PAD 843E Governance
PAD 843E Governance
Introduction…………………………………………………
Course Aims………………………………………………..
Course Objectives……………………………………………
Course Materials…………………………………………….
Study Units…………………………………………………..
Assignments…………………………………………………
Tutor –Marked Assignments………………………………….
Final Examination and Grading……………………………….
Summary………………………………………………………
Introduction
This course, PAD 857: E-governance in the Public Sector/Electronic Governance and
Administration is a three credit unit compulsory for students studying public
administration and related programmes in the School of Management Sciences.
The course has been arranged for you in twenty distinct but related units of study
activities. In this course guide, you will find out what you need to know about the
aims and objectives of the course, components of the course material, arrangement of
the study units, assignments, and examinations.
Course Material
The course material package is composed of:
Assignments
Each unit of the course has a self assessment exercise. You will be expected to
attempt them as this will enable you understand the content of the unit.
Tutor-marked Assignment
The Tutor-Marked Assignments at the end of each unit are designed to test your
understanding and application of the concepts learned. It is important that these
assignments are submitted to your facilitators for assessments. They make up 30
percent of the total score for the course.
Summary
This course, PAD 857: E-governance in the Public Sector/Electronic Governance and
Administration is very relevant in the discourse on modern usage of technology in the
world of public administration. This course will enable you come to the knowledge of the
shifting paradigm in public service delivery via information and communication
technology (ICT). The shift is not only on service delivery but also on the way
citizens participate in policy-making process through the tools of online engagement.
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MODULE 1 E-GOVERNANCE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 What is E-Governance?
3.2 Principles of e-governance and Objectives
3.3 Major Administrative and Democratic Improvements of E-governance
3.4 Types of Service Delivery in e-governance
3.4 Domains of e-governance
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, student will be introduced to the concept of E-governance. Technological
advances have changed the way people go about their daily activities. Whether we are
checking our e-mails or texting or sending messages with our phones, mobile communication
is growing, and our ability to navigate the World Wide Web is improving dramatically. We
use the internet to shop on-line, do banking transactions, book for our flight tickets and make
payment on-line, check the weather, do research on any subject and connect with network.
You may wonder what this has to do with public administration. As Internet usage grows,
and the use of technology in general grows, so too does the use of technology and Internet by
government. E-governance is the general term used to describe the government’s use of
technology in performing its multiple responsibilities (Holzer and Schwester, 2011). This
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unit is meant to develop student’s knowledgeand understanding on how government services
are performed through the modern technology.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
Governance has always been dependent upon technology, in the broadest sense of
knowledge, skills, techniques and epistemological strategies, as well as devices, hardware,
software and power circuits. As the reach of governance has spread into new areas of the
globe as well as new aspects of hitherto personal relationships, it has come to rely upon more
complex assemblages of technically stored and disseminated knowledge (Coleman, 2008).
E-governance is the public sector’s use of information and communication technologies with
the aim of improving information and service delivery, encouraging citizen participation in
the decision-making process and making government more accountable, transparent and
effective. E-governance involves new styles of leadership, new ways of debating and
deciding policy and investment, new ways of accessing education, new ways of listening to
citizens and new ways of organizing and delivering information and services. E-governance
is generally considered as a wider concept than e-government, since it can bring about a
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change in the way citizens relate to governments and to each other. E-governance can bring
forth new concepts of citizenship, both in terms of citizen needs and responsibilities. Its
objective is to engage, enable and empower the citizen (UNESCO)(www.unesco.org).
E-governance entails the digitized coding, processing, storage and distribution of data
relating to three key aspects of governing societies: the representation and regulation of
social actors; the delivery of public services; and the generation and circulation of official
information (Coleman, 2008).
E-governance is more than just a government website on the Internet. The strategicobjective
of e-governance is to support and simplify governance for all parties; government,citizens
and businesses. The use of ICTs can connect all three parties and support processesand
activities. In other words, in e-governance electronic means support and stimulate
goodgovernance.
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To ensure transparency in the workings of government;
To ensure greater efficiency, objectivity, accountability and speed in providing
services and information to the public;
To provide qualitative and cost-effective services;
To provide a single window for all government services;
To evolve responsive administration;
To provide a friendly, speedier and efficient interface; and
To eliminate the middlemen.
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3.4 Types of Service Delivery in e-governance
The quest to improve service delivery through the use of ICTs in governments typically
focuses on four main dimensions. These are:
4. Intragovernment: This aims to leverage ICT to reducecosts and improve the quality of
administration and management within government organization (Islam and Ahmed,
2007).
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creating strategic connections within government bodies, and creating empowerment.
Shortening the lead time for passport application from two weeks to one day is an
example of e-administration.
- E-serviceinitiative focus mainly on improving the relationship between the
government and its citizens by increasing the information flow between them – which
notably, involves two- way communication – and improving the service levels of
government towards its citizens. Public service institutes offering citizens the
opportunity to apply for business licenses through a government websites is one
example of e-services.
- E-society initiatives extend e-service domain by focusing on institutional
stakeholders, such as private sector service providers, other public agencies, and not-
for-profit and community organizations. E-society focuses on building long lasting
partnerships and social/economical communities: for example through the creation of
a business community portal.
e-Administration:
improved
processes
e-Citizens/e-
e-Society:
Service:
external
connected
interactions
citizens
The three domains of e-governance are seldom separate in their implementations; rather, they
involve overlapping activities as part of the same initiative (Arjan de Jager, 2008).
Self-Assessment Exercise
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4.0 CONCLUSION
E-governance as we observe from our discussion may enhance access to government by
citizens. It may increase access by those who work within government and those who work
with government. It facilitates good governance for all stake holders.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have looked at the various meanings of e-governance. As we can see, e-
governance is more than just a government on the website.The strategies of e-governance can
enable government and citizens to engage and partner with each other and other stakeholders.
We also discussed the objectives of e-governance as well as the types of service delivery in
e-governance. Subsequent units will discuss some other aspects of e-governance.
Arjan de Jager (2008) E-governance in the Developing World in Action: the Case of the
DistricNet in Uganda. The Journal of Community Informatics.Vol. 4, No 2.
Coleman, S. (2008) “Foundation of Digital Government in Chen, H., Brandt, L., Gregg, V. et
al (eds) Digital Government: E-Government Research, Case Studies, and Implementation.
New York. Springer Science+ Business Media.
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UNIT 2 E – GOVERNMENT IN ADMINISTRATION
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 What is E-Government?
3.2 Objectives of e-government
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In the last unit, we learnt a lot about e-governance. In this unit we are focusing on the term
‘e-government’confusion still reigns concerning the difference between the two terms ‘e-
governance’ and ‘e-government’. E-governance denotes a “wider concept that defines and
assesses the impacts technologies are having on the practice and administration of
governments and the relationships between public servants and the wider society, such as
dealings with the elected bodies or outside groups such as not for profits organizations,
NGOs or private sector corporate entities” and e-government as “a narrower discipline
dealing with the development of online services to the citizen, more the e of any particular
government service – such as e-tax, e-transportation or e-health Sheridan and Rileycited in
Palvia and Sharma (2007).This unit therefore will enhance student’s knowledge on the
concept of ‘e-government’.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
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3.0 MAIN CONTENT
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E-government involves using information technology, and especially the Internet, to
improve the delivery of government services to citizens, businesses, and other government
agencies. .
The commontheme behind these definitions is that e-government involves the automation or
computerizationof existing paper-based procedures that will prompt new styles of leadership,
new ways of debating and deciding strategies, new ways of transacting business, new ways
of listening to citizens and communities, and new ways of organizing and delivering
information. Ultimately, e-government aims to enhance access to and delivery of
governmentservices to benefit citizens. More important, it aims to help strengthen
government’s drive toward effective governance and increased transparency to better manage
a country’s social and economic resources for development (Basu, 2004).
Beyond these general objectives, we can also consider two distinct objectives of e-
government. As regards the objectives of e-government a distinction should be made
between the objectives for internally focused processes (operations) and objectives for
externally focused services.
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External strategic objectives. The external objective of e-government is to satisfactorily
fulfill the public’s needs and expectations on the front-office side, by simplifying their
interaction with various online services. The use of ICTs in government operations facilitates
speedy, transparent, accountable, efficient and effective interaction with the public, citizens,
business and other agencies.
Self-Assessment Exercise
Enumerate the objectives of e-government
4.0 CONCLUSION
E-government is contributing to making public administration more efficient and effective.
By enabling access to government services, e-government has the potential of enhancing
social and economic development of any country. When citizens have better access to
information on available services, making payments online, doing e-transfer etc all these can
enhance productivity at both the private and public levels. Effective use of e‐government can
also improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the public sector and linkages between
government agencies.
5.0 SUMMARY
We have learnt in this unit that e-government is the use of new information and
communication technologies (ICTs) bygovernments as applied to the full range of
government functions. It is the use of information technology to enhance government
activities, for example document processing, database, payroll, employee records amongst
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others. We have also learnt the main objectives of e-government. We have also distinguished
between externally focused and internally focused objectives.
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UNIT 3 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Information and Communication Technology
3.2 Objectives of ICT Policy
3.3 Role of ICTs in e-government
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
We mentioned in the last unit that the use of ICT in government operations facilitates speedy,
transparent, accountable, efficient and effective interaction with the public, citizens, business
and other agencies. There is a growing recognition worldwide that effective public sector
governance requires the useof ICT to achieve more efficiency in the functioning of
government and to improve the delivery ofgovernment services for organizations and
individuals. Our focus in this unit is on the
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to;
Discuss what ICT means;
Discuss the objectives of ICTs policy;
Examine the role of ICTs in e-government;
Discuss some of the reasons why governments use ICT in its operation.
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3.0 MAIN CONTENTS
3.1 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Most of the developing countries understand the enormous potential of ICT, not only as a
tool for improving governance and creating more jobs, but also more significantly as a means
to enhance the standard of living of the people. The ICT policy aims at increased application
of IT in all occupations, enhancing the IT industry base, creating a robust state information
infrastructure and creating human resources for IT (Basu, 2004). Although the policy
statements differ from country to country however there are some fundamental similarities in
the objectives, which can be summarized as following:
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E-governance which we discussed in the first unit is said to have its firm root in the power of
ICTs which provide three basic change potentials for good governance and development.
These change potentials can, in turn bring five main benefits to a developing economy.
Benefits
The first three groups of benefit are classified as the efficiency gains while the last two
could be regarded as the effectiveness gains (Maduabum, 2008).
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Internet-related ICT facilities which are used in this respect are e-mail, usenets and
newsgroups, Internet relay chat, and the World Wide Web (Snellen, 2005).
Empowerment from the bottom ICT can help to leverage the voices and expertise
of huge numbers of individuals and groups,
setting their own agendas and developing their
own policies in new forms of „crowdsourcing‟,
mass collaboration and mass creativity. This can
also result in short term single issue politics, and
sometimes in instant street politics and forms of
mob-rule, but can potentially also build to more
permanent countervailing power bases possibly
at odds with governments.
Empowering communities and localities ICT can support the extension of participation
beyond formal politics and the ballot box, by
promoting subsidiarity at local and
neighbourhood level. This leverages local
resources, know-how and skills for developing
new forms of advocacy, support and social
capital, which can both strengthen diverse
cultures and interests as well as bridge between
them.
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Reasons why Government use ICT in its Operations
However, whether government will make use of ICT in its operation, and the ability of
government to do so will depend on the following factors provided by Arjan de Jager (2008).
1. Availability of (initial) funding. The initial pilot e-government operation should start
with a good understanding of the cost involved and with assured funding that follows
careful analysis of opportunity costs.
2. Skills and culture of the civil service. Civil servants must be able (through ICT, change
and programme management and partnership building skills) and willing to support e-
government, or at a minimum must be eager to learn and change.
3. Co-ordination. This involves the necessary ‘backroom’ co-ordination and effort – within
and between government agencies, and this must take place before any e-government
application goes on-line in order to avoid duplication, assure interoperability and meet
the expectations of users.
4. Legal Framework. Legal requirements should be dealt with at the initial stage of the ICT
operation by the government.
5. ICT Infrastructure. Infrastructure needs should be assessed against the background of
requirements and desired results of e-government development plans.
6. Political leadership and long-term political commitment. The chief executive officer of
the public sector must be committed to e-government; he must lead and build broad
support for it, and must be eager to learn.
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7. Public engagement. The public should have a personal stake in e-government
development. Their engagement should be reinforced by actively, genuinely and
continuously soliciting people to participate in the development of e-government
applications so that there are custom-crafted to the way people live and work.
8. Plans for development of human capital and technical infrastructure. There should be a
vision and plans for closing the existing gaps in ICT skills and access, otherwise, neither
the public administration nor the citizenry can hope to become ICT literate and capable,
which are important ingredients for e-government success.
9. Partnership. The government should involve business firms and civil society
organization (CSOs) as its partners in securing access and adequate capacity to service
the ICT network.
10. Monitoring and evaluation. Setting clear responsibilities and realistic benchmarks for e-
government, as well as for its transparent monitoring, is an important ingredient for
eventual transparency and accountability framework in the public sector (Arjan de Jager,
2008).
Self-Assessment Exercise
Examine in detail factors that will determine whether government will make use of ICT in its
operation.
4.0 CONCLUSION
In our discussion above, we can deduce that ICTs are very much likely to lead to more
efficient service delivery. ICTs are at the core of modern transformations of public
administration. ICTs applications can play a role in the enhancement of the internal
effectiveness and efficiency of the executive functions and by so doing bring a great deal of
improvement on government services.
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5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have examined the importance of ICT in government operations. We
discussed the objectives of ICT, roles of ICTin e-government and the reasons why
Government use ICT in its Operations. We also discussed those factors that will determine
whether government will make use of ICT in its operations.
1. Why do you think government will make use of ICT in its operation?
2. Discuss the role of ICTs in e-government.
3. Examine the objectives of ICT policy.
Arjan de Jager (2008) E-governance in the Developing World in Action: the Case of the
DistricNet in Uganda. The Journal of Community Informatics.Vol. 4, No 2.
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UNIT 4 E-DEMOCRACY
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 E- democracy- Meaning
3.2 Models of E-Democracy
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, student will be introduced to the concept of ‘e-democracy’. There is increasing
recognition ofthe need to consider the innovative application of ICTsfor participation that
enables a wider audience tocontribute to democratic debate. This unit will discuss this issue
in detail.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
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traditional means of communication, such as face-to-faceinteraction or one-way mass media.
(Paivarinta and Saebo, 2006).
Government
Elected officials
Media (and major online Portals)
Political parties and interest groups
Civil society organizations
International governmental organizations
Citizens/voters
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This model illustrates e-democracy activities as a whole. Governments provide extensive
access to information and interact electronically with citizens, political groups run online
advocacy campaigns and political parties campaign online, and the media and portal/search
sites play a crucial role in providing news and online navigation. In this model, the ‘Private
Sector’ represents commercially driven connectivity, software and technology.
Partisan Democracy
Partisan democracy initiatives are characterized by citizen-initiated participation and
implicitcitizen intervention in the decision-making process. Active citizens participate in the
politicaldebate, but not through traditional channels or solely through representatives.
Informationtechnology seeks to obtain visibility for alternative political expressions and
criticism withoutinterruptions from the political elite.Unrestricted discussions set the agenda.
Examples include use ofindependent online communities discussing politics, chat room
discussions, Usenet discussions, and blogging (2006).
Liberal Democracy
Liberal democracy in general is characterized by a representative government, where citizens
form the electorate, giving mandates to representatives at the local level but also participating
in the public debate. Online communication becomes part of the issues here as citizens may
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be asked to submit suggestions to the public authorities, citizens can be given opportunities
to communicate with representatives and government officials.
Deliberative Democracy
The ideal of Deliberative Democracy connects citizens more explicitly and directly to
decisionmakingprocesses and emphasizes the role of open discussions in awell-functioning
public sphere. Politicians and citizens share an interest indialogue and discourse leading to
the formation of political opinion. Deliberative E-Democracyimplementations, with
explicitly defined relationships to the actual decision-making processes,may increase the
level of citizen participation, if compared to traditional means of politicaldiscussion between
citizens and decision-makers.
Direct Democracy
Direct Democracy focuses on how traditionalinstitutions lose power in favour of network-
based groups or individuals.
In Direct Democracy, network-based groups and individuals take over the role oftraditional
institutions.A direct E-Democracy initiative requires communicationtechnology to support
coordination among a great number of decision-makers, i.e. citizens,possibly geographically
scattered, with diverse interests and backgrounds (Paivarinta and Saebo, 2006: 823-827).
By looking at the main purposes of discussion forums for different democracy models
Paivarinta and Saeboillustrate how the framework can be used to identify differences in how
a particular technology may work under different conditions (democracy models).
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Analyses of Discussion Forums
Partisan Democracy Direct Democracy
Discussion forums are channels for Discussion forums represent a direct
expressing opinions by citizen groups channel to raise issues and affect
often criticizing existing power structures. decisions.
The candidates inform citizens about their Discussion forums are used for
arguments whereas the citizens try to targeted purposes actually involving
lobby the candidates. The purposes of citizens in public decision-making
communication are defined beforehand by processes. The politicians and
the authorities, officials are continually sensitive to
the opinions from the field.
The use of the framework to analyse particular implementations can reveal the democratic
ideas beneaththe surface, and address particular ways to use a technology according to the
pursued democracy model (Paivarinta and Saebo, 2006).
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Self-Assessment Exercise
Examine the characteristics of partisan democracy, direct democracy and deliberative
democracy.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Engaging your “own” citizens or constituents through digital media includes enhancing
active participation in law-making, policy-making, and legislative process, all of which are
influenced by a variety of forces— public opinion, debate, lobbyists, special interest groups,
consultation with constituents, committee hearings, and expert testimony (Caldow, 2004).
This perception actually concludes our discussion in this unit.
5.0 SUMMARY
This unit has enhanced our knowledge on e-democracy. We have also gained an insight into
the idea of the models of e-democracy and how they impact on the nature of democratic
process.
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UNIT 5 E-PARTICIPATION
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 E- participation- Meaning
3.2 Forms of Participation Offerings
3.3 Levels of Participation
3.4 E-participation Outcomes
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In the last unit we discussed the term ‘e-democracy’ in detail. In this unit we are still
discussing an issue that is related to democracy. Democracy is about popular participation –
getting people to be involved in the process of decision-making.Democratic political
participation must involve themeans to be informed, the mechanisms to take part inthe
decision-making and the ability to contribute andinfluence the policy agenda.Using ICT in
the course of democratic participation is particularly attractive to a number of target users,
including citizens living abroad, younger generations,and companies and organizations
which would otherwise not be able to participate.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
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3.0 MAIN CONTENTS
Many forms of ICT with the potential to support participation include chat technologies,
discussion forums, electronic voting systems, group decision support systems, and Web logs
(blogs).
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3.2 Six forms of participation offerings are identified below:
(1) Information: Offers which are related to the provision of, access to and development of
information of public agencies and which are conditions for the success of otherforms of
participation.
(2) Transparency through third parties: Informal offers with reports concerning measures
taken by the legislator or by the executive, thereby enabling public control.
(3) Consultation: Forms of participation by which expertise as well as votes from
citizens,interest groups and stakeholders from the business community and civil society
aresought for on various topics.
(4) Applications / complaints / petitions: Offers which enable the submission of proposals
or criticism to agencies and public authorities with decision-making powers, usuallyvia
intermediary institutions created specifically for this purpose.
(5) Cooperation: Offers which are designed to enable consensus-based cooperationbetween
administration agencies, policymakers, citizens as well as stakeholders fromthe business
community and civil society and which lead to collective preferences andhence (also) to
results which diverge from initial positions.
(6) Activism / campaigns/ lobbying: Forms of participation where individuals or
organizedgroups take measures which are designed to generate attention and support for
topicsand positions as well as particular interests and which hence contribute towards
theformation of political opinion and will (Albrecht et al., 2008).
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understandable. These two aspects ofaccessibility and understandability of information
areaddressed by e-enabling.
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For all stakeholders:
Time savings and more convenience
Simplified procedures
Increased security
Less bureaucracy and administration
More transparency, accountability, etc.
Better policy development
Better policy-making
Better decision-making
Improved legislation
Self-Assessment Exercise
Discuss e-participation outcomes for project owners, intended users and all stakeholders
4.0 CONCLUSION
5.0 SUMMARY
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major types of e-participation offerings. We also discussed the levels of participation that can
be used to characterize e-democracy initiatives, as well as the outcomes of e-participation.
1. Discuss the three levels of participation that can be used to characterize e-democracy
initiatives.
2. What is e-democracy? What are its main objectives?
Albrecht, S et al. (2008) "eParticipation –Electronic Participationof Citizens and the Business
Community ineGovernment".Study on Behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior,Division
IT 1. Bremen.
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MODULE TWO DIGITAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC POLICY
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 What is Public Policy?
3.2 Policy-Making Process
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we are discussing the process of policy-making (known as policy cycle). This is
to enable student have the basic understanding of how policies are made. Starting from the
agenda stage all through policy formulation, policy adoption, implementation and policy
evaluation, decisions are made by actors in these stages and this invariably involve applying
modern technology like ICTs. This unit is to prepare student for the subsequent units which
deal with digital government and public policy and some management concerns.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
Discuss the concept of public policy
Examine and discuss the stages of policy-making
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3.0 MAIN CONTENT
Public policy is concerned with how problems and issues are identified, defined, and
constructed; how they are placed on political and policy agenda; how policy options emerge;
how and why government act or do not act and the effects or consequences of government
policy on various stakeholders or actors.
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3.2 The Policy Making Process
1. Agenda setting: establishing the need for a policy or a change in policy and defining what
the problem to be addressed is. This may arise as the result of a change of government; a
sudden change in the environment; a growing development; a new problem or a continuing
problem. Information, consultation and participation are all important for this stage. In
particular active participation allows citizens the opportunity to determine possible agenda
items.
2. Analysis: defining the challenges and opportunities associated with an agenda item more
clearly in order to produce a draft policy document. This can include: gathering evidence and
knowledge from a range of sources including citizens and civil society organisations;
understanding the context, including the political context for the agenda item; developing a
range of options (including doing nothing) and conducting cost benefit analysis for each one
and providing advice to Ministers who take a decision on which option to pursue. Again,
information, consultation and participation are all important for this stage. Active
participation allows citizens to determine the range of options under review.
3. Creating the policy: ensuring a good workable policy document. This involves a variety
of mechanisms which can include: formal consultation, risk analysis, undertaking pilot
studies, and designing the implementation plan. Ministers take decisions. At this stage
information and consultation are important but there is possibly limited scope for active
participation.
4. Implementing the policy: this can involve the development of legislation, regulations,
guidance, and a delivery plan. At this stage information and consultation are important but
there is also scope for active participation (e.g. in the delivery of public goods and services
by civil society organisations).
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5. Monitoring the policy: this can involve evaluation and review of the policy in action,
research evidence, views of users and horizon scanning. Information, consultation and
participation are all important for this stage. Active participation allows citizens the
opportunity to give their views on the policy in action and to suggest changes.
At this point the process can loop back into stage 1, as the policy may be modified on the
basis of experience with implementation.
Self-Assessment Exercise
Discuss the main functions of policy.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Public policy is depicted as the activities of government. Policymaking usually incorporates
the stages or some category of activities, and also involves actors at various stages. The
policy-making process is composed of series of steps or sequences which can be
identifiedbeginning from the stage where problems are identified to the stage of
implementation, basic principles and strategies for dealing with problems are developed as
this unit has shown.
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5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we discussed what public policy is. We considered some functions of policy. We
also examined the stages of policy-making which is also referred to as the policy-making
process.
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UNIT 2 E-PARTICIPATION AND POLICY- MAKING
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 ICT and Policy-Making
3.2 Key Dimensions for Effective Engagement
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this Unit student will be introduced to key dimensions that are needed to characterize e-
participation initiatives. Democratic policymaking involves effective participation of citizens
in the deliberations of issues in the political arena.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
ICT provides the potential to allow policy-makersto go directly to users of services and those
at whom the policy is aimed to seek their input. Citizens may be able to have greater
influence on policy content through consultation earlier in the policy making process rather
than later. It can be argued that consultation at the stage of a draft policy document (stage 3)
requires citizens to have the communication skills to interpret the typical legalistic
terminology of the document before commenting appropriately. Whereas if the wider
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audience of citizens are given the opportunity to comment before this stage in policymaking
they will still need to be well-informed onissues, but the information could be made more
readable and understandable (Macintosh, 2004).
Reaching and engaging with a wider audience through a range of consultation and
participation technologies adapted to cater for the diverse technical and
communicative skills of citizens thereby enabling broader participation.
Providing relevant information in a format that is both more accessible and more
understandable to the target audience to enable more informed participation.
Enabling more in-depth consultation and supporting deliberative debate online.
Facilitating the analysis of contributions to support policy-makers and to improve
policy.
Providing relevant and appropriate feedback to citizens to ensure openness and
transparency in the policy-making process.
Monitoring and evaluating the process to ensure continuous improvement.
When we talk of policy-making process, there are certain key dimensions that need to be
considered before citizens can engage effectively in the process.
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The table below highlights the summary of these dimensions.
Dimension Description
1. Level of participation what level of detail, or how far
to engage citizens
2.Stage in decisionmaking when to engage
3. Actors who should be engaged and by
whom
4. Technologies used how and with what to engage
citizens
5.Rules of engagement what personal information will
be needed/collected
6. Duration &sustainability for what period of time
7. Accessibility how many citizens participated
and from where
8. Resources and Promotion how much did it cost and how
wide was it advertised
9. Evaluation and Outcomes methodological approach and
results
10. Critical factors for success political, legal, cultural,
economic, technological
factors
Level of participation
This key dimension considers to what level, or how far, citizens are engaged. Democratic
political participation must involve the means to be informed, the mechanisms to take
part in the decision-making and the ability to contribute and influence the policy agenda,
39
Actors
This key dimension considers who should be engaged and by whom. It should
specifically identify the stakeholders and their respective roles and the target
audience.
Technologies used
This key dimension considers how and with what to engage citizens and support
participation. The main characteristics here are the application of the technology, e.g.
e-consultation or e-referendaand the underlying technology.
Rules of engagement
This key dimensions considers what personal information will be needed/collected,
how it be used by the system, and also what citizens can and cannot do during the e-
participation. As such, the amount of personal information requested should be
described along with any privacy statement on how it will be used.
Accessibility
This key dimension considers how many citizens participated and from where. It
identifies both the channel and the locality of participation forexample whether it is
from a cyber café, public library, town hall or other location.
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Evaluation and Outcomes
This key dimension is concerned with how the initiative was evaluated (presuming
that it was), the results of the evaluation and also the overall results from the
initiative.
This dimension provides a place for some background information as to why the
initiative achieved what it did.
Self-Assessment Exercise
Discuss the key dimensions needed for effective citizens’ engagement.
4.0 CONCLUSION
This unit has increased our knowledge of the idea that democratic political participation must
involve the means to be informed, the mechanisms to take part in the decision-making and
the ability to contribute andinfluence the policy agendaBottom-up decisions are enhanced by
e-participation tools for expressions and deliberations. Effective participation in decision-
making by citizens requires that tools are made available to them.
5.0 SUMMARY
We have learnt in this unit that online engagement of citizens requires tools for effective
participation. We discussed the necessary tools required. We also discussed various key
dimensions that need to be considered for effective citizens’ engagement.
41
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
42
UNIT 3 MANAGEMENT AND DIGITAL GOVERNMENT
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Policy and Management
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit student will come across a set of management and policy concerns that must be
understood in an integrated way in order to avoid the challenges that government managers
may come across in the world of digital government. This unit is structured to examine this
issue in detail
2.0 OBJECTIVES
Government managers may however be confronted with challenges in their effort to operate
in the world of modern technology. The graphic below shows a set of management and
policy concerns that government managers need to understand in their operation.
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Public policy and management considerations in digital government initiatives (Dawes, 2008)
Strategy
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Strategy also addresses existing reality. Every new information system goes into some pre-
existing situation. The situation may includes other, older information systems, business
processes that channel work and information flow, and standard operating practices that have
grown up over time to accommodate past problems and changing needs.
A strategy should have a reasonably long life so that it can guide action into the foreseeable
future. Technology is the one component of information-based strategies that is likely to
change quickly. Consequently, technologies that can be integrated in to or readily replace
existing infrastructure create the fewest undesirable dependencies, conflicts, and costs.
At the strategic level, communication needs to be clear, consistent, focused on the essentials,
and delivered in plain language.
Policies
Information policies in the form of laws, regulations, executive orders, and other official
statements guide actions and decisions about why, how, when, and who uses information.
Information policies are also instruments of public management. In this case, policies
generally fall into two main categories: policies that promote information stewardship and
policies that promote information use.
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Skills
Every information-intensive government project needs a variety of skills. Analysis and
interpretation skills are necessary at every stage of an information project. They start with
problem definition, the process by which an organization describes current symptoms and
uncovers the processes, policies, and practices that are contributing factors. At this stage,
process analysis, system audits, stakeholder analysis, customer satisfaction surveys,
performance reviews, statistical trending, or similar activities are needed. In later stages,
analysis of user needs, business process alternatives, work flow, and information flow
become more important.
Data Challenges
Public managers must bridge the gap between business needs (i.e. program initiatives and
work practices) and the relevant data available to support them. Data is the raw material for
decision making and planning- the foundation for actions taken by the agency. Turning data
into usable information requires an understanding of what work must be accomplished as
well as the data available to help.
Cost Factors
Three kinds of relationships must be considered in estimating the relationship costs in a
project. The first is managing the relationships inside the day-to-day working environment of
the project. The second has to do with maintaining relationships with immediate project
sponsors, who may be in different parts of the government. The third is managing
relationships in the larger environment. Identifying external stakeholders, securing strategic
partnership with them, and maintaining those relationships all require more time and money
than most organization recognize.
Technology
Technology choices have powerful immediate and long-term implications. These choices
influence many aspects of an organization, including skills and staffing patterns, work
46
processes, and the choice and operation of other technologies. New technology usually
comes with new business rules, practices, and processes that become resistant to change after
implementation. Thus, one implemented, a particular technology becomes embedded in the
way people work and influences the way they perceive and understand what they do.
The status of the existing technology infrastructure is another critical factor in decision about
which technology to choose and how to deploy it. Changes in the type and number of users,
responsiveness, capacity, level of security, types of connection, and interfaces with legacy
systems will all need to be considered in both acquisition and implementation (Dawes,
2008:104-121).
Self-Assessment Exercise
Discuss the issue of strategy as one of the policy and management considerations in digital
initiatives.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Government managers in the days of modern technology are bound to face with a lot of
challenges in their operations. Obtaining quality data, information, strategy to be employed
are some of the considerations for digital initiatives of these people. Therefore there is the
need for them to be abreast of the challenges confronting them and how they can be tackled.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit the main discussion has focused on the examination of those policy and
management considerations in digital initiatives.
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REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
Dawes, S. S (2008) “Introduction to Digital Government research in Public Policy and
Management” in Chen, H., Brandt, L., Gregg, V. et al (eds) Digital Government: E-
Government Research, Case Studies, and Implementation. New York. Springer Science+
Business Media.
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UNIT 4 PUBLIC NETWORK
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Public Network
3.2 Public Network Projects
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Recall our discussions in the previous units on the connections between information
technology and how this can improve the public policy-making process by providing
opportunity for citizens to contribute to the policy process. In this unit we are going to
discuss this issue further by examining a new concept ‘public network’ and see how this can
also impact on the policy process.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
According to Clift (2004) public net-work is a new concept. It represents the strategic use of
ICTs to better implement established public policy goals and programs through direct and
diverse stakeholder involvement online.
If e-democracy in government represents input into governance, then public net-work
represents participative output using the same or similar online tools. Public net-work is a
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selective, yet public, approach that uses two-way online information exchange to carry out
previously determined government policy.
Source: adapted from Clift (2004) E-democracy, E-governance and Public Network
The above “bow-tie” model suggests a more fluid communication environment that can be
used to bring citizens and public work stakeholders closer to the center of governance. It also
suggests that policy leaders can reach out and develop closer relationships with citizens and
stakeholders.
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4. In a time of scare resources, public net-work is designed to help governments more
effectively pursue their established missions in a collaborative and sustainable manner (Clift,
2004).
1. Topical Portal – The starting point for public net-work is a web site that provides users a
directory to relevant information resources in their field – these often include annotated
subject guide links and/or standard Yahoo-style categories.
2. E-mail Newsletter –. Most projects keep people up-to-date via regularly produced e-mail
newsletters. This human edited form of communication is essential to draw people back to
the site and can be used to foster a form of high value interaction that helps people feel like
they are part of the effort.
3. Personalization with E-mail Notification – Some sites allow users to create personal
settings that track and notify them about new online resources of interest. New resources and
links to external information are often placed deep within an overall site and “What’s New”
notification dramatically increases the value provided by the project to its users.
4. Event Calendar – Many sites are a reliable place to discover listings of key current events
and conferences.
5. FAQ and Question Exchange – A list of answers to frequently asked questions as well as
the regular solicitation of new or timely questions from participants. Answers are then
gathered from other participants and shared with all via the web site and/or e-newsletter.
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6. Document Library – Some sites move beyond the portal directory function and gather the
full text of documents. This provides a reliable long-term source of quality content that often
appears and is removed from other web sites without notice.
7. Discussions – Using a mix of e-mail lists and/or web forums, these sites encourage
ongoing and informal information exchange. This is where the “life” of the public net-work
online community is often expressed.
8. Other features include news headline links from outside sources, a member directory, and
real-time online features (Clift, 2004).
4.0 CONCLUSION
With effective application of ICTs, combined with democratic intent, governments can be
made more responsive; citizens can equally be connected to effectively meet public
challenges.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit we have discussed how public network can improve policy process. Public net-
work represents participative output using the same or similar online tools. It involves the
strategic use of ICT tools for better implementation of public policy goals. Its effective use
invariably can improve public service delivery.
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MODULE 3 PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY IN DIGITAL AGE
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 The Concept of E-service
3.2 Barriers to E-service Development
3.3 E-Health and E-Learning
3.4 Advantages of Using Online Tools
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, student will be introduced to the concept of e-service, different aspect of e-
service as well as benefits that are derived from e-service. The unit will also discuss different
elements that constitute barriers to e-service development.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
53
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
This definition reflects three main components: service provider, service receiver and the
channels of service delivery (i.e., technology). As concerned public e-service, public
agencies are the service provider and citizens as well as businesses are the service receiver.
Internet is the main channel of service delivery. Other classic channels include, telephone,
call center, public kiosk, mobile phone and television.
E-service Benefits
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Different aspects of an e-service
There are different aspects of e-service which can be considered. A public e-service is about
two actors communicating. A company needs information from the municipality in order to
make decisions about the business and the application, i.e. the company needs to be informed
by the municipality and the municipality needs to inform the company. The company needs
to send an application to the municipality to get a decision from the municipality; i.e. the
company needs to inform the municipality and the municipality needs to be informed about
the application from the company. The company is both a sender and a receiver and these are
also the roles of the municipality in the communicating process.
A public e-service is also about two organisations conducting their respective tasks. One
important task for a municipality is to give permission to firms doing business, and for the
company it is important to get permission in order to produce results, e.g. selling food in a
shop or in a restaurant. This means that the e-service developed is created to support the
producing processes in two different types of work practices, one producing food
permissions (a municipality) and the other producing food to customers (Rostlinger and
Cronholm, .
Hassan, Shehab and Peppard (2010) gave a variety of elements that get in the way of e-
service development. Those elements can be grouped under six major categories. However,
many elements can fall under more than one category, depending on different perspectives.
These categories are:
Political barriers - Those barriers are related to the political leadership such as lack of
potential will and support, lack of vision and strategy, absence of an E-government
champion, over-ambitious milestone, and absence of detailed policy.
Administrative barriers - Those barriers relate to the complex issues that can arise as a
result of poor organisational infrastructure, complexity and poor project management,
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lack of coordination among organisations/ departments, conflicting priorities of
organisations, old structure and processes, lack of e-service applications, lack of
partner readiness and cooperation difficulty in reengineering of internal processes.
Technological barriers - Many e-services are based on the evolution of earlier public
administration systems and ICT network infrastructures, which can create technical
incompatibilities between systems within one administration. Other technological
challenges include developing secure identification and authentication systems, poor
infrastructure, lack of standards for quality, design of websites/portals, unreliable
internet connections and issues related to security and privacy.
Cultural barriers are those associated with either organisational or social culture.
Examples may include: lack of awareness/ information, inactive citizens’
participation, opposition by professional or union interests, e-literacy, multi-lingual/
multicultural issues, resistance to change by citizens, and government’s reluctance for
citizens’ involvement.
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We may consider two services that may be produced and delivered online.
E-Health
E-health is defined as the cost-effective and secure use of information and communication
technologies in support of health and health-related fields, including health-care services,
health surveillance, health literature and health education, knowledge and research (WHO)
“E-health = Medicine+Communication+Information+Society”
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provide mechanisms for diagnostics and treatment between health professionals
separated by distance;
build capacity by offering health sciences training and continuing education courses
online to students and health professionals;
take advantage of the growing number of mobile devices to offer innovative
approaches to health care;
make highly complex biomedical research achievable through distributed computing
or Grids (ECOSOC, 2009).
E-learning
E-Learning is defined as all forms of electronic supported learning and teaching, which are
procedural in character and aim to effect the construction of knowledge with reference to
individual experience, practice and knowledge of the learner. Information and
communication systems, whether networked or not, serve as specific media to implement the
learning process.
E-learning is essentially the computer and network enabled transfer of skills and knowledge.
E-learning refers to using electronic applications and processes to learn. E-learning
applications and processes include Web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual
classrooms and digital collaboration. Content is delivered via the Internet, intranet/extranet,
audio or video tape, satellite TV, and CD-ROM. It is used by the educational Institutions to
enhance and support the class room teaching and offering courses to a larger population of
learners across the Globe. It can be self-paced or instructor led and includes media in the
form of text, image, animation, streaming video and audio (Nagarajan and Jiji, 2010).
Before implementing eLearning, organizations need to set common goals or objectives.
Common goals and objectives include the following:
To reduce learning costs
To motivate employees
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To improve flexibility of course delivery
To expand the capabilities of the business
To reduce the need for classroom training
To track employee progress
To track training effectiveness (or absorption)
To link training with Knowledge Management
To reduce time away from the job
To improve job performance
To support business objectives
To make learning available anytime, anywhere (Nagarajan and Jiji, 2010)
E-Learning represents an innovative shift in the field of learning, providing rapid access to
specific knowledge and information. It offers online instruction that can be delivered anytime
and anywhere through a wide range of electronic learning solutions such as Web-based
courseware, online discussion groups, live virtual classes, video and audio streaming, Web
chat, online simulations, and virtual mentoring.
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Provides solution to space problems
Overcrowding challenges at classes abated
Teaching/learning made ‘actually’ interactive
Time and cost effective (Agbaeze, 2010).
Self-Assessment Exercise
Discuss the barriers to e-service development.
4.0 CONCLUSION
There is increasing efforts to provide e-services in many countries through the use of
information technology since information technology is recognized as a powerful tool for
accelerating economic development. it is highly recognized that health and education are
information- and knowledge-intensive sectors amongst others that requires extensive use of
information and communication technologies (ICTs).
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have looked at the concept of e-service, discussed the benefits of e-service.
The unit has also discussed different aspect of an e-service as well as various barriers to e-
service development. The unit also examined the concepts of e-health and e-learning,
discusses their importance to citizens in the areas of health and education.
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REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
Hassan, H. S., Shehab, E. and Peppard, J. (2010) Towards Full Public Service Environment
in Developing Countries. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 42.
Nagarajan, P. and Jiji, G.W. (2010) Online Educational System (e-learning). International
Journal of u- and e- Service, Science and Technology Vol. 3, No. 4, December.
Rostlinger, A., and Cronholm, S. (undated) Design Criteria for Public E-services.
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UNIT 2 MODELS OF E-SERVICE
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 E-service Models
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit looks at different stages of e-service as discussed by Persson and Goldkuhl. Student
will be introduced to different stages of e-service development as provided by the two
authors. There are the Swedish model presented by SAFAD, the model by Layne & Lee, the
model by the National Auditing Office in Australia (ANAO), and a model by Hiller and
Belanger. These models have several properties in common; they categorize the development
into different stages, the models from Australia and Sweden have purposes to measure, point
out direction and evaluate the emergence of e-services in a national context and the Layne &
Lee model attempts at categorizing the development and to point out difficulties at each stage
(Persson and Goldkuhl, 2005).
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
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3.0 MAIN CONTENT
This model is developed by the Australian National Auditing Office to categorize the
government agencies electronic service delivery via the Internet. This model divides the
delivery of services into 4 categories or stages, indicating that this is a model pivoting the
emerging e-services and the development of e-services.
Stage 2: Interaction:
This stage involves limited interaction possibilities in government agency databases to the
users. This is done with expanded search and filtering possibilities as well as calculation
services for calculating, debts or levels of government subsidies. There is still no limitation
regarding accessibility to the site and services.
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The last stage covers the exchange of information between different government agencies
regarding a specific user (A business, organization or individual). ANAO exemplifies this
with an agency notified of a change of address, a bit of information of interest for all
government agencies involved in providing services to this individual. This information is to
be shared with these other agencies. As in stage 3 this exchange of information need the user
to be identification to make sure that the information provided and spread is correct.
SAFAD model
This model is based on the assumption that technology and service levels are intimately
interwoven factors in the emerging e-Government services.
Stage 1: Information
This stage pivots on the presentation of static material such as publications and information
about the services provided by the agency. SAFAD describes this information as “packaged”
by the agency with only limited possibilities to interact with the website. This functionality is
basically limited to search and inquiry as in the Australian model above. According to
SAFAD this stage include services such as presenting the mission of the agency, parliament
bills relating the services of the agency and providing mail access for inquiries.
Stage 2: Interaction
SAFAD describes this stage as providing “interactive information”. This includes the
possibility for basic interaction with the website. At this stage services as searching in
agency databases, ordering printed publications, downloading and ordering forms relating
agency services and subscribing to newsletters from the agency. This stage range from
completely public services such as searching in databases to basic identification of the client
that is limited to email addresses or mail addresses.
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Stage 3: Transaction
This stage includes picking up and leaving personal information related to the services
provided by the agency. This includes initiating and following agency specific services by
the agency. To be able to provide this type of services online the client need to be securely
identified. This stage ranges from initiating a simple case with identification of the client to
more advanced transactions such as tax declaration online.
Stage 4: Integration
The last stage of the SAFAD model addresses the integration of services between
government agencies. This is the realisation of a one-stop government that regardless of
organizational boundaries provides services at one point of entry even where several
agencies are involved. Addressed at this stage is the complete process of a service provided
online, from initiating the case to paying the service, tax or what the service is about online.
This mean that the organisational boundaries in the government structure is somewhat erased
or is left with no or little visibility to the clients.
This model is derived from observations on the evolving eGovernment in the United States..
Layne and Lee (2001) state that the model and the related discussion initiated from the state
level but can be used on federal as well as local level. Layne and Lee see the development of
government agencies as a natural progress in which the agency evolves because of and in
response to functionality needs and customer expectations. In the realization of these four
stages the result will be true one-stop shopping for the citizens.
Stage 1: Catalogue
This stage focuses on establishing an online presence for the government agencies. This
includes the efforts of many government agencies in the basic web development of
presenting information about the agency and publications made at the agency. According to
Layne and Lee the movement into this stage is initiated because of external pressure in terms
of citizen and business expectations. The name of this stage, catalogue, is derived from the
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typical functionality that is afforded by the agency. The agency will at this stage publish
documents and information that is of general nature. This is information in general terms
about the agency and its services. At the end of this stage the agency will address the need
for an organised portal site that present the published documents and information in a
structured and usable way.
Stage 2: Transaction
The second stage according to Layne and Lee is a focus shift towards integrating the internal
systems in the agency with the website. In doing this the agency will allow the clients to
interact with personal information in transaction-based services provided by government
agency. This stage will allow citizens to renew licences and pay fines online in integration
with agency internal systems. The end of this stage will according to Layne and Lee be
focused on the full integration of agency systems with the web interface allowing the
transactions between client and agency to be posted directly into the agency systems
minimizing the interaction with agency staff.
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agencies at the same time because of the integration of these systems in the different
agencies.
These last two stages involve that the government agencies will not only address publishing
information, information systems development and integration of website and internal
systems but the organisational development in focusing on the processes in the agency
relating to other government agencies.
Stage 1: Information
This is according to Hiller and Belanger the most basic form of eGovernment, where
information is simply posted on the agency website. These information websites contain
general information about services provided by the agency and information directed towards
the public including businesses, politicians or other government agencies. The biggest
challenge is to maintain the quality of information to ensure that the information is updated
and accurate. This stage is in a high degree implemented in the government agencies.
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Stage 3: Transaction
At this stage government agencies provide the possibility to interact with the agency and to
conduct transactions completely online. According to Hiller and Belanger this is the most
advanced level of eGovernment widely available. Services at this stage can be renewing
licences for businesses and individuals and paying fines and taxes online. At this stage public
servants are replaced at large extent by the possibility for clients to conduct self-services
online.
Stage 4: Integration
This stage contains the integration of government services. This can and is most frequently
done with a single portal allowing clients to access services at a single point of entry. By
using a single point of entry clients can access services at one place no matter what agency
that actually offers them. One of the biggest obstacles according to Hiller and Belanger are
the lack of integration of back-office systems between government agencies. Integration of
back-office systems and online services could mean saving a lot of time and resources for the
government agencies involved.
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The table blow shows the stages of e-service by Hiller and Belanger.
All of these models start off with a stage of providing information to the public. After this
stage the models begin to differ from each other in a more substantial way. ANAO and
SAFAD continue with an interaction stage where there is increasing interaction between
agency website and the client. Hiller and Belanger continue in their second stage with two-
way communication a stage where the client and agency exchange email and order
publications in communication with the agency. The third stage In ANAO, SAFAD and
Hiller and Belanger and the second stage of Layne and Lee are more or less the same. At
these stages the client and agency exchange personal information about the client in a secure
fashion. SAFAD is focusing less on financial transfers between client and agencies; the other
models state this as an important feature of the applicable stage.
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The models by SAFAD and ANAO are very similar altogether. The division into 4 stages
that are basically the same except for the last stage where SAFAD pivot the realization of
networking agencies and ANAO limit the discussion to sharing information. On this point we
argue that the sharing of information is only a small part of what integration of governments
in e-service development will include. The next step in the models is the integration of
government agencies. In Layne and Lee this is divided into vertical; cross-hierarchal
integration and horizontal; cross-functional integration. The other models do not separate the
cross-functional and cross-hierarchal integration from each other.
Only one model (Hiller and Belanger) discusses the participative dimension of e-
Government (Persson and Goldkuhl, 2005: 2-7).
Self-Assessment Exercise
Discuss the process of Hiller and Belanger model of e-service
4.0 CONCLUSION
The models of public e-service discussed above categorise the developments of e-service into
different stages. All the models offer us some perspectives on how we can develop public e-
service.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have examined various models of e-service as provided by ANAO, SAFAD,
Hiller and Belanger as well as the model developed by Layne and Lee.
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UNIT 3 APPROACH OF E-SERVICES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 E-service Models
3.2E-Service Benefits
3.3 Procedure for E-service Model Construction
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, student will be introduced to the concept of e-service, i.e. provision of services
through electronic networks. E-service may be regarded as a result of automating the
business process of traditional service. The model of constructing e-service is also discussed
in this unit.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
The focus is on modeling in the public sector e-services that are basically referenced from
the Common List of basic public services (e.g., Personal Documents – Passports, eID, Driver
Licenses, Car Registration, Application for Building Permission, Birth and Marriage
Certificates, Announcement of Moving, Registration of a New Company, etc.), but the list is
71
not restricted and may cover other public or commercial e-services as well. For delivering all
these services, Internet-based or non-Internet technologies and different access media and
devices including personal computers, mobile phones, electronic kiosks and other equipment
could be used (Ostasius and Petraviciute, 2010).
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3.3 Procedure for e-service model construction
Procedure for the construction of an e-service model is presented using the relations of
activities that can be presented as a logical step-by-step sequence in the business process
model in the diagram below.
1. E-service. e may be initiated by the human – the system user – or by the system itself
and may be based on the ‘life-events’, ‘business-events’, ‘business situations’ or a
request for information. Some samples illustrate ‘life events’ – birth, marriage,
moving, buying a new car (initiated by human), expired passport, Id-card, driver
license, vehicle registration (initiated by human or machine service).
2. Selection of the type of service means the choice of a particular service from the
available list of public services. One type of services could cover data access services
from registers and information systems that can be used in any type of interaction.
3. User identification starts from authentication activities where the identity of the
person accessing data or services is established. This involves verifying and
confirming personal data provided by the user. The next step is authorization – the
activity that allows access data or services that are conditioned by the individual’s
access level and his/her role. It also determines the rights, privileges and obligations
of the identified person, which depend on the accessing data or service.
73
service) or by the agent that is authorized by the service initiator (e.g., by the owner
of the vehicle).
5. Selecting the object(s) of the service means the choice of the particular object(s) from
the list of objects available for a particular customer and for the type of service that
was selected (e.g., a particular vehicle). The agent or the organization representative
may represent many customers but access the objects of a particular customer only
when they deliver the service to him or her.
6. Selecting the operation(s) for the service means the choice of a particular operation
from the list of operations available for the selected object, the service initiator and
for the type of service selected (the operation here means the subdivision of a
particular type of service; the type of service may consist of one or more operations;
operations cannot be subdivided). There should be a possibility to select one or more
operations that can be logically executed together for a particular service (e.g., change
of the owner’s address and the vehicle plate number).
7. Gathering data means that all the data and information that are required for the service
and are electronically accessed should be gathered in an automatic way. The other
required data and information that cannot be accessed electronically or are not
available should be entered manually. Depending on the specific data, it could be
done in two ways: entered by the customer himself/herself (e.g., selection of the
address for the deliverables of the service – vehicle number plates and registration
license; input of the phone number, e-mail address for communication) or by an agent
or the organizational representative according to the contents of the data sources –
non-electronic or electronic documents provided by the customer or organization. In
this case, the agent or the organizational representative has to approve electronically
the reliability of the entered data based on the original documents that were presented.
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8. Optionally, all the gathered data are to be presented for checking to the user(s) who is
working with the system, and he/she should confirm them or refuse in case of wrong
or unsatisfactory data.
9. If the data are confirmed, an electronic application for the service should be formed
(application in our context means some kind of contract between the service
consumer and the service provider). It is optional depending on the type of the service
and is drawn up according to the selections and data gathered.
10. This document should be presented to the user(s) working with the system, and he/she
should approve or refuse it if he/she changes his/her mind or for other reasons (e.g.,
the price for the service is too high).
11. If the application is approved and the specific character of the service requires, an
electronic invoice of the payment for the service is to be drawn up. The e-invoice is to
be formed in an automatic way according to the specific details of the service and the
pricelist of the services provided by the organization.
12. The e-invoice should be presented to the user(s) working with the system, and he/she
should confirm or refuse it in case of any reason. Confirmation means that the user
agrees to pay the specified sum for the service.
13. If the e-invoice is approved, the system sends the request to perform the e-payment
transaction to the bank or other financial intermediary specified by the user, or
perform other activities that are related with e-payment.
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15. After the financial intermediary has confirmed the e-payment, the execution of the
service has to be started. The automatic part of the execution may cover only two
functions: the change of the status of the selected object(s) and/or subject(s), and/or
data transfer(s) (e.g., change of vehicle registration status; transfer of data on a new
owner to the vehicle register). Instructions for the manual execution of the service
activities that cannot be executed in an automatic way should be compiled (e.g., an
instruction to print the vehicle registration certificate and to deliver it to the
customer).
16. If the instructions for the manual activities are compiled, they must be executed to
finalize the service delivery.
The activities (or elements of the processes) in the presented procedure are arranged in a hard
logical sequence because of certain empirical generalizations and taking into account the
business process samples that were acquired in case studies and practical experience.
However, there are possible exceptions that could be applied and examined separately (e.g.,
advance payment for the service).
According to the presented approach and the model for building the e-service systems, the
key requirements for the design and development technique and tools should involve
scalability, flexibility and reusability: it should be easy and simple to make changes that
depend on particular changes in business processes and situations. Changes in such systems
should be focused just on modifying, changing or adding components of the system without
any intervention into its core or other elements (Ostasius and Petraviciute, 2010:135-139).
Self-Assessment Exercise
Discuss the procedure for gathering data in the process of constructing e-service model
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4.0 CONCLUSION
The proposed e-service model can be used to model services in the public sector, promoting
one-stop e-government solutions, to create system architecture for e-service development, to
use as a tool for the benchmarking of services while comparing different or particular types
of services. It can help the authorities to understand the ways of automation of business
processes and facilitate the development of their e-services (Ostasius and Petraviciute, 2010).
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit we have looked at an e-service model for modeling complex governmental
processes. The unit presents the detail procedure involved in constructing e-service for the
public sector.
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MODULE 4 TRENDS IN THE WORLD OF E-GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT
(COMPARATIVE)
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Indicators for Evaluating E-service Progress
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit focuses on the development and trends of e-government across the globe. Student
will get to know more about the happening on e-government around the world. The first unit
of this module presents a general overview of this development. Subsequent units will look at
specific countries cases.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
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3.0 MAIN CONTENT
Palvia and Sharma (2004) provide some of the indices developed by the United Nations’
Division for Public Economics and Public Administration. This index is an indicator of the
progress the UN member countries have made in implementing e-government services.
Parameters and factors used include web presence measures (indicating stages of government
websites), telecommunication infrastructure measures which define the capacity of a
country’s ICTs (indicators are Internet hosts per 10,000 people, percentage of a nation’s
population online, and PCs, telephone lines, mobile phones, and televisions per 1000
people); and human capital measures (using the UNDP Human Development Index, the
Information Access Index, and urban/rural population ratio as indicators).
The 2005 readiness index is a composite measurement of the capacity and willingness of
countries to use e-government for ICT-led development. It is a composite index comprising
the Web Measure Index, the Telecommunication Infrastructure Index and the Human Capital
Index (The UN global E-Government Readiness Report 2005).
Web Measure Index 2005 is based upon a five stage model of e-government framework.
These five stages are;
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- Enhanced Presence is Stage II in which the government provides greater public
policy and governance sources of current and archived information, such as policies,
laws and regulation, reports, newsletters, and downloadable databases. The user can
search for a document, there is a help feature and a site map is provided. A larger
selection of public policy documents exists, such as an e-government strategy, policy
briefs on specific education or health issues. Though more sophisticated, the
interaction is still primarily unidirectional with information flowing essentially from
government to the citizen.
- Interactive Presence is Stage III in which the online services of the government
enter the interactive mode with services to enhance convenience for the consumer
such as downloadable forms for tax payment, and application for license renewal.
Audio and video capability is provided for relevant public information. The
government officials can be contacted via email, fax, telephone and mail. The site is
updated with greater regularity to keep the information current and up to date for the
public.
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government actively solicits citizens’ views on public policy, law making, and
democratic participatory decision making. Implicit is the integration of public sector
agencies with full cooperation and understanding of the concept of collective
decision-making, participatory democracy and citizen empowerment as a democratic
right.
The data for the Human Capital Index relies on the UNDP ‘education index’ which is a
composite of the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross
enrollment ratio with two third weight given to adult literacy and one third to gross
enrollment ratio.
E-Participation Index
The E-Participation Index is used to assess the quality and usefulness of information and
services provided by a country’s government for the purpose of engaging its citizens in
public policy issues. This index is indicative of both the capacity and the willingness of the
country’s government in encouraging the citizens in promoting deliberative and participatory
decision-making and of the reach of its own socially inclusive governance program.
The Table below provides the indices for the top 50 countries with the United States of
America (0.9062) being the world leader followed by Denmark (0.9058). Sweden (0.8983)
has bypassed the United Kingdom (0.8777) to arrive at the 3rd global position. Among
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developing countries, the Republic of Korea (0.8727) leads with Singapore (0.8503), Estonia
(0.7347), Malta (0.7012) and Chile (0.6963) close behind.
According to the Table below, the regions of North America (0.8744) and Europe (0.6012)
are in the leadership position on the e-government readiness index. In the rest of the world
category (after North America and Europe), the rankings in descending sequence were:
South and Eastern Asia (0.4922); and South and Central America (0.4643), Western Asia
(0.4384); the Caribbean (0.4282); South and Central Asia (0.3448); Oceania (0.2888) and
finally Africa (0.2642). The World e-government Readiness Index was 0.4267 in 2005.
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Regional E-Government Readiness Rankings
Region Year: 2005 2004 2003
North America 0.8744 0.8751 0.8670
Europe 0.6012 0.5866 0.5580
South and Eastern Asia 0.4922 0.4603 0.4370
South and Central 0.4643 0.4558 0.4420
America
Western Asia 0.4384 0.4093 0.4100
Caribbean 0.4282 0.4106 0.4010
South and Central Asia 0.3448 0.3213 0.2920
Oceania 0.2888 0.3006 0.3510
Africa 0.2642 0.2528 0.2460
World Average 0.4267 0.4130 0.4020
Asia and Africa’s share of internet penetration is very low compared to other continents.
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World Population Distribution
Self-Assessment Exercise
Discuss the five stages of Web Measure Index
4.0 CONCLUSION
There are variations across the globe concerning the e-readiness of various countries
distributed geographically. The tables in this unit present the current pictures of the situation.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit we tried to examine the e-readiness of countries across the globe. The unit also
present the main indexes used to evaluate the preparedness of countries towards government
digital services.
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6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1. Examine the Human Capital Index and the E-participation Index
2. Discuss the factors influencing service dissemination as presented in one of the tables
above.
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UNIT 2 E-GOVERNMENT IN AFRICA
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 E-government in Africa
3.2 Challenges to E-government in Africa
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we examine e-government situation in Africa. The unit also discusses some of
the challenges of e-governance in Africa.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
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Though there has been some improvement in all sub-regions, except for Northern Africa and
Middle Africa, it has been minimal, with the least e-ready sub-region being
The Table above shows that Seychelles (0.5192) climbed several points to number one in the
region in 2012 followed by Mauritius (0.5066) and South Africa (0.4869). It is notable that
all of the African leaders increased their e-government development index value in 2012 but
lost in comparative performance around the world, except for Kenya and Morocco, which
gained in the world rankings from 124 to 119 and from 126 to 120 respectively. Tunisia
(0.4833) and
Egypt (0.4611) declined in rank substantially as did Cape Verde (0.4297) because their
improvements did not keep pace with those of other countries (UN e-governance Survey,
2012).
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3.2 Challenges to e-government in Africa
Most African countries are confronted with challenges in applying e-government due to the
fact that; first, most African countries have undertaken only a limited number of e-
government projects. Second, most African e-government projects fail in some way.
African governments have fewer e-government initiatives than industrialised countries; make
less use of ICTs in their work than industrialised countries; and use older generations of
technology than industrialised countries
The major explanation for this is financial. African governments have far less money in both
absolute and per capita terms to spend on ICTs than Western governments. Both related and
additional to this issue is the greater lack of strategic "e-readiness for e-government" in
Africa (Heeks, 2002).
Six factors that are of main relevance to e-government in Africa are presented here. These
can be posed as an inventory of "e-readiness for e-government" questions.
Is the data systems infrastructure ready: are the management systems, data
standards, records and work processes in place to provide the quantity and quality of
data to support the move to e-government? In many African countries, data quality
and data security – for example – are very poor, and there are few mechanisms to
address these issues.
Is the legal infrastructure ready: are the laws and regulations required to permit and
to support the move to e-government in place? In most African countries, for
example, digital signatures cannot be accepted.
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Is the human infrastructure ready: are the attitudes, knowledge and skills in place –
especially within the public sector – that are required to initiate, implement and
sustain e-government initiatives? In many African countries, key skills gaps relate to
business analysis and system design, and to project management, contract
management and vendor management.
Is the technological infrastructure ready: although there have been great strides
forward, the fact remains that most African countries are a long way short of the
computing and telecommunications infrastructure on which many Western e-
government initiatives have been based.
Self-Assessment Exercise
4.0 CONCLUSION
E-government in Africa is growing although there are variations in different countries.
African countries are also facing some challenges in the operation of e-government.
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5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have considered the situation of e-government in Africa. The top ten
countries in the continent were examined. We also discussed the factors that are of relevance
to e-government in Africa.
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UNIT 3 E-GOVERNMENT IN EUROPE
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 E-government in Europe
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit examines e-government development and progress in Europe. The government is
building an e-government infrastructure encompassing citizen access to government
processes. This is what is discussed in this unit.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
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technologies, institute better governance and provide expanded services with concomitant
pursuit of greater transparency, efficiency and inclusion. Notwithstanding, differences
remain between regions and within them. Key European countries spend more than double
the EU average amount per capita on ICT; others, around half of it. The Netherlands (0.9125)
made substantial gains, advancing to the top position in Europe and 2nd in world rankings,
followed by the United Kingdom (0.8960) in 3rd place and Denmark (0.8889), which also
advanced and occupies the 4th position this year. Within the aforementioned common e-
government framework, all of the top countries of Europe offered more or less the same level
of user centric services to their citizens resulting in marginal assessment difference among
them. For example, Germany (0.8079), the 10th leading country in Europe as a whole,
achieved about 89 per cent of the e-government development level of the regional leader, the
Netherlands (UN E-Government Survey 2012).
Of the countries of the region of Europe which are global leaders, several of them offered
examples of best practice. In the Netherlands, efficiency and citizen inclusion are the
objectives of the e-government strategy. Integration of a back-office management system has
been undertaken with a belief that citizens should provide information once.
The government is building an e-government infrastructure encompassing citizen access to
government processes including electronic authentication, uniform identification numbers for
both citizens and businesses and electronic personal identification. As part of its broader ICT
strategy the focus of e-government in the Netherlands was on improving efficiency of
services concomitant with reduction of administrative cost and burden.
Based on extensive technological infrastructure, the recently concluded National
Implementation Programme (NUP) for Better Services and e-Government laid out
agreements among the national government, provinces, and municipalities to improve service
delivery. Its high levels of broadband connectivity ensured further enhancements in eservices
undertaken during the last few years (UN E-Governance Survey, 2012).
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Top 10 in Europe
World e-gov.
E-gov. development development ranking
Self-Assessment Exercise
Why is there marginal assessment difference in the top countries of the Europe?
4.0 CONCLUSION
As we noticed earlier, Europe as a region has been in the vanguard of information technology
and setting the pace for others to follow. Building on the existing strength of high levels of
human capital and infrastructure, the transformative role of ICT has been recognized and
adopted to further streamline e-government services.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have examined e-government in Europe. In this unit, we observed that with a
common e-government framework, EU countries are encouraged to deploy advanced
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technologies, institute better governance and provide expanded services with concomitant
pursuit of greater transparency, efficiency and inclusion. But in spite of this, differences still
remain between regions and within them.
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UNIT 4 E-GOVERNMENT IN AMERICAS
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 E-government in America
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we examine e-government in America. Both the United States and Canada have
consistently had e-government development levels far above the world average from 2003 to
2012 in the Americas. This unit looks at the details.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
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The national site of Barbados offered a user friendly approach of “channels” such as the
Government Channel, Citizens & Residents Channel, Businesses Channel, etc., making it
easier for the user to find relevant information. Moving towards transactional offerings, it
allowed for calculation of land taxes.
Improvements in online offerings along with investments in telecommunications and human
capital allowed Antigua and Barbuda to advance to a world ranking of 49th in 2012.
Similarly, in Dominica and in Grenada, substantial investments in access infrastructure,
especially broadband, contributed to an advance in world rankings. All countries of the
Central America sub-region increased their offerings in 2012.
Since the United Nations Survey started tracking e-government development in 2003 both
united States and Canada have been among the top world leaders with integrated portals and
increasingly inclusive citizen services spread across theme, functionally and now by life
cycle and events. For example, the United States e-government portal (http://www.usa.gov)
comes closest to a pure integrated portal with access to interlinked searchable information
from the United States Government, state governments, and local governments all in one
place. Substantial back office integration has gone into the user interface, which offers a
simple convenient and easy-to-use facility for everything from government departments and
agencies to verifying a social security number, getting an employer identification number,
multiple online participation efforts and much more. Early recognition of the use of ICT for
rolling out citizen centric services has contributed to the United States’ top rankings in the
last decade. As the figures indicate, both the United States and Canada have consistently had
e-government development levels far above the world average from 2003 to 2012 (UN E-
Governance Survey 2012).
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Top ranked Countries in the Americas
World e-gov.
E-gov. development development ranking
Self-Assessment Exercise
4.0 CONCLUSION
As noted earlier in this unit, E-government strategies in the Americas are geared towards
user centric solutions, which serve to synergize governance processes and systems across
multiple public administration domains. This has led to the high position that some of the
countries of this region occupy in e-government operations compared to some countries from
some other regions.
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5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have discussed e-government development in America. The unit examined
some countries performances in e-government operation in the region of America.
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UNIT 5 E-GOVERNMENT IN ASIA
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 E-government in Asia
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Like in the last three units we are examining e-government in Asia in this unit. The
development and progress made by countries of this region are discussed in this unit.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
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capita, the United Arab Emirates has achieved around the same level of online services as
those offered in Norway, a global leader at the 8th position.
Commensurate with global progress, all countries of Central Asia improved their service
offerings, pulling up the sub-regional average by around 17 per cent.
Kazakhstan was the sub-regional leader, improving its global ranking by around eight
positions in 2012. Kazakhstan in recent years has made efforts to modernize the public
sector, including technology based reform of administrative governance systems.
A parallel effort has been a focus on the use of ICT for provision of services and inclusion.
As in other developing countries the acceleration of informatization is aimed at increasing
the efficiency of the government and exploiting synergies towards a sustainable model of
development
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Self-Assessment Exercise
Discuss how the ten top countries in Asia have feared in e-government.
4.0 CONCLUSION
As we have seen earlier in this unit, all countries of Central Asia improved their service
offerings, pulling up the sub-regional average by around 17 per cent. The countries of the
region continue to make progress in their e-government offerings especially the Republic of
Korea and Singapore.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we discussed the development of the Asia. The unit observed progress that has
been made by some countries in their e-government offerings.
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UNIT 6 E-GOVERNMENT IN OCEANIA
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 E-government in Oceania
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In this unit, we examine e-government in the Oceania. Australia follow by New Zealand are
on the top of the ranking in this region. The unit provides the detail.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to discuss e-government in the Oceania.
Australia continues to be the leader in the Oceania region. The national portal
(http://australia. gov.au) acts as a one-stop-shop that connects citizens to the information and
services of around 900 government websites and state and territory resources. Information
can be quickly and easily accessed through the ‘People’ and ‘Topics’ sections, which
categorically filter specific content while the ‘Services’ section allows citizens to perform
many functions such as making payments for taxes, driver license renewals, vehicle and
business registrations, lodging online forms and making online inquiries. The integrated
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portal of the Government of New Zealand provides a one-stop shop portal for information,
images and resources from all New Zealand government agencies and government funded
sites.
E-government in Oceania
World e-gov.
E-gov. development development ranking
Self-Assessment Exercise
The national portal in Australia serves as one-stop shop, what functions does the ‘services’
section perform?
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4.0 CONCLUSION
Australia and New Zealand continue to be the leaders in e-government offerings in the
Oceania followed by Fiji and Tonga. The region compared to other regions we discussed in
previous unit is still grappling with practice of e-government. It is shown that the region still
score less than the world average ranking.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit we have examined e-government offerings in the region of Oceania.
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MODULE FIVE- CHALLENGES OF E-GOVERNANCE
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Governance Network
3.2 Reasons why a network might be activated
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The structure of government has continued to change. Rather than simply understanding the
bureaucratic structure, we need to also understand the concept of governance networks as
structures that incorporate multiple partners in the delivery of public services (Holzer and
Schwester, 2011). Initiatives to tackle unemployment, to improve health, to reduce crime and
to build communities are being taken across old boundaries. Action is planned and executed
in neighbourhoods and regions, in city boards and community development trusts as well as
in town halls and civic offices. Networks and partnerships are as much part of the
organization map as single government agencies. Learning is taking place very fast, as
managers, politicians and citizens begin to make sense of a more complex world (Goss
2001). In this unit, student will learn a great deal about the concept of ‘governance
networks’.
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2.0 OBJECTIVES
Governance network as a structure operates via horizontal relationships rather than a vertical,
hierarchical chain of command of traditional bureaucratic structure of Max Weber.
Networks are formed based upon interdependent relationship in which members are highly
committed to the goals at hand. In order to reach network goals, all partners must fulfill their
duties. Unlike traditional hierarchical or market relationships, networks are based upon ideals
of ‘complementary strengths’ and they resolve conflicts through relations of ‘reciprocity’
(Lowndes and Skelcher cited in Holzer and Schwester, 2011:451).
Goldsmith and Eggers in (Holzer and Schwester, 2011) provide a framework for
understanding different types of network that may be activated by government.
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FIVE EXAMPLES OF GOVERNMENT-ACTIVATED NETWORKS
Network type Definition Example/use
Service Contract Government’s use of a contract to activate a Mental health, welfare, defense
network
Supply Chain Deliver complex products to government Department of Defence, Department
of Transportation,
Space shuttle, helicopter
Ad-Hoc Activated as a response network to a specific Emergency network for natural
situation-typically an emergency disaster or an infectious disease
outbreak
Channel Partnership Companies conduct transactions on behalf of Car dealer handle registration of new
government agency cars; sporting good store sell fishing
licenses
Information Dissemination A partnership activated to disseminate Recycling information is distributed
information by nonprofit organizations
According to Goldsmith and Eggers, the job of a network designer and activator is to see
how all the pieces of the network should work together, identify possible partners, bring all
the relevant stakeholders to the table, and determine what resources will be used to keep the
network together.
Self-Assessment Exercise
4.0 CONCLUSION
We have observed in this unit that the shift in public administration tilts towards network
governance. The cooperative arrangements of networks may serve to enhance a civility that
is necessary for effective governance. Networks provide opportunities for citizen
participation, more effective regulatory control, and the expression of public-sector values
within the marketplace (Holzer and Schwester, 2011). This in a way may enhance effective
performance of governmental functions especially in the areas of service delivery to the
citizens.
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5.0 SUMMARY
What we have done in this unit is to look at the concept of governance network. This
network is seen as a response to the demand necessitated by the changes in the structure of
government. The traditional bureaucratic structure is being replaced with network structures
which emphasize partnerships, networks, alliances in public and private organizations alike.
Goss, S. (2001) Making Local Governance Work. Networks, Relations and the Management
of Change.Basingstoke. Palgrave Macmillan.
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UNIT 2 CHALLENGES OF E – GOVERNANCE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
(Focus on Africa)
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1E-government Readiness
3.2 African e-governance - Challenges
3.3 practical Support for African e-governance
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment (TMAs)
References and Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
We have examined in the earlier units in this module, the concepts of ‘e-governance’, ‘e-
government’, ‘e-democracy’, ‘e-participation’ and the role of information communication
and technology as an enabling tool not only to improve government offerings but also to
improve the process of policy-making by increasing citizens’ participation through online
engagements. In achieving all these, the developing countries are confronted with challenges.
This unit discusses some of these challenges.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
According to Basu (2004), because every society has different needs and priorities, there is
no one model for e-government and no universal standard for e-government readiness. Each
society’s and government’s readiness for e-government would depend upon which objectives
and specific sectors it chooses as priorities, as well as the resources available at a given point
in time (which might depend on budgets, donors, etc). The necessary pre-conditions for e
government depend upon a society’s most important needs. For example, the level of
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infrastructure, legal framework and human capital needed for e-government vary with the
objectives being pursued. Some of these factors posed a challenge to e-government
development in some developing countries.
Assessing e-government readiness requires examination of government itself institutional
frameworks, human resources (including ICT managers, procurement officers, and others),
existing budgetary resources, inter-department communication flows, etc.
Legal Inadequacy Complex legislative procedure Lack of legal framework (Basu, 2004: 116).
Coleman has observed that not all African e-governance projects have been success stories.
African e-governance faces two barriers: the lack of ICT infrastructure and mass connectivity
to the internet, and the existence of post-colonial administrative cultures dominated by
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under-resourced and unaccountable bureaucracies. These barriers indicate the particular
needs of African states for modernised systems of governance, aided by the latest
technologies.
A key lesson from countries that have attempted to introduce e-governance is the importance
of honestly evaluating projects and strategies, considering why they were started; how, and at
what cost, they were implemented; and what impacts they achieved. An effective strategy for
African e-governance should avoid three key pitfalls:
iii) A failure to link better governance to broader and more inclusive democracy which
gives voice to those who cannot afford technologies, but have needs and ideas to
express.
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Self-Assessment Exercise
Discuss the three major pitfalls that must be avoided by the African e-governance.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Challenges facing African e-governance have been identified. The major ones include; the
lack of ICT infrastructure and mass connectivity to the internet, and the existence of post-
colonial administrative cultures dominated by under-resourced and unaccountable
bureaucracies. However, it is recognized that given practical support to African e-governance
will address some of these challenges.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have examined some of the practical challenges that African e-governance is
facing. The unit discusses the main pitfall to be avoided by African e-governance and also
provide the support that is available for e-governance in Africa.
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