E-government in developing countries

E-government is the application of information and communication technology to transform the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of informational and transactional exchanges within government, between governments and government agencies at federal, municipal and local levels, citizens and businesses; and to empower citizens through access and use of information.

Introduction: A mandate for change

• Facilitate broader access to government information using information and communications technologies - the "publish" phase of e-government.
  The public expects (or will come to expect) their governments to make best-possible use of available information technologies to improve efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability. Furthermore, the long term cost savings and productivity improvements the private sector has found in information technology are available to the public sector - a powerful incentive as budgets become ever tighter and expectations of government ever higher.
   
• Promote broader public involvement in participatory government -- the "interact" phase of e-government.
  Some governments are suffering from the effects of citizen apathy, while others are striving to better engage their populace in the governance process. E-government has the potential to help administrations achieve their objectives in this field by reaching out to citizens throughout the political cycles and through all levels of government. Importantly, strengthening civic engagement contributes to building public trust in government.
   
• Make government services available using information and communication technologies - the "transact" phase of e-government.
  As the private sector in developing countries begins to make use of the internet to offer e-commerce services, government will be expected to keep up with technological leaders. In addition, the long term cost savings, accountability through information logs and productivity improvements will be important drivers.
   

Transformation

• Process development: Critical to the success of e-government transformation is the understanding that e-government is not just about the automation of existing process and inefficiencies. Conversely, it is about the creation of new processes and new relationships between governed and governor.
   
• Leadership: In order to manage this change, leaders who understand technology and policy goals will be needed at all levels through government, from elected through to administrative levels.
   
• Strategic Investment: Governments will need to prioritize some programs over others to maximize available funds in view of tightly limited resources. This will necessitate a clear objective for programs and a clear route to that objective.
   
• Public Policy and Law: New technologies have already thrown up a minefield of legal and policy questions. If e-government and e-commerce are to be successful, legislatures must be wary of short-term solutions. They must also take proactive steps to ensure that good intentions are backed up with policy commitment.
   
• Collaboration: Governments will have to explore new relationships with the private sector and NGOs to ensure quality and delivery of government services. Some agencies may also have to overcome traditional reluctance to work with each other to maximize benefits of scale in e-government projects.
   
• Civic Engagement: E-government initiatives depend, to some extent, on an engaged citizenry and to that end, efforts to foster civic engagement are critical to the success of e-government plans.

Challenges and Opportunities

• Development: All countries implementing e-government have struggled to develop a basic infrastructure to take advantage of new technologies and communications tools.
   
  • E-literacy: Even in areas where access to technological infrastructure is nearly ubiquitous, there are still marginalized groups who are unable to make use of information and communication technologies because they are not 'e-literate'. E-government programs will have to be especially wary of marginalizing people who are not e-literate in countries and areas where literacy rates have historically been lower.
     
• Accessibility: Governments must serve all members of society irrespective of their physical capabilities. In many countries more than one language or dialect will be prevalent -- setting appropriate standards for accessibility will be difficult. New services will have to be designed with appropriate interfaces -- this may have significant cost implications.
   
  • Digital Divide: issues of class, race, location and other concerns could lead to groups of people being disenfranchised and is of special importance.
     
• Privacy: Privacy is one of the fastest growing issue internationally. Governments are entrusted with huge amounts of personal information and must be a responsible custodian -- government programs, websites and services will have to ensure they live up to privacy best practice. An appropriate balance will have to be struck between legislative protection for consumers of private-sector services and self-policing.
   
• Security: Security is costly but security breaches shatter public trust in government.
   
• Transparency: Government must be transparent in different ways to the private sector. This will be reflected in their choice and designs of ICT systems.
   
• Interoperability: Adding new systems on top of outmoded and legacy systems has been problematic for the private sector and will, in all likelihood, be problematic for the government sector.
   
• Records Management: New technologies are being created to help manage information. Governments have unique needs in this field.
   
  • Permanent Availability and Preservation: Historical documentation is of special importance for governments.
     
• Education and Marketing: E-government services are only useful if people know about them. Education and outreach programs will be needed. As the boundaries of the state become blurrier, new rules may be needed to govern the relationship of the public and private sectors.
   
• Public/private Competition/Collaboration: Issues of public vs private collaboration and competition are already part of an international debate on governance. E-government steps into a difficult area.
   
• Intergovernmentalism: Transforming government means individuals should be served by the easiest and most efficient means possible. But, this could raise serious constitutional and political issues about the relationship between states, federal government, (where applicable) local government, and the international community.
   
• Workforce Issues: Human resources planning needs to be structured with the new goals in mind.
   
• Cost Structures: Investment now, savings later. But planning and budgeting in an unstable climate is hard.

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