Closing the trust gap
The US is facing a severe trust deficit driven by social, economic, and technological factors. These crises can be mitigated through transparency, citizen engagement, and customer experience.
William D. Eggers
Samantha Korta
Mahesh Kelkar
Glynis Rodrigues
Key takeaways
- America is experiencing a crisis of trust. The United States is currently experiencing a significant trust deficit in the government, driven by social, economic, and technological factors. This trend has been evidenced by a steady decline in public trust over the last six decades.
- Multiple meta-shifts can impact trust this decade. Several factors could potentially impact trust in the coming years. The boost to public funding due to legislative actions, being focused on customer experience, and improving federal workforce engagement can positively influence trust. Threats such as rising geopolitical tensions and a disruptive technology era can negatively impact it.
- Government can rebuild trust through its actions. By focusing on improving the customer experience of government services, regulating emerging technologies, and tackling misinformation, government can significantly enhance public trust.
- Government should find ways to tackle hard problems collaboratively. It can rebuild trust by forming coalitions to address complex social issues and tapping into trust networks. These networks can help reach certain population cohorts or hard-to-reach communities, thereby fostering a more inclusive and trustworthy governance model.
In the uncertain landscape of contemporary America, trust stands as a fragile pillar, affected by skepticism and eroding faith in institutions. At the core of this crisis lies a sobering statistic: A mere 16% of Americans trust the federal government.1 This isn’t merely a blip on the radar; it’s a story of perpetual decline that has been unraveling for decades.2
Yet, amid the gloom, there may be hope—a belief that trust, though fragile, is not beyond repair.3 These green shoots of trust can be seen across the government. What’s needed are ways to unearth factors that can help rebuild trust—one brick, one interaction, one program at a time—to help illuminate a path forward.
For example, the US Department of Veterans Affairs implemented a customer experience (CX) program to build trust with veterans. The program focused on empathy and improving the overall veteran experience, leading to a rise in veteran trust in the department’s outpatient care from 55% in 2015 to 92% in 2024.4
In another instance, the US Census Bureau established a Trust and Safety team to combat disinformation and misinformation about the 2020 census that could potentially harm response rates. Working closely with government agencies, fact-check and civil society organizations, and technology companies, the Bureau’s efforts in building trust were important in helping drive participation and achieving a 99.9% response rate in the 2020 count.5
These examples demonstrate how government can restore trust to deliver better mission outcomes. While the road to rebuilding trust is fraught with known and unforeseen challenges, it is a road that should be traveled. Governmental actions, grounded in transparency, accountability, and efficiency, are the cornerstone upon which trust can be rebuilt. Yet, the onus should not rest solely on government; active engagement by individuals and communities, nurturing the bonds of empathy and understanding, is equally vital.
What’s now: America’s crisis of trust
The rise and fall of public trust in the federal government
Trust in the federal government has been declining over the past six decades (figure 1), hitting a near 70-year low in 2023, with only 16% of respondents trusting the government to “do what is right” most of the time.6
In the late 1950s, 75% of people surveyed trusted the government.7 Since then, trust levels fluctuated in response to social changes, declining during the Vietnam War in the 1960s, when facing the economic challenges of the 1970s, and in the aftermath of the 2007 Great Recession, and soaring during the economically prosperous mid-1980s and 1990s.
A trend to note is the “rallying around the flag” effect. During crises like the 9/11 attacks or the COVID-19 pandemic, public trust in the government rose due to a shared sense of purpose. However, this surge in trust, reflecting the government’s crisis response, was short-lived—a “trust bubble” that burst relatively quickly.
Declining trust has penetrated public and private sector institutions
Confidence in various US institutions, including the presidency and Supreme Court (figure 2), has fallen, with Congress, media, and big businesses witnessing historic lows in public trust. Small businesses and the military tend to hold the highest trust despite their recent declines. This trend aligns with Edelman’s global trust research, which indicates that governments are perceived as the least competent and ethical entities compared to media, nongovernmental organizations, and businesses.8
There is, however, a structural shift happening globally, with rising demand for business and nonprofit leaders to assume leadership roles in solving complex and challenging problems.9 There is a critical need for both public and private institutions to address complex issues and help alleviate tensions in today’s conflictive world.
A chronic low-trust environment can have a wide-ranging impact on societal ethos
Trust is not merely a fleeting sentiment; it serves as the foundation of innovation, the fuel of efficiency, the bedrock of compliance, and a strong defense against social instability. Trust issues can result in several adverse effects.
- Stifles innovation: A report from Edelman shows that US trust in technology fell by 24 percentage points from 2012 to 2022.10 Another Edelman report reveals that when innovation isn’t properly managed, it can lead to public alienation and mistrust. Often, people perceive a gap or a disconnect between the evolution of technology and the trajectory of social progress—a sentiment that breeds mistrust and disenchantment.11
- Impedes efficiency of digital government services: Deloitte’s digital government and citizen experience survey suggests dissatisfaction with government digital services diminishes trust in data protection. Trust, therefore, is both the driver and outcome in digital government—a virtuous or vicious cycle, depending on its presence or absence.12
- Lowers compliance: Trust also impacts compliance with laws and regulations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a correlation between trust and adherence to government mandates was evident. Where trust increased, so did compliance, and vice versa.13
- Increases fears of public disorder: The Allianz Risk Barometer report from 2023 reveals that political risk is at a five-year high, with nearly 100 countries at risk of civil unrest.14
Leading the way with best-in-class customer experience
A key piece of the trust issue involves the complicated connection between what the government commits to and the results it delivers. A 2019 McKinsey study found that when customers are satisfied with the services provided by a government agency, their trust quotient elevates ninefold. A similar pattern is discernible in the case of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, where the clients’ trust escalates to an impressive 26 times when they are satisfied with its services. This underscores the importance of bridging the gap between promises and outcomes in the public sector.19
Deloitte’s digital government and citizen experience survey reveals a strong correlation between satisfaction with digital service and greater trust in government.20 CX that is efficient, engaging, and user-friendly allows citizens better access to relevant services and execute desired transactions, which, in turn, results in deeper trust in government.21 Unfortunately, in these areas the government often falls far short, with the average satisfaction with its digital services trailing behind the private sector by nearly 20 percentage points, according to Deloitte’s digital government and citizen experience survey (figure 4).22
Annually, Americans spend around 10.5 billion hours, translating into an astonishing 29,000 years of paperwork, to complete government forms.23 Therefore, enhancing CX within governmental services is imperative to help boost trust.24
On the positive side, the 2023 annual federal government report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index reveals a 1.9-point increase in citizen satisfaction with federal services, reaching a high index value of 68.2, the highest since 2018 (figure 5). This marks the second year of growth in satisfaction. The report also notes improvements in all four satisfaction drivers: process efficiency, information accessibility and clarity, customer service professionalism, and website quality perception.25
An engaged public workforce translates to better public trust
A nexus between federal employee engagement and CX cannot be overstated. As the frontline ambassadors of governmental services, engaged and empowered employees can play a pivotal role in shaping the citizen experience. By fostering a culture of employee empowerment and professional development, governmental agencies can lay the groundwork for enhanced customer satisfaction and, ultimately, the restoration of trust (figure 6). Deloitte’s research has found that an increase in employee engagement scores can improve the CX, which, in turn, can enhance public trust.26
Pathways to flourishing: Strategies to help boost public trust
Lean into improving retail trust
When it comes to trust in government, it is helpful to think in terms of wholesale and retail trust. Wholesale trust refers to the overall trust in government in its entirety, while retail trust refers to the trust between citizens and individual government agencies and programs.27
When looking at wholesale trust, which extends beyond the boundaries of individual agencies, public leaders must navigate a host of social and political dynamics. In this broad systemic panorama, trust in government as a whole changes in response to elections, world events, and the broadest social and political questions over which individual officials—even presidents and prime ministers—often have little control.28
Retail trust refers to the trust between citizens and individual government agencies and programs. It is in this realm that government agencies can make a big difference. Unlike its wholesale counterpart, retail trust lies within the grasp of individual government officials—an area where the levers of change and improvement can be wielded with precision and purpose.29 For example, as mentioned previously, the US Department of Veterans Affairs improved agency trust scores from 55% in 2015 to 92% in 2024 by focusing on enhancing veterans’ experience.30
While the fluctuations of wholesale trust often occur beyond the purview of individual actors, the realm of retail trust presents an opportunity for intervention and improvement. By fostering a culture of transparency, accountability, and efficiency, government officials hold the power to reshape the contours of trust at the interaction level—nurturing the seeds of confidence and reliability in governmental programs and agencies.
Create a virtuous cycle of citizen experience and public trust
The pursuit of enhanced CX and trust should not be viewed as a singular endeavor but as an ongoing journey—a dynamic process fueled by a relentless commitment to innovation and adaptation. Government agencies must not only meet, but also exceed citizens’ expectations, embracing continuous improvement. Higher satisfaction with digital services often leads to higher trust in government. This higher level of trust leads to several benefits: Citizens who trust the government are twice as likely to share personal data, 1.9 times more likely to allow interagency data-sharing, and 1.5 times more likely to support unique digital identity (figure 7).31
Drive transparency and engagement to rebuild trust
Transparency about actions, motives, and decision-making plays a critical role in enhancing public trust. This is especially true in an era where exponential technologies like AI are used in almost all aspects of daily life. Being clear about which technology will be used, what data will be collected, how it will be stored, and with whom it will be shared are all important questions for public agencies to answer.
By harnessing the power of citizen feedback, agencies can chart a course toward enhanced trust and confidence. For example, Boston’s Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics offers digital services for street parking, flu shots, and more, prioritizing transparency and citizen feedback. In one of their digital projects, they used noninvasive sensors to collect street usage data to improve efficiency and enhance safety. To address privacy concerns, signs with QR codes providing project information and a platform for community feedback were placed at data collection points.32
In the AI era, government agencies should consider leveraging technology to reimagine citizen services, from streamlining bureaucratic processes to delivering services based on life events. Amid these changes, cultivating trust remains essential. Government agencies can build trust and engagement by promoting transparency and openness and encouraging citizens to actively participate in community governance.
Regulating AI and other emerging technologies
Public trust in AI is declining across the United States due to growing concerns about privacy, bias, and the potential negative social impacts of AI technologies. In fact, according to an Axios survey, 62% of respondents stated they were somewhat or mostly concerned about AI.33
Many Americans are somewhat wary of AI and how it could affect them, and many look to policymakers to help ensure responsible development. Fifty-six percent of respondents stated they would prefer a federal agency regulating AI over technology companies.34
The Edelman research, too, identified public perceptions around technology, innovation, and regulation.
- Effective regulation drives user technology adoption rates.
- Globally, 59% of respondents and, in the United States, 63% of respondents say that government regulators lack adequate understanding of emerging technologies to regulate them effectively.
- Technology-led changes are more trusted by those surveyed when business partners with the government.
- Respondents want to feel “heard” about their concerns around technology adoption and wish to have more control over how these technologies impact their lives.35
Hack the spread of mis-, dis-, and malinformation
Public trust by informed citizens is generally higher than in uninformed citizens.36 However, in today’s environment, people often live in their own information bubbles. There tends to be very little interaction between some of these information bubbles, which can make the environment ideal for the spread of mis- and disinformation. Governments may need to break these information “silos” and increase communications related to their work, decisions, and successes. Active engagement and communication with communities and community leaders and influencers are important, especially with communities that are hard to reach.
Build coalitions to solve some of society’s biggest challenges
Addressing complex challenges like climate change and global migration requires a collaborative response. Trust is a foundation of this effort, testing and strengthening the bonds between citizens and their government. Cultivating trust is more than rhetoric; it’s often essential for successful cross-sector collaboration. By connecting people, businesses, nonprofits, and government, diverse perspectives can be gathered to tackle complex issues. Entrepreneurs offer innovation, and nonprofits contribute to community building, each enriching the discourse and broadening potential solutions.
By bringing together more than 100 partners across many sectors, Houston reduced homelessness by 63%. The Houston Coalition for the Homeless designed the local homeless response system, convening partners, collecting data, and performing long-term planning. They helped partners collaborate, share ideas, and adjust funding sources to move more than 25,000 homeless people into housing.37
Tap into networks of trust to address the trust deficit
Overcoming the trust deficit with certain population cohorts or hard-to-reach communities requires a broad approach to building trust, often including tapping into networks of trust and working with trusted partners in these communities.
When the nonprofit organization Public Good Projects attempted to reduce unintended pregnancies among Black and Hispanic teenagers in Syracuse, New York, it didn’t begin by creating a website or social media presence. Instead, it tapped into community level trust by recruiting local young women to discuss their challenges in finding information about reproductive health. After conducting focus group discussions with more than 30 of them, Public Good Projects learned that participants preferred to consult a confidential, trusted “friend” for their questions. In collaboration with these participants, Public Good Projects codeveloped a chatbot from scratch, with participants weighing in on the chatbot’s gender, appearance, features, and name: Layla.38
Bridging the gap
Rebuilding public trust in government is a complex endeavor that requires a dual focus on enhancing citizens’ perceptions of trustworthiness and bolstering the government’s capabilities to deliver reliable services. Trust-building is an ongoing, action-oriented process that necessitates a commitment to change, a relentless dedication to improving citizen experiences, and a keen awareness of public perception.
Government institutions face significant challenges in cultivating public trust, but by demonstrating competence and genuine intent to rebuild trust, they can begin to bridge the gap. Words alone, however, are insufficient; tangible government actions and policies must follow suit to truly rebuild public trust.
BY
William D. Eggers
Samantha Korta
Mahesh Kelkar
Glynis Rodrigues
The authors would like to thank Sushumna Agarwal and Thirumalai Kannan from the Center for Government Insights for their contributions to the study, and Shahira Knight for providing critical feedback.
Cover image by: Jim Slatton and Sofia Sergi
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