What If There Were a Citizen Experience Authority?

The state isn't short on good intentions. But it's missing a systemic design of what a citizen actually feels when they meet the system. Every time we open a business, enroll a child in school, or try to volunteer, we don't enter one system. We enter a maze. The reason is structural: each government ministry owns a domain, but no one owns the experience as a whole. No single body looks through the citizen's eyes, understands their life journey, and ensures the state operates with continuity, logic, and humanity. It's time to create one: a Citizen Experience Authority, responsible for designing the overall experience, grounded in design thinking, systemic innovation, and deep understanding of public needs. How does it work? Design thinking at the core The new authority wouldn't just "streamline services", it would design the relationship between the state and the citizen. Operating through a Design Thinking approach: starting with empathy, building solutions from real needs, and implementing through testing, iteration, and continuous improvement. Five proposed divisions 1. Research & Public UX, qualitative and quantitative research with citizens across all population groups; mapping life journeys (birth, entrepreneurship, relocation, education, employment); identifying pain points and key moments; open knowledge base for government ministries. 2. Service Design & Citizen Journey, multidisciplinary teams (designers, policy experts, product managers, researchers); redesigning services from the citizen-journey perspective; developing prototypes and pilot services. 3. Innovation & Partnerships, collaborations with civil society, municipalities, academia, startups, and research institutions; national innovation challenges in public service; regulatory sandboxes; hackathons and support for social entrepreneurship. 4. Standards, Coordination & Cross-Ministerial Leadership, developing standards for service interface design (UX, language, accessibility, metrics); coordinating content, technology, and process across ministries. 5. Training, Service Culture & Measurement, training civil servants in design thinking, service orientation, and plain language; building national experiential metrics (CX Index); measuring satisfaction by experience, not just operations. An example: opening a neighborhood restaurant Michael and Rotem dream of opening a vegan restaurant in the local market. They're full of excitement, but they hit a wall: business license, health ministry approval, building permits, fire department coordination, and more. With a Citizen Experience Authority, this journey is designed in advance as a smooth, transparent, effective entrepreneurship journey: - An interactive setup wizard that maps the type of business, location, and required steps

• A digital business journey file centralizing all permits, forms, and timelines in one place
• A cash flow and regulation simulator showing expected costs and average processing times
• A personal area with real-time updates, reminders, and chat with a representative who knows the file
• A community of similar entrepreneurs with tips, insights, and field stories Instead of fighting bureaucracy, Michael and Rotem feel guided, encouraged, and free to focus on what matters: the food, the experience, the community. From a state that manages services, to a state that designs service experiences A modern state can't afford bureaucratic headaches, confusing interfaces, and frustrating forms. It needs to shift to systemic design, one that starts with people and restores dignity and trust to the public space. The Citizen Experience Authority isn't just another ministry. It's a new cultural infrastructure. Just as technological revolutions changed how we communicate, work, and travel, it's time for a revolution in public service. One that starts with a simple question: What does it feel like to be a citizen in my country?