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E-government (known for electronic government) involves utilizing technology devices, such as
computer A computer is a machine that can be Computer programming, programmed to automatically Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (''computation''). Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic set ...
s and the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
, for faster means of delivering
public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...
s to citizens and other persons in a country or region. E-government offers new opportunities for more direct and convenient citizen access to
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
and for government provision of services directly to citizens. E- government involves digital interactions across various levels and stakeholders (C2G), between governments and other
government agencies A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, ...
(G2G), between government and citizens (G2C), between government and employees (G2E), and between government and businesses/commerces (G2B). E-government delivery models can be broken down into the following categories:Jeong Chun Hai @Ibrahim. (2007). ''Fundamental of Development Administration.'' Selangor: Scholar Press. This interaction consists of citizens communicating with all levels of government (city, state/province, national, and international), facilitating citizen involvement in
governance Governance is the overall complex system or framework of Process, processes, functions, structures, Social norm, rules, Law, laws and Norms (sociology), norms born out of the Interpersonal relationship, relationships, Social interaction, intera ...
using
information and communication technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...
(ICT) (such as computers and
website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...
s) and
business process re-engineering Business process re-engineering (BPR) is a Strategic management, business management strategy originally pioneered in the early 1990s, focusing on the analysis and design of workflows and business processes within an organization. BPR aims to hel ...
(BPR). Brabham and Guth (2017) interviewed the third party designers of e-government tools in North America about the ideals of user interaction that they build into their technologies, which include progressive values, ubiquitous participation, geolocation, and education of the public. Other definitions stray from the idea that technology is an object and defines e-government simply as facilitators or instruments and focus on specific changes in Public Administration issues. The internal transformation of a government is the definition that established the specialist technologist Mauro D. Ríos. In his paper "In Search of a Definition of Electronic Government", he says: "Digital government is a new way of organization and management of public affairs, introducing positive transformational processes in management and the structure itself of the organization chart, adding value to the procedures and services provided, all through the introduction and continued appropriation of information and communication technologies as a facilitator of these transformations."


Terminology

E-government is also known as e-gov, electronic government, Internet governance, digital government, online government, connected government. As of 2014 the
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
still uses the term digital government, and distinguishes it from e-government in the recommendation produced there for the Network on E-Government of the Public Governance Committee. Several governments have started to use the term digital government to a wide range of services involving contemporary technology, such as
big data Big data primarily refers to data sets that are too large or complex to be dealt with by traditional data processing, data-processing application software, software. Data with many entries (rows) offer greater statistical power, while data with ...
,
automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...
or
predictive analytics Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of Statistics, statistical techniques from data mining, Predictive modelling, predictive modeling, and machine learning that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future or other ...
. ''E-gov strategies'' (or ''digital government'') is defined as "The employment of the Internet and the world-wide-web for delivering government information and services to the citizens." (United Nations, 2006; AOEMA, 2005). ''Electronic government'' (or ''e-government'') essentially refers to "utilization of
Information Technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
(IT), Information and Communication Technologies (ICT s), and other web-based telecommunication technologies to improve and/or enhance on the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery in the public sector". E-government promotes and improves broad stakeholders contribution to national and community development, as well as deepen the governance process. In electronic government systems, government operations are supported by web-based services. It involves the use of information technology, specifically the Internet, to facilitate the communication between the government and its citizens.


Transformational government

Transformational government or also transformational e-government is the use of computer-based information and communications technologies (ICT) to change the way governments work. The term is commonly used to describe a government reform strategy which attempts to radically change the way people understand the government, especially those working within the government. For example, it is often associated with a ''whole-of-government'' viewpoint, which tries to foster cross-department collaboration and provide ''one-stop-shop'' convenience in the delivery of services to citizens. The term ''transformational government'' is usually used aspirationally, as denoting the highest level of what e-government can achieve: # presence, where ICT, and usually websites, are used to provide information; # interaction, where government interacts with citizens, and departments interact with each other, online especially by email; # transaction, where such things as paying taxes or licenses are carried out online; # transformation, which involves a reinvention of government functions and how they operate. In relation to developing countries, it is often associated with hopes of reducing corruption, and in relation to developed countries, with attempts to increase the involvement of the private and voluntary sectors in government activity.


Government 2.0

Government 2.0 or Gov 2.0 refers to government policies that aim to harness collaborative technologies and interactive
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
tools to create an
open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...
computing platform A computing platform, digital platform, or software platform is the infrastructure on which software is executed. While the individual components of a computing platform may be obfuscated under layers of abstraction, the ''summation of the requi ...
in which government, citizens, and innovative companies can improve transparency and efficiency. Put simply, Gov 2.0 is about "putting government in the hands of citizens". Gov 2.0 combines interactive
Web 2.0 Web 2.0 (also known as participative (or participatory) web and social web) refers to websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture, and interoperability (i.e., compatibility with other products, systems, a ...
fundamentals with e-government and increases citizen participation by using open-source platforms, which allow development of innovative apps, websites, and widgets. The government's role is to provide
open data Open data are data that are openly accessible, exploitable, editable and shareable by anyone for any purpose. Open data are generally licensed under an open license. The goals of the open data movement are similar to those of other "open(-so ...
, web services, and platforms as an infrastructure.


E-governance

E-government should enable anyone visiting a city website to communicate and interact with city employees via the Internet with graphical user interfaces (GUI), instant-messaging (IM), learn about government issues through audio/video presentations, and in any way more sophisticated than a simple email letter to the address provided at the site" The essence of
e-governance Electronic governance or e-governance is the use of information technology to provide government services, information exchange, communication transactions, and integration of different stand-alone systems between government to citizen (G2C), ...
is "The enhanced value for stakeholders through transformation" and "the use of technology to enhance the access to and delivery of government services to benefit citizens, business partners and employees". The focus should be on: * The use of
information and communication technologies Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and compute ...
, and particularly the Internet, as a tool to achieve better government. * The use of information and communication technologies in all facets of the operations of a government organization. * The continuous optimization of service delivery, constituency participation, and governance by transforming internal and external relationships through technology, the Internet and new media. Whilst e-government has traditionally been understood as being centered around the operations of government, e-governance is understood to extend the scope by including citizen engagement and participation in governance. As such, following in line with the OECD definition of e-government, e-governance can be defined as the use of ICTs as a tool to achieve better governance.


Non-internet e-government

While e-government is often thought of as "online government" or "Internet-based government," many non-Internet "electronic government" technologies can be used in this context. Some non-Internet forms include
telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...
,
fax Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other out ...
, PDA,
SMS Short Message Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile phones exchange short text messages, t ...
text messaging, MMS, wireless networks and services,
Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...
,
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
,
tracking system A tracking system or locating system is used for Surveillance, tracking persons or objects that do not stay in a fixed location, and supplying a time-ordered sequence of positions (track). Applications A myriad of tracking systems exist. ...
s,
RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...
,
biometric Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics and features. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used t ...
identification, road traffic management and regulatory enforcement, identity cards,
smart cards A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...
and other
near field communication Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be used for the boots ...
applications; polling station technology (where non-online
e-voting Electronic voting is voting that uses electronic means to either aid or handle casting and counting ballots including voting time. Depending on the particular implementation, e-voting may use standalone '' electronic voting machines'' (also ...
is being considered), TV and radio-based delivery of government services (e.g., CSMW), email,
online community An online community, also called an internet community or web community, is a community whose members engage in computer-mediated communication primarily via the Internet. Members of the community usually share common interests. For many, on ...
facilities,
newsgroup A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are not only discussion groups or conversations, but also a repository to publish articles, start ...
s and
electronic mailing list A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. Mailing lists are often rented or sold. If rented, the renter agrees to use the mailing list only at contra ...
s,
online chat Online chat is any direct text-, audio- or video-based (webcams), one-on-one or one-to-many ( group) chat (formally also known as synchronous conferencing), using tools such as instant messengers, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), talkers and possi ...
, and
instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of synchronous computer-mediated communication involving the immediate ( real-time) transmission of messages between two or more parties over the Internet or another computer network. Originally involv ...
technologies.


History

One of the first references to the term "''electronic government''" happened alongside the term
electronic democracy E-democracy (a blend of the terms electronic and democracy), also known as digital democracy or Internet democracy, uses information and communication technology (ICT) in political and governance processes. The term is credited to digital act ...
in 1992. During the last two decades, governments around the world have invested in ICT with the aim of increasing the quality and decreasing the cost of public services. But over that time, as even the least developed countries have moved to websites, e-services and e-government strategies, it has become increasingly clear that e-government has not delivered all the benefits that were hoped for it. One study found that 35% of e-government projects in developing countries resulted in total failures; and that 50% were partial failures. In reaction to these poor outcomes, there has been a shift of perspective to ''transformational government'', aiming beyond purely technical aspects of better enabling e-government processes towards addressing the cultural and organisational barriers which have hindered public service benefits realisation. Researchers have defined the rationale for transformational government as "the exploitation of e-government such that benefits can be realized". In 2010 the
Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS; ) is an industry consortium that develops technical standards for information technology. History OASIS was founded under the name "SGML Open" in 1993. It bega ...
(OASIS) published a report which identified a wide range of common pitfalls which have hampered many governments in achieving significant impacts through their technology investments. However, OASIS also noted that: :"… an increasing number f governmentsare now getting to grips with the much broader and complex set of cultural and organizational changes which are needed for ICT to deliver significant benefits to the public sector. This new approach is generally referred to as Transformational Government." OASIS cites the UK and Australia as two of the leaders in this area: : "Transformational Government…. encompasses a new "virtual" business layer within government which allows an integrated, government-wide, citizen-focused service to be presented to citizens across all channels, but at no extra cost and without having to restructure government to do so. Two good examples of this new approach are South Australia's "Ask Just Once" portal and the UK Government's DirectGov portal, and the approach is explained in detail in the CS Transform's white paper entitled "Citizen Service Transformation – a manifesto for change in the delivery of public services".


UN e-Government Development Index

The Division of a Public Administration and Development Management (DPAPM) of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) conducts a bi-annual e-government survey which includes a section titled ''e-Government Development Index (EGDI)''. It is a comparative ranking of 193 countries of the world according to three primary indicators: i) the OSI - Online Service Index that measures the online presence of the government in terms of service delivery; ii) the TII - Telecommunication Infrastructure Index iii) HCI -Human Capital Index. Constructing a model for the measurement of digitized services, the Survey assesses the 193 member states of the UN according to a quantitative composite index of e-government readiness based on website assessment; telecommunication infrastructure and human resource endowment. The e-Government Development Index can serve as a benchmarking tool for countries to identify their strengths and weaknesses and shape their policies along these findings in the area of e-government. The e-Government Development Index (EGDI) is calculated with the following method: EGDI = 1/3 (OSI normalized + TII normalized + HCI normalized) A diverse group of 100 researchers online volunteers from across the globe engaged with the United Nations Department of Economic Affairs (UN DESA) to process 386 research surveys carried out across 193
UN Member States The United Nations comprise sovereign states and the world's largest intergovernmental organization. All members have equal representation in the UN General Assembly. The Charter of the United Nations defines the rules for admission of ...
for the 2016 UN E-Government Survey. The diversity of nationalities and languages of the online volunteers—more than 65 languages, 15 nationalities, of which half are from developing countries—mirrors perfectly the mission of the survey. The survey has been criticized not including an index of
digital inclusion Digital inclusion involves the activities necessary to ensure equitable access to and use of information and communications technologies for participation in social and economic life including for education, social services, health, social, and co ...
levels.


Delivery models and activities of e-government

The primary delivery models of e-government can be divided into: * Government-to-citizen or government-to-consumer (G2C) approaches such as setting up
website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...
s where citizens can download forms, government information, etc. ** In this model, the G2C model applies the strategy of
customer relationship management Customer relationship management (CRM) is a strategic process that organizations use to manage, analyze, and improve their interactions with customers. By leveraging data-driven insights, CRM helps businesses optimize communication, enhance cus ...
(CRM) with business concept. ** By managing their "customer" (citizen) relationship, the business (government) can provide the products and services required to fulfill the needs of the customer (citizen). ** In United States, the NPR (
National Partnership for Reinventing Government The National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) was a U.S. government reform initiative launched in 1993 by Vice President Al Gore. Its goal was to make the federal government "work better, cost less, and get results Americans care about" ...
) has been implemented from 1993. *
Government-to-business Electronic governance or e-governance is the use of information technology to provide government services, information exchange, communication transactions, and integration of different stand-alone systems between government to citizen (G2C ...
(G2B) *
Government-to-government Electronic governance or e-governance is the use of information technology to provide government services, information exchange, communication transactions, and integration of different stand-alone systems between government to citizen (G2C), ...
(G2G) * Government-to-employees (G2E) Within each of these interaction domains, four kinds of activities take place: * pushing information over the Internet, e.g.: regulatory services, general holidays, public hearing schedules, issue briefs, notifications, etc. * two-way communications between the agency and the citizen, a business, or another government agency. In this model, users can engage in dialogue with agencies and post problems, comments, or requests to the agency. * conducting transactions, e.g.: lodging tax returns, applying for services and grants. * governance, e.g.: To enable the citizen transition from passive information access to active citizen participation by: # Informing the citizen # Representing the citizen # Encouraging the citizen to vote # Consulting the citizen # Involving the citizen Examples of online transactional services, employed in e-governments include: * Applying for a
birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the Childbirth, birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation ...
* Applying for a
building permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to buil ...
* Applying for a
business license Business licenses are permits issued by government agency, government agencies that allow individuals or companies to conduct business within the government's geographical jurisdiction. It is the authorization to start a business issued by the loc ...
* Applying for a
death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, a ...
* Applying for a
driver's license A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, ca ...
* Applying for environmental permits * Applying for government vacancies online * Applying for
land title In property law, title is an intangible construct representing a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or equitable interest. The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by different part ...
registration * Applying for a
marriage certificate A marriage certificate (colloquially marriage lines) is an official statement that two people are married. In most jurisdictions, a marriage certificate is issued by a government official only after the civil registration of the marriage. In s ...
* Applying for a personal
identity card An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...
* Applying for
social protection Social protection, as defined by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, is concerned with preventing, managing, and overcoming situations that adversely affect people's well-being. Social protection consists of policies and ...
programs * Applying for a
visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...
* Declaring to
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
* Paying
fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Fran Fine, the title character of ''The Nanny'' * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (p ...
s * Paying for
utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
(water, gas electricity) * Registering a business * Registering a motor vehicle * Looking up
land registration Land registration is any of various systems by which matters concerning ownership, Possession (law), possession, or other rights in Real estate, land are formally recorded (usually with a government agency or department) to provide evidence of ti ...
info * Looking up address and telephone number info in online
telephone directory A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization tha ...
* Submitting a change of address * Submitting
income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
es * Submitting
Value Added Tax A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...


Controversies


Disadvantages

The main disadvantages concerning e-government are that there exists a
digital divide The digital divide is the unequal access to information technology, digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the internet. The digital divide worsens inequality around access to information and resources. In the Information ...
and digital inequalities that bar certain people from accessing the full benefits of digitization. When presented as the only option to access an essential service, those who do not have public access to computers and the internet, or do not have adequate knowledge on how to use them, suffer. Other disadvantages include the reliability of information on the web and issues that could influence and bias public opinions. There are many considerations and potential implications of implementing and designing e-government, including
disintermediation Disintermediation is the removal of intermediary, intermediaries in economics from a supply chain, or "cutting out the middlemen" in connection with a transaction or a series of transactions. Instead of going through traditional distribution cha ...
of the government and its citizens, digital self-determination of citizens in a global internet network, impacts on economic, social, and political factors, vulnerability to
cyber attack A cyberattack (or cyber attack) occurs when there is an unauthorized action against computer infrastructure that compromises the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of its content. The rising dependence on increasingly complex and inte ...
s, and disturbances to the ''status quo'' in these areas. The political nature of public sector forms are also cited as disadvantages to e-government systems.


Cost

Although "a prodigious amount of money has been spent" on the development and implementation of e-government, some say it has yielded only a mediocre result. The outcomes and effects of trial Internet-based government services are often difficult to gauge or users find them unsatisfactory. According to Gartner, Worldwide IT spending is estimated to total $3.6 trillion in 2011 which is 5.1% increase from the year 2010 ($3.4 trillion).


Development

Because E-government is in the early stages of development in many countries and jurisdictions, it is hard to be applied to forms of government that have been institutionalized. Age-old bureaucratic practices being delivered in new mediums or using new technologies can lead to problems of miscommunication. An example of such a practice was the automation of the
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
welfare program that began in 2006. An
audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...
commissioned by then Indiana Governor
Mitch Daniels Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American Academic administration, academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician who served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. A Republican Party (United ...
in 2005 found that severa
Family and Social Service Administration (FSSA)
employees and welfare recipients were committing
welfare fraud Welfare fraud is the act of illegally using state welfare systems by knowingly withholding or giving information to obtain more funds than would otherwise be allocated. This article deals with welfare fraud in various countries of the world, and ...
. The bureaucratic nature of Indiana's welfare system allowed people to cheat the system and cost the state large amounts of money. Daniels characterized the system as "irretrievably broken," stating that it was at a state where employees could not fix it on their own. He cited many issues that directly tie into the fact that the system had not been automated. In hopes to reap the many benefits of e-government, Daniels signed into law a bill privatizing and automating the enrollment service for Indiana's welfare programs. Daniels aimed to streamline benefits applications, privatize casework, and identify fraud. It was believed that moving away from face-to-face casework and toward electronic communication would fix the aforementioned problems and improve efficiency. Indiana's welfare enrollment facilities were replaced with online applications and
call centers A call centre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American English, American spelling; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences) is a managed capability th ...
operated by
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
. These ran into issues almost immediately. The mainly face-to-face and personalized practice was modernized essentially overnight, blindsiding many people who relied on those features. The automated system worked upon a one size fits all approach that attributed errors to the recipient over anything else. Problems that were previously solvable through a single phone call with a recipient's caseworker became increasingly complicated due to the private call center workers not being adequately trained. Welfare recipients were denied their benefits due to lack of direct help, system errors out of their control, or simply an inability to use the technology meant to speed up the process. The transition overwhelmed not only recipients but also the employees. In October 2009, even Daniels admitted to the project being flawed and problematic, cancelling the contract with IBM. Indiana began rolling out a hybrid system starting in 2010, including caseworkers and some automation where appropriate.


False sense of transparency and accountability

Opponents of e-government argue that online governmental transparency is dubious because it is maintained by the governments themselves. Information can be added or removed from the public eye. To this day, very few organizations monitor and provide accountability for these modifications. Those that do so, like the United States' OMBWatch and
Government Accountability Project The Government Accountability Project (GAP) is a nonprofit whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or publi ...
, are often nonprofit volunteers. Even the governments themselves do not always keep track of the information they insert and delete.


Hyper-surveillance Hyper-surveillance is the intricate surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a ...

Increased electronic contact and data exchange between government and its citizens goes both ways. Once e-government technologies become more sophisticated, citizens will be likely be encouraged to interact electronically with the government for more transactions, as e-services are much less costly than
brick and mortar Brick and mortar (or B&M) is an organization or business with a physical presence in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases retail shops, factory produc ...
service offices (physical buildings) staffed by
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
s. This could potentially lead to a decrease in privacy for civilians as the government obtains more and more information about their activities. Without safeguards, government agencies might share information on citizens. In a worst-case scenario, with so much information being passed electronically between government and civilians, a
totalitarian Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sph ...
-like system could develop. When the government has easy access to countless information on its citizens, personal
privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...
is lost.


Inaccessibility

An e-government website that provides government services often does not offer the "potential to reach many users including those who live in remote areas ithout Internet access are homebound, have low literacy levels, exist on poverty line incomes."
Homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
people, people in poverty and elderly people may not have access.


Trust

Trust in e-governance is very highly dependent on its performance and execution, which can be measured through the effectiveness of current actions. This is much riskier and prone to fluctuation than a system of trust that is based on reputation because performance does not consider past actions. With the automation of institutionalized government services, trust can go both ways: the trust that people have for the government, and the trust the government places in its people. In the case of Indiana's automated welfare system, the less skilled call center workers defaulted their decisions to the automated system and favored solutions that best fit the system rather than the people. When too much trust is put in e-governance, errors and mistakes are not caught. A crucial part of the Indiana welfare system was the relationship between caseworkers and their clients. It was the main way for Hoosiers to interact with this public institution and receive the help they want. However, Daniels and many others saw a potential invitation to fraud. There were indeed instances of welfare fraud occurring between caseworkers and clients, such as this case fro
Marion County, December 2009.
But the motivation to automate was an attempt to catch people taking advantage of the system rather than trying to deliver the services to as many people as possible. Welfare recipients were being considered as criminals rather than people in need. Such treatment of the poor is similar to that of
poorhouse A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. Workhouses In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), "workhouse" has been the more ...
s from the 19th and 20th centuries. Both developed flawed systems with an intent to punish, creating more burdens than the initially marketed benefits.


Advantages

The ultimate goal of the e-government is to be able to offer an increased portfolio of public services to citizens in an efficient and cost-effective manner. E-government allows for government transparency. Government transparency is important because it allows the public to be informed about what the government is working on as well as the policies they are trying to implement. Simple tasks may be easier to perform through electronic government access. Many changes, such as marital status or address changes can be a long process and take a lot of paperwork for citizens. E-government allows these tasks to be performed efficiently with more convenience to individuals. E-government is an easy way for the public to be more involved in political campaigns. It could increase voter awareness, which could lead to an increase in citizen participation in elections. It is convenient and cost-effective for businesses, and the public benefits by obtaining easy access to the most current information available without having to spend time, energy and money to obtain it. E-government helps simplify processes and makes government information more easily accessible for public sector agencies and citizens. For example, the
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
Bureau of Motor Vehicles simplified the process of certifying driver records to be admitted in county court proceedings.
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
became the first state to allow government records to be digitally signed, legally certified and delivered electronically by using Electronic Postmark technology. In addition to its simplicity,
e-democracy E-democracy (a blend of the terms Electronic publishing, electronic and democracy), also known as digital democracy or Internet democracy, uses information and communication technology (ICT) in politics, political and governance processes. The ...
services can reduce costs.
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
Department of Conservation & Natural Resources,
Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
and NIC developed an online hunting and fishing license service utilizing an existing computer to automate the licensing process. More than 140,000 licenses were purchased at
Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
stores during the first hunting season and the agency estimates it will save $200,000 annually from service. The anticipated benefits of e-government include efficiency, improved services, better accessibility of public services, sustainable community development and more transparency and accountability.


Democratization

One goal of some e-government initiatives is greater citizen participation. Through the Internet's
Web 2.0 Web 2.0 (also known as participative (or participatory) web and social web) refers to websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture, and interoperability (i.e., compatibility with other products, systems, a ...
interactive features, people from all over the country can provide input to politicians or public servants and make their voices heard.
Blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
ging and interactive surveys allow politicians or public servants to see the views of the people on any issue.
Chat room The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...
s can place citizens in real-time contact with elected officials or their office staff or provide them with the means to interact directly with public servants, allowing voters to have a direct impact and influence in their government. These technologies can create a more transparent government, allowing voters to immediately see how and why their representatives in the capital are voting the way they are. This helps voters decide whom to vote for in the future or how to help the public servants become more productive. A government could theoretically move more towards a true
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
with the proper application of e-government.
Government transparency Open government is the governing doctrine which maintains that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. In its broadest construction, it opposes reason of state a ...
will give insight to the public on how decisions are made and hold elected officials or public servants accountable for their actions. The public could become a direct and prominent influence in government legislature to some degree.


Environmental bonuses

Proponents of e-government argue that online government services would lessen the need for hard copy paper forms. Due to recent pressures from
environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...
groups, the media, and the public, some governments and organizations have turned to the Internet to reduce paper use. The United States government utilizes the websit
Government Forms, by Agency , A , USAGov
to provide "internal government forms for federal employees" and thus "produce significant savings in paper. As well, if citizens can apply for government services or permits online, they may not need to drive into a government office, which could lead to less
air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...
from gas and diesel-fuelled vehicles.


Speed, efficiency, and convenience

E-government allows citizens to interact with computers to achieve objectives at any time and any location and eliminates the necessity for physical travel to government agents sitting behind desks and windows. Many e-government services are available to citizens with computers and Internet access 24 hours a day and seven days a week, in contrast to
brick and mortar Brick and mortar (or B&M) is an organization or business with a physical presence in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases retail shops, factory produc ...
government offices, which tend to be only open during Business hours (notable exceptions are
police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...
s and
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
s, which are usually open 24 hours a day so that staff can deal with emergencies). Improved accounting and record-keeping can be noted through computerization, and information and forms can be easily accessed by citizens with computers and Internet access, which may enable quicker processing time for applications and find information. On the administrative side, access to help find or retrieve files and linked information can now be stored in electronic databases versus hard copies (paper copies) stored in various locations. Individuals with disabilities or conditions that affect their mobility no longer have to be mobile to be active in government and can access public services in the comfort of their own homes (as long as they have a computer and Internet and any accessibility equipment they may need).


Public approval

Recent trials of e-government have been met with acceptance and eagerness from the public. Citizens participate in online discussions of political issues with increasing frequency, and young people, who traditionally display minimal interest in government affairs, are drawn to
electronic voting Electronic voting is voting that uses electronic means to either aid or handle casting and counting ballots including voting time. Depending on the particular implementation, e-voting may use standalone '' electronic voting machines'' (also ...
procedures. Although Internet-based governmental programs have been criticized for lack of reliable privacy policies, studies have shown that people value prosecution of offenders over personal confidentiality. Ninety percent of United States adults approve of Internet tracking systems of criminals, and 57% are willing to forgo some of their personal
internet privacy Internet privacy involves the right or mandate of personal privacy concerning the storage, re-purposing, provision to third parties, and display of information pertaining to oneself via the Internet. Internet privacy is a subset of data privacy. P ...
if it leads to the prosecution of criminals or terrorists.


Technology-specific e-government

There are also some technology-specific sub-categories of e-government, such as m-government (mobile government), ubiquitous government), and g-government (
GIS A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and software that store, manage, analyze, edit, output, and visualize geographic data. Much of this often happens within a spatial database; however, this is not ...
/
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...
applications for e-government). The previous concern about developments in E-government concerning technology are due to the limited use of online platforms for political reasons by citizens in local political participations. The primary delivery models of e-government are classified depending on who benefits. In the development of the public sector or private sector portals and platforms, a system is created that benefits all constituents. Citizens needing to renew their vehicle registration have a convenient way to accomplish it while already engaged in meeting the regulatory inspection requirement. On behalf of a government partner, the business provides what has traditionally, and solely, managed by the government and can use this service to generate profit or attract new customers. Government agencies are relieved of the cost and complexity of having to process the transactions. To develop these public sector portals or platforms, governments have the choice to internally develop and manage, outsource, or sign a self-funding contract. The self-funding model creates portals that pay for themselves through convenience fees for certain e-government transactions, known as self-funding portals.


Social Media Usage

Social networking service A social networking service (SNS), or social networking site, is a type of online social media platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interest ...
s and websites are an emerging area for e-democracy. The social networking entry point is within the citizens' environment and the engagement is on the citizens' terms. Proponents of e-government perceive the government's use of social networking as a medium to help the government act more like the public it serves. Examples can be found at almost every state government portal through
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
,
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, and
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
widgets. Government and its agents also have the opportunity to follow citizens to monitor satisfaction with services they receive. Through ListServs, RSS feeds, mobile messaging, micro-blogging services and blogs, government and its agencies can share information to citizens who share common interests and concerns. Government is also beginning to
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
. In the state of
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
, Treasurer Frank T. Caprio is offering daily tweets of the state's cash flow. For a full list of state agencies with
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
feeds, visit
NIC Nic is a gender-neutral given name, often short for Nicole, Nicholas, Nicola, or Dominic. It is also a component of Irish-language female surnames. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Nic Dalton (born 1964), Australian musician * Nic En ...
. For more information, visit transparent-gov.com.


E-Signature

Several local governments in the United States have allowed online e-signatures for candidate
nominating petition A nominating petition is required in some jurisdictions, particularly in the United States of America, in order for an independent or non- major-party candidate to gain ballot access. A certain number of valid signatures is typically prescribed ...
s and signature requirements for ballot initiatives. In 2012
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
launched a prototype system called E-qual, which allowed statewide candidates running for office to collect signatures online and share the link on other forms on social media. E-qual was expanded in 2016 to cover candidates in local elections within the state, but it was not used at the local level before the 2020 state election. The city of
Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...
,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
has implemented a similar system in 2020 to collect signatures for city ballot questions.


By country


Africa


Egypt

Since the election of the current president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, he has invested large sums of money towards sustainable energy and digitalization of the government system. Some of the problems faced are privacy, security concerns, lack of citizens' awareness, and lack of technical unified standards. Egypt has a population of approx. 100 million with various backgrounds and living conditions and access to resources. Not only does the education level of citizens vary between cities and rural areas but also within Cairo. Compared to other Arab or Middle Eastern countries, Egypt is quite behind in terms of technological developments and utilization. Recently, the government issued a law that all businesses must have electronic receipts and that all pension payments or government-citizen expenditure must be done through electronic transfers. This shows their initiative to leave behind the cash driven economy to an electronic one.


Kenya

Following the transition from the longstanding
Kenya African National Union The Kenya African National Union (KANU) is a Kenyan political party that ruled for nearly 40 years after Kenya's independence from British colonial rule in 1963 until its electoral loss in 2002. It was known as Kenya African Union (KAU) from 19 ...
government to the
National Rainbow Coalition The National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) is a political party in Kenya. As an alliance, it was in power from 2002 and 2005 when it collapsed due to disagreements between members over a constitutional referendum. Formation In preparation of the 2002 ...
government in December 2002, in January 2004 a Directorate of e-government was established after an executive (cabinet) session. The newly created department had the duty to draw the plan of action for future ICT implementations. Like many other African nations, Kenya has embraced the high mobile penetration rate within its population. Even people living in remote areas that did not have access to traditional telecommunications' networks can now communicate with ease. The fact of the same has, and continues to have, a great impact on the governments' strategies in reaching out to its citizens. Given that about 70% of the population owns mobile phones, leading mobile network operators like Safaricom have taken a great step in offering services that meet citizens' demands. Such services include Kipokezi (which allows subscribers to do online chatting and also exchange electronic mails via standard mobile phones), and
M-Pesa M-PESA (M for mobile, ''PESA'' is Swahili language, Swahili for money) is a mobile banking, mobile phone-based money transfer service, payments and Micro-finance, micro-financing service, launched in 2007 by Vodafone and Safaricom, the largest ...
(which allows the subscribers to send and receive electronic cash). Such services have even appealed to the majority of Kenyans, as they support the branchless members of the society too, in undertaking normal and secure businesses via M-Pesa. The recent
IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of la ...
report reveals that MPESA transactions in Kenya exceeded those carried out by the Western Union worldwide. Website
Open Kenya , Transparent Africa


Asia


Armenia

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
n e-government was established in 2004. E-government brings together all tools and databases created by Armenian state agencies and provides a user-friendly online environment for users. It includes more than twenty services and tools. Under this initiative, "Interactive Budget" and "State Non-Commercial Organisations' Financing" sections are available for the first time. There are also twenty other tools, including search engines, allowing to find the Government's and the Prime Minister's decisions, the agenda of the next cabinet sitting, information on the state purchases, the electronic tax reporting system, the online application system of the Intellectual Property Agency, the information search system of the Intellectual Property Agency, as well as th
Electronic Signature
and Electronic Visa (e-visa) sections. It is worth mentioning that the Electronic Signature is used in several other services when a user wants to submit an application or receive information. The Electronic Signature is universal system and is used both by the state officials and by citizens, legal entities. #E-License: This system allows companies to submit an application for obtaining or terminating licenses regarding various activities (pharmaceuticals, banking, construction, transport etc.) It also provides other services in respect of already obtained license. #System of reports on licensed activities: The Report Acceptance System for licensed persons enables to submit any report (annually, monthly or quarterly) on licensed activities. #E-Payments: Electronic Payment System effectively processes online payments. This application is designed specifically for charging the state fees, local fees, the administrative penalties or services provided by state and local governmental bodies. Payments can be made by
Visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...
, Mastercard,
PayPal PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...
and loca
Arca
o
Mobidram
systems. #E-Cadastre: The system enables to submit an application to the property cadastre and receives information on landowners, the surface of a plot of land, legal status of any property. The state electronic payment system is integrated into this tool. Online applications for registration of rights and restrictions and related documents may be submitted by users who have a digital signature. #E-Draft: In 2016 the Ministry of Justice of Armenia developed Legal Drafts' Database. It is designed particularly for publication any draft initiated by the government or member of Parliament. The database can be accessed through a website which provides the possibility of presenting the legal acts' drafts to the public, organizing online discussions, and as a consequence - the active participation of representatives of civil society in the law-making process. The website enables them to search legal drafts, follow their further progress, and become familiar with the presented suggestions. The registered users can present suggestions, become informed with the "summary paper" of the suggestions to the draft, the adopted suggestions or the reasoning concerning the not adopted ones. #E-Register: The system enables registration of legal entities, such as limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, foundations, and self-employed entrepreneurs. On average it takes twenty minutes to register a company depending on the entity's type. State fee can be paid through E-Payments system. The system also allows users to track the submitted applications and search existing companies as well as purchase full information about any company, including information about shareholders. #Datalex: This system allows users to find cases, search for laws of Armenia, as well as to follow the schedule of court hearings. #E-Announcement: The system is designed for public announcements. The state authorities are obliged to make public announcements under certain circumstances stipulated by law. #E-Tax: This tool simplifies the tax declaration process for both taxpayers and tax authorities. Any natural person or legal entity can submit tax declaration verifying it by electronic signature. #E-IP: Online submission of patent and trademark applications using electronic signature. #E-Visa This application enables the process of obtaining a visa through an electronic application. Visas are issued within two days. #E-Signature: The system allows users to verify the identity of the user and protect the submitted application. Any resident of Armenia, either a natural person or legal entity, can obtain an electronic signature and use it while applying e-government systems.


Azerbaijan

The "e-government" framework was established in accordance with the "National Strategy on Information-Communication Technologies in the Development of the Republic of
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
(2003–2012)" and implemented in the framework of the "E-Azerbaijan" Program. The project is aimed to increase the convenience and efficiency of the activity of state agencies, simplify interactions between population, businesses, and government agencies, contribute to creating new citizen-official relations framework and ensure transparency and free flow of information. The main components of the e-government infrastructure are integrated network infrastructure for state bodies, e-government portal, e-government gateway, State register of information resources and systems, e-signature, e-document circulation and e-government data center (under preparation). State portal www.e-gov.az was established to facilitate citizens in benefiting from e-services provided by government agencies on a "single window" principle with the combination of services. Through e-government portal, citizens can use more than 140 e-services of 27 state agencies. Besides, a gateway between government agencies was established to ensure the mutual exchange of information, and most state agencies are connected to this infrastructure. The gateway allows users to efficiently use the existing government information systems and safe contact between them, issuing requests and rendering e-services, liberates citizens from providing same information or documents which are already available in information databases. On 14 March 2018, it was launched E-government Development Center. It is a public legal entity that is subordinated to State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The service tries to utilize digital technologies, establish e-government to make state services operate more efficiently, ensure public services availability, and improve the living standards of the citizens of the country. It is government-to-citizen type of
e-governance Electronic governance or e-governance is the use of information technology to provide government services, information exchange, communication transactions, and integration of different stand-alone systems between government to citizen (G2C), ...
.


Bangladesh

The eGovernment web portal has been developed to provide more convenient access to various government services and information through one window. Services can now be delivered to people at their convenience, and more importantly, now have a lot more weight on transparency and accountability of public services.


China

According to
State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) is a special commission of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It was founded in 2003 through the consolidation of various other indus ...
(国务院国有资产监督管理委员会) of Fujian Province, digital Transformation was firstly proposed by
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
in 2012, which enhances the application of digital technology to reshape customer value propositions and emphasizes the customer interaction and collaboration. And Chinese government has added “Digital Economy” to it
Government Work Report (政府工作报告)
for four consecutive years from 2017, and proposed in the 14th Five-Year Plan to outline the “Use digital transformation to drive changes in production methods, lifestyles and governance methods as a whole”. Furthermore, Digital Transformation has been elevated to a national strategy from enterprise (organization) level. Chinese government also has its official website for eGovernment i
eGovernment.gov.cn
and maintained by
Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Party School is a higher education institution that trains Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres. It is located in Haidian, Beijing, close to Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace. The current president is Chen Xi, a former member ...
(中共中央党校) or
National Academy of Governance The National Academy of Governance () was a public administration academy for high- and middle-level national civil servants in China, affiliated with the State Council. It opened in September 1994 and was located in Haidian, Beijing. The sc ...
(国家行政学院)(these two names are for one institute but with two different names).


India

Th
E-Governance
initiatives and programs in India are undertaken by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY www.meity.gov.in). The current umbrella program for e-governance of Government of India is known by the title "DIGITAL INDIA" (www.digitalindia.gov.in) Indian government has launched many
e-governance Electronic governance or e-governance is the use of information technology to provide government services, information exchange, communication transactions, and integration of different stand-alone systems between government to citizen (G2C), ...
initiatives, including a portal for public grievance, MCA21 Mission Mode Project, e-Filing of income tax, e-gazette, Project Nemmadi, and their overall
digital India Digital India is a campaign launched by the Government of India to make its services available to citizens electronically via improved online infrastructure and by increasing Internet connectivity. The initiative includes plans to connect ru ...
policy.


Indonesia

E-government in Indonesia is developing, especially in central and regional/local government offices. E-government was officially introduced to public administration by Presidential Directive No 6/2001 on Telematics, which states that the government of Indonesia has to use telematics technology to support good governance. Furthermore, e-government should have been introduced for different purposes in government offices. As one of the ISO member countries, Indonesia gives more attention to facilitating the activities of standardization. Among of the facilities provided are building the National information system of standardization (SISTANAS) and Indonesia Standardization Information Network (INSTANET). As of 2017, ministries, institutions and local governments of Indonesia used to run separate e-government systems, which is now integrated into a centrally based system. In 2017, the government has also undertaken programs for digitization of SMEs and the informal sector. Many of the cities across Indonesia including
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
,
Bandung Bandung is the capital city of the West Java province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, the city is the List of Indonesian cities by population, fourth-most populous city and fourth largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta, Surabay ...
,
Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
, and
Makassar Makassar ( ), formerly Ujung Pandang ( ), is the capital of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, ...
are implementing the concept of
Smart City A smart city is an urban area that uses digital technology to collect data and operate services. Data is collected from citizens, devices, buildings, or cameras. Applications include traffic and transportation systems, power plants, utilities ...
, consisting of e-government, e-health, e-education, e-logistics and e-procurement as priority areas.


Iran

In 2002, Iran published a detailed report named TAKFA (Barnameye Tose-e va Karborde Fanavaie Etela’at) in which it was predicted that most of the government bodies would try to virtualize their services as soon as possible. However, based on the reports by UN bodies, Iran has failed in recent years to meet the average standards of e-government. In 2008, the Supreme Council of Information released a report which criticized the government for its poor advancement in employing new communication technologies for administration purposes. In 2016, Iran launched the National Information Network and improved the quality and speed of internet access. In 2017 Iran introduced phase one of e-government including E-Tax, E-Customs, E-Visa, E-Government Portal, and a mobile application to modernize Iran's government services. The Iranian government plans to introduce other phases of E-gov soon.


Iraq

The Iraqi E-government citizen program
was established to "eliminate bribery and favoritism and end the citizens' suffering in going back repeatedly to directories", the interface lets the citizen send requests and complaints, it can also be used for issuing identity cards, driving licenses and passports.


Jordan

Jordan established its e-government program in 2002. Many governmental services are provisioned online.


Kazakhstan

The e-government porta
egov.kz
was launched in 2012 as part of Kazakhstan's effort to modernize how citizens access government services and information. It offers all possible services that can be provided by the state for citizens and businesses such as education, health care, social security, job placement and employment, tax issues, legal assistance. It is currently at the transformational stage of development. The main goal of egov.kz is to maximize efficiency. For instance, users can register birth of a child, while simultaneously resolving all related issues - applying for benefits and putting the child on the waiting list for kindergarten.
The egov.kz mobile app was recognized as best app in the GovTechioneers competition at the 2017 World Government Summit in Dubai. At the WSIS Prizes-2017 (World Summit on the Information Society contest), three projects from the Republic of Kazakhstan were announced champions: e-Government, Open Government, and Integrated Call Center 1414. Projects of the e-government: * "E-licensing" information system - Created to automate the processes of licensing and permits and to ensure an effective and transparent mechanism for information interaction between government agencies – licensors and the business community of the Republic of Kazakhstan. * "E-notary" - Developed with the aim to improve the control over the activity of notary officers and optimize their work. The system involves registration of notary activities in electronic register and brings benefit to all the participants of juridical acts. "E-notary" system allows notary officers to check authenticity of the documents, get valid real estate data, maintain records of inheritance cases and goodwill. * Open Government - The Open Government consists of the following components: Open Data, Open RLA, Open Dialogue, Open Budgets, as well as Assessment of the Effectiveness of Government Agencies. * eGov Mobile mobile application - Designed to provide public services and e-government services via smartphones. Citizens can log in using digital signature or a one-time password. * Chat-bots at Telegram, Facebook and Vkontakte – Chat-bots based on artificial intelligence were created to automate consultation of the most frequently requested public services of the e-Government portal. * Smart Bridge – The project aimed at simplification of organizational procedures for integration, interaction of government bodies with business and the development of a competitive environment. * Saqbol mobile app - Created to control the spread of coronavirus infection, as well as to timely localize infection sites using the Exposure Notification (notification system on the risk of contagion from Google and Apple). The app is designed to anonymously track contacts with other devices that have the same app installed, and store encrypted records of interaction with them.


Malaysia

In Malaysia, the e-government efforts are undertaken by the Malaysian government, under the umbrella of Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) and e-government flagships, which was launched in mid-1996, by Dr Mahathir Mohamad (1981–2003), by the then Prime Minister of Malaysia (Jeong & Nor Fadzlina, 2007). Electronic government is an initiative aimed at reinventing how the government works. It seeks to improve how the government operates, as well as how it delivers services to the people (Ibrahim Ariff & Goh Chen Chuan, 2000).


Myanmar

The Yangon City Development Committee (Burmese- ရန်ကုန်မြို့တော်စည်ပင်သာယာရေးကော်မတီ) (YCDC) is the administrative body of
Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...
, and Yangon is the largest city and former capital of
Myanmar (Burma) Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
. The Yangon City Development Committee consists of 20 departments. Its headquarters was on the
Yangon City Hall Yangon City Hall (; YCH) is the city hall of Yangon, the largest city of Myanmar, and the seat of the city's administrative body, Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). The building is considered a fine example of syncretic Burmese architect ...
. The committee's chairman is also the city's mayor. In 2003, YCDC was organized to provide e-government for Yangon City. The main purposes of the city's e-government program are to provide easy access between the government and the city's citizens via the Internet, to reduce paper usage, to reduce the city budget, to build the city's fiber ring, to provide timely public information, to store public data and to develop and expand G2G, G2C, G2B, and G2E programs. In January 2013 responsibility for e-government was divided between the e-Government Administration Committee and the e-Government Processing Committee. The e-Government Administration Committee includes the Mayor of Yangon City as Chief, the General Secretary of Yangon City as Sub-Chief, and the other 20 head of department officers as chairmen. The e-Government Processing Committee includes the Head of Public Relation and Information Department as Chief and the other 20 deputy head of department officers as chairmen. The official web-portal i
www.ycdc.gov.mm
Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Myanmar (Burma). In 2014, Mandalay Region Government developed www.mdyregion.gov.mm to know about regional government and their activities to people. Mandalay Region Government organized the e-Government Steering Committee on 23 June 2016. That committee chairman was U Sai Kyaw Zaw, Minister, Ministry of Ethnic Affairs. On 21 July 2017 www.emandalay.gov.mm web portal was opened by Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, Prime Minister of Mandalay Region Government. That portal includes 2 e-services, 199 topics from 70 agencies. The committee develops a Regional Data Center too. That Datacenter will be opened in 2018.


Nepal

The e-government planning and conceptual framework has been presented to Nepal in extensive support from the Government of Korea (KIPA). E-government Vision is "The Value Networking Nepal" through: * Citizen-centered service * Transparent service * Networked government * Knowledge-based society Nepal's E-government mission statement is "Improve the quality of people's lives without any discrimination, transcending regional and racial differences, and realize socio-economic development by building a transparent government and providing value-added quality services through ICT." The e-government practice has been slow both in adoption and practice in Nepal. However, local government bodies now have dedicated team of ICT Volunteers working towards implementing e-government in the country through an extensive ICT for Local Bodies initiatives.


Saudi Arabia

In 2015, the Ministry of Interior of Saudi Arabia launched the e-service application known as '' Absher.'' The application allows the people of the Kingdom to access more than 279 different government services from their smartphones, without the need to queue or for the inefficiencies of bureaucracy. Some e-services that can be completed by way of the application include: # Passport Services # Traffic Services # Expatriate Affairs Services # Civil Affairs Services # Authorizations # General Directorate of Prisons # Public Prosecution # Public Security # MOI Services (Ministry of Interior) # Ministry of Hajj # General Services # Information Services Another application that has been launched is ''Tawakkalna''. This application was created by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) in order for the government to better counteract against COVID-19. Initially the application was created so as to issue permits to those who were required to commute to work during lockdown. Now, it is being used for travel; entering commercial buildings, hospitals, and schools within the Kingdom; setting vaccine appointments; and COVID-19 tracing.


South Korea

Announced in 2013 with "an ambitious plan to allow wider public access to government data to improve the transparency of state affairs", this initiative includes: citizen-centered government innovation, core values of openness, sharing, communication, collaboration for all areas of governing, customized services to individual citizens, which will create jobs and support creative economy.


Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka have taken some initiative actions to provide the benefits of e-government to the citizens.


Thailand

To implement the principles of e-government, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunication Technologies of Thailand developed a plan for creating a modern e-services system during 2009–2014. The next stage was the five-year project of the digital government, which began in 2016 and will be completed in 2021. This project assumes that within five years, more than 80% of Thai government agencies will use electronic documents for identification. There is the Unified State Portal of e-Government of Thailand, developed by the Ministry of Information and Telecommunications Technology in 2008. In 2018, Thailand ranks 73rd in the UN e-government ranking.


United Arab Emirates

In the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
, the Emirates eGovernment is designed for e-government operations.


Pakistan

In 2014, the
Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...
created the National Information Technology Board under the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom to enable a digital eco-system for government services to the citizens of
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
. NITB was formed as a result of a merger between Pakistan Computer Bureau (PCB) and Electronic Government Directorate (EGD). The key functions identified by the NITB are: * Provide technical guidance for the introduction of e-Governance in the Federal Govt. * Suggest the efficient and cost-effective implementation of e-government programs in the Federal Ministries/Divisions. * To carry out a training needs assessment and design and implement the identified IT capacity building programs for the employees of Federal Ministries/Divisions. * Review the status of e-government readiness regularly to ensure sustainable, accelerated digitization and relevant human resource development. * Identify the areas where IT interventions can be helpful and to suggest measures for the automation of these areas through Business Process Re-engineering (BPR). NITB rolled out an e-Office Suite across various ministries in the
Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...
. While it clearly pursued efficiency gains and improved transparency, it also hoped to deliver "efficient and cost-effective public services to citizens of Pakistan." The suite primarily included five modules or applications across all the ministries. Description of each module listed are: * Internal Communication Module * HR Management Module * Inventory & Procurement Management Module * Project Management Module * Finance Budget Module NITB released a high-level diagram that describes the process of transforming federal government agencies and ministries to e-office environments. Criticism: NITB's rollout of the e-Office suite across almost all federal agencies is not only overly ambitious but also likely to fail. It seems to put together a lot of lofty organizational efficiency goals with a set of delivery or citizen-facing targets. In fact, most of the services NITB has provided have been largely conceptual and not sufficient concrete. The process outlined in the adoption process diagram seems devoid of any user-centric design or value proposition formulation. Instead of creating many MVPs (Minimum Viable Products) and taking advantage of an iterative and validated learning the process, the e-Office Suite seems to incorporate all the features and functions that various ministries and divisions may need or use. It seems to focus more on the needs of the bureaucrats and government agencies rather than the needs of the end-user (citizens of Pakistan) and what services would they need that a ministry or division can provide.


Europe


Germany

E-government (from (en) electronic government, (de) e-government, rarely eGovernment) refers to the simplification, implementation and support of processes for information, communication and transaction within and between state, municipal and other official institutions and between these institutions and citizens or companies and organizations through the use of digital information and communication technologies (ICT). The legal basis in Germany for federal authorities is the Electronic Government Act (EGovG). Some of the federal states have their own e-government laws.


Poland

The first discussions in Poland on e-government in Europe began with a report published in 1994 by the European Commission, entitled "Europe and the Global Information Society Recommendations to the Council of Europe" (named after one of the authors of the Bangemann Report). It showed the direction of the development of the global information society in Europe. Since then, the concept of e-government has become a permanent fixture in the issues raised in the EU as a component of eEurope. In Poland, the year 2000 should be considered the beginning of e-government. It was then that the Scientific Research Committee prepared a document based on seven expert opinions, which was published under the collective title "Global Information Society in the conditions of Poland's Accession to the European Union". Today we know the material as an official document of the Scientific Research Committee and the Ministry of Communications entitled "Goals and directions of development of the information society in Poland". In 2000, the Sejm also adopted a resolution on building the information society, and then in 2001, passed an act important for the development of e-government: introducing the Public Information Bulletin (BIP), the Act on access to public information, and the act on electronic signature, regulating the issue of e-signature. The next step in the development of e-management was the preparation of the ePoland document, containing an action plan for the development of the information society in Poland, which was modeled on the European eEurope development plan. This document was last updated in 2002. The next version of this strategy was called ePolska-2006. The adoption of this document resulted in the preparation by the Scientific Research Committee of the preliminary concept of the Gateway to Poland project (a central IT system, the task of which was to provide administrative services for citizens and business entities by electronic means) and the document The Strategy for Informatisation of the Republic of Poland-ePoland.


Russia

On the Federal Law "On providing state and municipal services" (2010), the strategy on development of Information Society in the Russian Federation, approved by the President (2008), the Federal target programme "Electronic Russia" (2002 – 2010 years), approved by the government (2002), the State Programme "Information Society" (2010), the Procedure on development and approval of administrative regulations execution of public functions (public services), approved by the government (2005), the concept of administrative reform in the Russian Federation in 2006 - 2010 respectively, approved by the government (2005), on other orders, resolutions and acts in the Russian Federation was created electronic government (or e-government). The main target on creating e-government lies in the field of providing equal opportunities for all the Russians in spite of their living place and their incomes and make a more effective system of public administration. So e-government is created for reaching the useful system of public management accommodating the individual interests of every citizen by participation through ICTs in public policy-making. Nowadays Russian e-government includes such systems as: 1. The United interagency Interacting system using for providing of state and municipal services, exchange of information and data between participants of interagency interacting, quick approval of state and municipal decisions, etc. 2. The United system for authentication and authorization providing evidence of the rights of all participants of e-government. 3. United portal of state and municipal services and functions which are the "single window" for all information and services assured by government and municipals. The portal of public services is one of the key elements of the project to create an "electronic government" in the country. The portal provides a single point of access to all references on state and municipal services through the Internet and provides citizens and organizations the opportunity to receive these services electronically. Monthly visits by users of the public services portal range between 200,000 and 700,000. For example, citizens are now able to obtain or exchange a driver's license through this portal. 4. Head system providing utilization of electronic signature. Other systems located on cloud services, since cloud computing has been a useful tool for E-Government according to researchers. Today Russian e-government elements are demanded in the spheres of e-governance, e-services (e-health, e-education, e-library, etc.), e-commerce, e-democracy (web-election, Russian public initiative). By the United Nations E-Government Survey 2012: E-Government for the People Russia became one of the 7 emerging leaders in e-government development, took ninth place in rating of e-government development in largest population countries, took 8th rank in Top e-participation leaders, after Norway, Sweden and Chile, Advancing 32 positions in the world rankings, the Russian Federation became the leader of e-government in Eastern Europe. Evolution of ICT in the Russian Federation provided the raising of Russia in e-government development index to the 27 places.


Turkey

E-Government in Turkey e-Government in Turkey is the use of Digital electronics, digital technology to improve service efficiency and effectiveness in Turkey. Turkey, Turkish website e-Devlet kapısı (), simply e-devlet () or turkiye.gov.tr, is a resource providing a ...
is the use of digital technology to improve service efficiency and effectiveness in Turkey. As of December 2020, 700 government agencies offers 5,338 applications to 51,757,237 million users. The mobile application offers 2,850 services.


Ukraine

The main coordinating government body in matters of e-government is Ministry of Digital Transformation established in 2019. In 2020, it launched the Diia app and web portal which allows Ukrainians to use various kinds of documents (including ID-cards and passports) via their smartphones as well as to access various government services with the plans to make all governmental services available by 2023.


United Kingdom

''Transformational Government: Enabled by Technology'', 2005, stated that "the future of public services has to use technology to give citizens choice, with personalised services designed around their needs not the needs of the provider". A major report published by the House of Commons
Public Administration Select Committee The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (PACAC), formerly known as the Public Administration Select Committee, is a committee appointed by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Its primary role is to scrutinize ...
in July 2011 addressed
procurement Procurement is the process of locating and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. The term may also refer to a contractual ...
of
Information Technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
by the government and found there was an over-reliance "on a small '
oligopoly An oligopoly () is a market in which pricing control lies in the hands of a few sellers. As a result of their significant market power, firms in oligopolistic markets can influence prices through manipulating the supply function. Firms in ...
' of large suppliers".House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee
Government and IT - "a recipe for rip-offs": time for a new approach
Volume 1, page 3, published 28 July 2011, accessed 30 July 2021
The report introduced its summary with the observation that However, an initiative introduced in 2011 which enables people to notify a number of central and local government departments about a birth or death at the same time, called " Tell Us Once", has been welcomed as "a fine example of innovation and best practice, a dynamic and inspiring model".


North America


Canada

The current Clerk of the Privy Council – the head of the federal public service has made workplace renewal a pillar of overall public service renewal. The key to workplace renewal is the adoption of collaborative networked tools. An example of such a tool is GCPEDIA – a wiki platform for federal public servants. Other tools include GCconnex, a social networking tool, and GCforums, a discussion board system. Report of the Auditor General of Canada: Chapter 1 Information Technology: Government On-Line 2003: "One of the key principles of Government On-Line is that programs and services will be transformed to reflect the needs and expectations of clients and citizens. From the government's perspective, the overall objective of the GOL initiative is full service transformation – to fundamentally change the way the government operates and to deliver better services to Canadians."


United States

The election of
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
as
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
became associated with the effective use of Internet technologies during his campaign and in the implementation of his new administration in 2009. On January 21, 2009, the President signed one of his first memorandums – the Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies on Transparency and Open Government. The memo called for an unprecedented level of openness in government, asking agencies to "ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration." The memo further "directs the Chief Technology Officer, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Administrator of General Services (GSA), to coordinate the development by appropriate executive departments and agencies ndto take specific actions implementing the principles set forth in the memorandum." President Obama's memorandum centered around the idea of increasing transparency throughout various different federal departments and agencies. By enabling public websites like recovery.gov and data.gov to distribute more information to the American population, the administration believes that it will gain greater citizen participation. In 2009 the U.S. federal government launched
Data.gov Data.gov is a U.S. Government website launched in late May 2009 by the Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the United States, Vivek Kundra. Data.gov aims to improve public access to high value, machine-readable datasets generated by th ...
to make more government data available to the public. With data from Data.Gov, the public can build apps, websites, and mashups. Although "Gov 2.0", as a concept and as a term, had been in existence since the mid-2000s, it was the launch of Data.gov that made it "go viral". In August 2009 the City of San Francisco launche
DataSF.org
with more than a hundred datasets. Just weeks after the DataSF.org launch, new apps and websites were developed. Using data feeds available on DataSF.org, civic-minded developers built programs to display public transportation arrival and departure times, where to recycle hazardous materials, and crime patterns. Since the launch of DataSF.org there have been more than seventy apps created with San Francisco's data. In March 2009, former
San Francisco Mayor The mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the executive branch of the San Francisco city and county government. The officeholder has the duty to enforce city laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by t ...
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...
was at
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
headquarters for a conversation about technology in government. During the town hall, Newsom received a tweet about a
pothole A pothole is a pot-shaped depression in a road surface, usually asphalt pavement, where traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affecte ...
. He turned to Twitter co-founders
Biz Stone Christopher Isaac "Biz" Stone (born March 10, 1974) is an American entrepreneur who is a co-founder of Twitter, among other tech companies. Stone was the creative director at Xanga from 1999-2001. Stone co-founded Jelly (app), Jelly, with Ben Fin ...
and Evan Williams and said let's find a way for people to tweet their service requests directly to San Francisco's 311 customer service center. Three months later, San Francisco launched the first Twitter 311 service, called @SF311, allowing residents to tweet, text, and send photos of potholes and other requests directly to the city. Working with Twitter and using the open-source platform, CoTweet turned @SF311 into reality. The software procurement process for something like this would normally have taken months, but in this case, it took less than three months. The @SF311 is saving the city money in
call center A call centre (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American English, American spelling; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences) is a managed capability th ...
costs. In 2011, The United States Government Accountability Office passed the Electronic Government Act in 2002 to promote better use of internet and information technology. Besides, to improve government services for citizens, internal government operations, and opportunities for citizen participation in government. Presidential Innovation Fellows program where "teams of government experts and private-sector doers take a user-centric approach to issues at the intersection of people, processes, products, and policy to achieve lasting impact" launched in 2012. 18F a new digital government delivery service, was formed in early 2014 and United States Digital Service (USDS) was launched later in 2014.


South America


Brazil

The goal defined in the Digital Government Strategy is to reach the total digitization of services by the end of 2022. "The main objective of the digital government is to bring citizens closer to the State. Technologies allow us to see each Brazilian better, including those who feel excluded, to direct public policies in a much more agile and efficient way and to reach mainly those who need it most", emphasizes the Digital Government secretary of the Ministry of Economy, Luís Felipe Monteiro.


International initiatives

The early pioneering work by some governments is now being picked up by a range of global organizations which offer support to governments in moving to a transformational government approach. For example: *The
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
has set up an eTransform Initiative (ETI) with support from global IT partners such as Gemalto, IBM, L-1 Identity Solutions, Microsoft and Pfizer. "The eTransform Initiative is about tapping information technology, expertise and experiences", said Mohsen Khalil, Director of the World Bank Group's Global Information and Communication Technologies Department. "Government transformation is about change management facilitated by technology. This initiative will facilitate the exchange of lessons and experiences among various governments and industry players, to maximize impact and lower risks of ICT-enabled government transformation." *A number of private sector organizations working in this area have published white papers which pull together global best practices on government transformation. *OASIS launched (September 2010) a new Technical Committee tasked with producing a new global best practice standard for a transformational government Framework. The Framework is expressed as a number of "Pattern Languages", each providing a detailed set of guidance notes and conformance clauses on how to deliver the required changes in practice.


See also

*
AI mayor Government by algorithm (also known as algorithmic regulation, regulation by algorithms, algorithmic governance, algocratic governance, algorithmic legal order or algocracy) is an alternative form of government or social ordering where the usag ...
* Center for Electronic Governance at UNU-IIST *
Collaborative e-democracy Collaborative e-democracy refers to a hybrid democratic model combining elements of direct democracy, representative democracy, and e-democracy (or the incorporation of ICTs into democratic processes). This concept, first introduced at internat ...
*
Cyberocracy In futurology, cyberocracy describes a hypothetical form of government that rules by the effective use of information. The exact nature of a cyberocracy is largely speculative as, apart from Project Cybersyn, there have been no cybercratic gove ...
*
Digital era governance The first idea of a digital administrative law was born in Italy in 1978 by Giovanni Duni and was developed in 1991 with the name teleadministration. In the public administration debate about new public management (NPM), the concept of digital e ...
*
Digital 5 The Digital Nations or DN (previously the Digital 5, Digital 7 and Digital 9) is a collaborative network of the world's leading digital governments with a common goal of harnessing digital technology to improve citizens' lives. Members share w ...
* Digital Government Society of North America * Digital integrity *
E-democracy E-democracy (a blend of the terms Electronic publishing, electronic and democracy), also known as digital democracy or Internet democracy, uses information and communication technology (ICT) in politics, political and governance processes. The ...
*
E-Government Unit The e-Government Unit (eGU) was a unit of the Cabinet Office of the government of the United Kingdom responsible for helping various government departments use information technology to increase efficiency and improve electronic access to governme ...
*
E-participation Electronic participation (e-participation) refers to the use of ICT in facilitating citizen participation in government-related processes, encompassing areas such as administration, service delivery, decision-making, and policy-making. As such, ...
*
E-procurement E-procurement (electronic procurement, sometimes also known as supplier exchange) is a collective term used to refer to a range of technologies which can be used to automate the internal and external processes associated with procurement, strat ...
* E-government factsheets *
eGovernment in Europe All European countries show eGovernment initiatives, mainly related to the improvement of governance at the national level. Significant eGovernment activities also take place at the European Commission level as well. There is an extensive list ...
*
Electronic voting Electronic voting is voting that uses electronic means to either aid or handle casting and counting ballots including voting time. Depending on the particular implementation, e-voting may use standalone '' electronic voting machines'' (also ...
* eRulemaking *
Government by algorithm Government by algorithm (also known as algorithmic regulation, regulation by algorithms, algorithmic governance, algocratic governance, algorithmic legal order or algocracy) is an alternative form of government or social ordering where the usag ...
*
Information society An information society is a society or subculture where the usage, Content creation, creation, information distribution, distribution, manipulation and information integration, integration of information is a significant activity. Its main drive ...
* International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance * Issue tracking systems in government *
National Center for Digital Governance National Center for Digital Government is a research center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The center is directed by Jane Fountain, professor of political science and public policyCharles Schweik associate professor of natural resources ...
*
Online consultation Online consultations or e-consultations refer to an exchange between government and citizens using the Internet. They are one form of online deliberation. Further, online consultation consists in using the Internet to ask a group of people their ...
*
Online petition An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...
*
Online deliberation Online deliberation is a broad term used to describe many forms of non-institutional, institutional and experimental online discussions.Bächtiger, A., Dryzek, John S., Mansbridge, Jane J., & Warren, Mark. (2018). The Oxford handbook of deliberative ...
*
Online volunteering In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...
*
Open-source governance Open-source governance (also known as open governance and open politics) is a political philosophy which advocates the application of the philosophies of the open-source and open-content movements to democratic principles to enable any intere ...
*
Open government Open government is the governing doctrine which maintains that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. In its broadest construction, it opposes reason of state a ...
* Project Cybersyn *
Teleadministration {{Short description, Early usage of electronic documents in the legal system Teleadministration is based on the concept that documents in electronic format have legal value. Administrative informatics is not new, but for many years it was merely in ...
*
Portal e-Cidadania The e-Cidadania Portal is a website platform created in 2012 by the Federal Senate (Brazil), Federal Senate of Brazil to encourage citizen participation in the Senate's legislative, budgetary, oversight, and representative activities. The websit ...


References


Further reading

*
Jane Fountain Jane E. Fountain is an American political scientist and technology theorist. She is Distinguished University Professor of political science and public policy, the founder and director of the National Center for Digital Government at the Universi ...
, ''Building the Virtual State: Information Technology and Institutional Change'' (2001)
Encyclopedia of Digital Government
Edited by Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko and Matti Mälkiä. Idea Group Reference. * * Cordella, A (2007)

, Journal of Information Technology, 22, 265–274.

Edited by Ashok Agarwal and V Ventaka Ramana. ICEG'07 5th International Conference on e-Governance * West, Darrell
State and Federal Electronic Government in the United States
The Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global eco ...
. 2008-08-26. Retrieved on 2008-09-16. * West, Darrell
Improving Technology Utilization in Electronic Government Around the World
The Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global eco ...
. 2008-08-26. Retrieved on 2008-09-16. * von Lucke, Jörn; Reinermann, Heinrich (2000)
Speyer Definition of Electronic Government
Forschungsinstitut für öffentliche Verwaltung, Speyer. Retrieved on 2020-07-01. * Ríos, Mauro D
In search of a definition of e-government (in Spanish)
NovaGob. 2014.
OASIS Transformational Government Framework Technical Committee (September 2010)

ACT-IAC (October 2010)


External links

* *
2020 E-Government Development Index country listings
{{Authority control Politics and technology Public administration Public services