Government Forms as Friction: Identifying Opportunities for Innovation at the Intersection of Staff and Public Needs

Abstract

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.