sooner the governments start promoting blockchain technology, faster they can go ahead with its implementation, eventually saving lots of taxpayers’ money.

Ref: CSIRO | Image: NewsBTC