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The
“e-Government Readiness Quick-check Tool” is a hands-on IT-tool that assembles
data from six recognised
indices
and a pragmatic choice of indicators discussed in the framework available at
this link.
The “e-Government Quick-check Tool”
represents the status of the e-government environment in single countries and
country groups using as a proxy data on five relevant indicators and indices: (1) ICT skills and (2) ICT access and use indicators, collected in ITU’s “ICT
Development Index”; (3) indicators on ICT related laws published by the
World Economic Forum; (4) “Worldwide Governance Indicators”,
gathered by the World Bank; and (5) web-based public services
indicators, published by UNDESA as a sub-index of its “Web Measure Index”.
The tool provides a graphical
illustration of a country’s readiness status on four dimensions of the
e-government environment:
Infrastructure,
policy, governance and
outreach.
Further, the Quick-check tool allows
users also to display simultaneous graphs to compare one country’s scores to
those of another, of its peer groups –as defined in the World Bank’s income
groups (low, lower middle, upper middle and high income economies), based on the
distribution of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita-, as well as to those of
an ITU world regions (Africa, the Americas, Arab States, Asia & Pacific, Europe
and CIS countries).
Dimension one: Infrastructure
Infrastructure is probably the most obvious and tangible dimension of
e-government. Since e-government is characterised by procedures and services
taking place between administrations on the one side and citizens or
businesses (or other administrative entities) on the other, technical
infrastructure is needed to carry information and services. This
characteristic distinguishes e-government from earlier forms of interaction
with an administration. e-Government provision is not linked to a specific
technology, but rather to any electronic means that citizens and businesses
use to send and receive voice, data, and images via the Internet, such as
personal computers, laptops, personal digital assistant devices (PDAs), as
well as mobile and fixed line telephony,
The effectiveness of e-government services in reaching citizens and
businesses depends greatly in the availability of ICT infrastructure.
Therefore, it is very relevant for decision makers to evaluate the status
and development of ICT infrastructure in their countries and plan
e-government projects accordingly. To assess the level of access to ICT
infrastructure, decision makers can use data collected from
telecommunication incumbents and Internet providers via individual, business
and household surveys. A well-informed analysis would profit also from
knowledge of the affordability of access to ICTs, looking at tariffs for
certain services in comparison to per capita income levels.
Finally, the infrastructure dimension also extends to the energy sector, as
access to electricity is a precondition for a functioning ICT
infrastructure.
Dimension two: Policy
A policy is a deliberate plan of action to guide decisions and achieve
rational outcomes. Commonly, governments develop and implement policies to
address basic socio-economic issues that are expressed in laws, budgetary
actions, international agreements, declarations, contracts or campaigns.
Different types of policies shape the e-government environment. Trade
regulations control the import and export of ICT goods, affecting the
provision of services. Policies protecting local ICT industries, including
tariff barriers, alter the movement and price of goods in a market.
Similarly, antitrust regulations and market liberalisation strategies,
enforced by telecommunication regulatory authorities, have created the
conditions for greater competition in the sector, the introduction of new
technologies and services, and better prices for consumers. Likewise, the
inclusion of universal service obligations in the licences of
telecommunication incumbents or Internet providers has promoted access to
ICT infrastructure in least served areas, such as rural and low income
communities.
Several countries have formulated comprehensive ICT strategies with the goal
of accelerating their participation in the information society. The example
of Egypt illustrates the close link that exists between general ICT polices
and the e-government environment. Egypt’s ICT strategy 2007-2010 brings
e-government into the country’s overall ICT strategy, proposing reforms in
five key areas: state-of-the-art telecommunication and postal
infrastructure, ICT access for all, ICT for education and Lifelong Learning,
ICT for health, and innovation in the ICT industry.[1]
The same is true for Singapore, where the responsibility for general ICT
policy, as well as for e-government policy, lays with the “Infocomm
Development Authority of Singapore” (IDA). In the framework of its “iN2015”
master plan and its “iGov 2010”sub-plan, IDA intends to encourage effective
competition in the country’s telecommunication market. Further, IDA
functions as Chief Information Officer (CIO) and is responsible for the
security of crucial ICT infrastructure, master-planning as well as project
implementation of government-wide ICT plans. Box 2, below, provides more
detail on the goals and strategies of both plans.
Policies protecting critical information infrastructure also shape the
e-government environment. Cybersecurity policies—the protection of
e-government infrastructure against failures and attacks from inside the
system, as well as from outside—are essential once a country relies strongly
on e-government services. Protective measures are particularly necessary for
the provision of e-business or whenever sensitive financial or personal data
are being transferred electronically. Protecting the privacy of individual
users is also crucial to ensure citizen’s trust in the new communication
technologies. Accordingly, laws and regulations on digital identification,
digital signatures, e-payment and data protection are highly relevant, and
are shaping the environment of e-government.
While e-government policies depend strongly on the vision of decision
makers, success requires for such visions to be formulated, expressed,
shared and discussed with all relevant stakeholders to improve ownership and
ease implementation. When policies fail to be implemented, the gap between
plans, actions and expected outcomes grows, resulting in citizen
dissatisfaction.
Dimension three: Governance
Governance, that
is, the performance of public administration, is an important factor for the
success of e-government initiatives.
The World Bank defines governance as
the exercise of political authority
and the use of institutional resources to manage society's problems and affairs.
The optimum performance an administration can strive for is to produce a
“worthwhile pattern of good results, while avoiding an undesirable pattern of
bad circumstances”.
Therefore, to achieve good governance, different factors need to be balanced,
including costs, freedom of the individual vs. the common good, local, national
or global interests, as well as short and long term gains vs. losses. The
negotiation of these factors may lead to different results and performances, as
places and times change.
Despite these
divergences, there is general consent on the minimum requirements for good
performance of national administrations. Commonly, it is recognized that a
government performs well if it, at least, does not abuse its power, is not
corrupt, and follows the due processes of law, which includes a division between
the executive, legislative and judicial powers, and freedom of the press. This
paradigm is also often called “good governance” in the development literature.
Further, the
success of e-government initiatives also depends on defining back-office
workflows within the administration and on digitalizing and reengineering such
workflows. Since citizens do not usually know the processes taking place within
an administration, they judge its performance based on their personal
experiences, drawing conclusions about the quality of governance according to
the time it takes to complete standard procedures, like registering a car, and
the reliability and consistency of such processes.
Dimension four:
Outreach
“Outreach” is the dimension of e-government most prominently perceived and
experienced by end-users, namely companies and citizens. Often referred to as
the “horizontal integration” of public services, this dimension brings together
various service offerings to the end-users.
One aspect of
outreach is the supply of information and services by governments. Governments’
communication with and supply of information to businesses and citizens varies
in intensity. Some administrations provide static information on web pages;
others offer services online; and some others offer electronic consultation and
participation. The European Union (EU), for example, practices online
consultations of citizens. It applies e-government in order to overcome long
distances, language barriers and the perceived democratic deficit of the
institutions of the Union.
Service oriented e-government initiatives intend to bundle different services
according to a combination that an end-user would perceive as a logical unit for
one-stop-government. For instance, the government of Singapore is working on
developing an even more user-friendly government portal.[5]
To this end, provision of information in the front end should be improved;
information should be presented in a better and more intuitive “look-and-feel”
way, providing better search engines and including different types of media,
such as video clips. Creating a one-stop government interface is a major
challenge in national e-government efforts. The services that need to be
integrated might represent numerous fragmented processes, requiring the
involvement of a diverse number of stakeholders (see Box 2).
e-Government
activities are also affected by demand forces emanating from the particular
needs and characteristics of citizens and businesses, such as education, ICT
literacy, and other life circumstances. Many e-government applications consist
of texts and are Internet based, thus requiring users to have at least basic
computer literacy and, if they do not rely on agencies in telecentres or other
service providers, the ability to read and write. Therefore, it is crucial for
the success of an e-government project to understand the capability of the
citizens the initiative is targeting. The one stop shop “Jan Seva Kendra” in
India, (see Box 1 in the
ITU e-Government Implementation Toolkit) is a good example of a low barrier e-government service
provision project, where illiterate users have the option of receiving
information through the telephone or talking to a civil servant in person.
Further, life
circumstances, such as income, day-night rhythm, working hours, social
structures, individual habits and culture, affect the demand for e-government
services as well. For instance, in communities where the elder deal with the
administration on behalf of the community, the demand for e-government services
offered to individuals will probably be quite low; in contrast, individualized
population in urban areas might prefer a seemingly anonymous way to communicate
with authorities.
This
dimension also covers outreach between national governments. Peer-to-peer
learning, for instance, can be very helpful. Moreover, challenges like
cybersecurity and cybercrimes are cross border issues that should be dealt with
in a coordinated manner. Accordingly, engaging in global and regional fora on
e-government can improve the e-government environment of a country.
The
indicators used
On
Infrastructure:
The Quick-check
Tool uses two sub-indices of ITU’s new “ICT Development Index” (IDI): The
“ICT access sub-index” and the “ICT use sub-index”. The “ICT
access sub-index” includes indicators on fixed telephone lines and mobile
cellular subscribers per 100 inhabitants; international Internet bandwidth per
Internet user; proportion of households with a computer and with Internet
access. The “ICT use sub-index” is composed of indicators on Internet users,
fixed broadband Internet subscribers and mobile broadband subscribers per 100
inhabitants.
On Policy:
The Quick-check-Tool uses the “Global Competitiveness Report” by World
Economic Forum (WEF), which provides data on ICT related laws
for 134 economies. WEF monitors three highly
relevant laws for the conduction of e-government activities: electronic
commerce, digital signature and consumer protection. WEF examines not only
whether ICT related laws have been formulated, but also if they are being
enforced.[6]
On Governance
General
The Quick-check
Tool uses data from the “World Governance Indicators” (WGI), collected by
the World Bank since 1996 and published on an annual basis since 2002. The WGI
reports data for 212 economies on government performance
in the areas of voice and accountability; political stability and lack of
violence; government effectiveness; regulatory ability, as well as on the rule
of law and corruption control. To collect the data, the Word Bank surveys “a
large number of enterprise, citizen and expert survey respondents in industrial
and developing countries, as reported by a number of survey institutes, think
tanks, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations”
on the quality of governance.
Outreach
Demand
The Quick-check
Tool uses the “ICT skills” sub-index of
ITU’s new “ICT Development Index” (IDI). It is
composed of indicators on adult literacy rate, as well as secondary and tertiary
enrolment rates, all weighted equally. This index was chosen for the
quick-check Tool to describe the outreach dimension from the demand perspective.
Outreach
Supply
The Quick-check
Tool uses the “Web Measure Index” by UNDESA, which presents data
collected from the assessment of online government services offered on the sites
of the Ministries/Departments of Health, Education, Social Welfare, Labour and
Finance. These web pages are chosen because they are considered to be the most
relevant and the most in demand by citizens. UNDESA collects this information
on an annual basis for 192 countries. Accordingly, this is the index was chosen
for the quick-check Tool to describe the outreach dimension from the supply
perspective.
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