citizen relationship management (CRM)

Citizen relationship management is a growing effort at all levels of government to respond quickly, succinctly and accurately to citizen requests or inquiries for answers to questions and general information about policies, practices, and procedures. This term takes CRM as its abbreviation, and is a deliberate play on the more common expansion of that abbreviation, customer relationship management . Ultimately, the goal of both CRMs is to foster closer, more effective and efficient working relationships, to better anticipate and meet customer/citizen needs and to develop a more detailed working understanding of what customers/citizens want, expect, and need from those who serve them.

USA Services, a presidential E-Government initiative, is related to citizen relationship management. Overseen by the Government Services Administration's (GSA) Office of Citizen Services and Communications, USA Services seeks to provide rapid, accurate, and consistent information about how the government works, and to answer questions from citizens in similar fashion. USA services provides a clearinghouse for misdirected phone calls and e-mails, and offers a contact center to provide IT specialists and automated responses to citizen inquires by phone and over the Internet.

Similar efforts are underway at state, county, and municipal levels, as governments seek to interact more effectively with the people they serve.