eGovernment Explained

The Digitalization process is being adopted in every sector and industry. Although governance is a late adopter, technology and citizens requirements are pushing towards e-government. The success of e-governance depends on its management. Governments will need to implement digital transformation with efficiency, studying all technical solutions in advance.

There are many different benefits that a government can obtain from encouraging the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in its public sector delivery frameworks. Utilisation of ICTs as a socio-economic stimulant has long been recognised by governments the world over. Electronic government utilizes ICTs to provide all the access to a wide range of public services. Today, different government departments and/or units at all levels of the governance hierarchy respond to millions of citizen demands electronically.

In recent years, nearly all countries have integrated Information Technology (IT) and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into their national economic development strategies. Governments see IT and ICTs as ways to improve the quality of life of their citizens. The scale of activity on the part of public sectors in leveraging IT has increased in volume. eGovernment is enabling government institutions to provide better services to their customers. The ability to improve citizens’ access to services online has made e-Government a desirable application for government organisations. Governments around the world are implementing e-Government. In every part of the world - from industrialised countries to developing ones, governments are putting information online to provide better services for citizens. Transactions such as renewing drivers’ licences, applying for jobs and filing tax forms can now be conducted online, quickly and efficiently. IT and ICTs are viewed as the major platform for realising citizens’ access to the aforesaid transactions through ICTs.

Developing countries are behind in this race to provide eGovernment services to their citizens. This may be due to many reasons such as lack of a good communication infrastructure, low computer literacy, and limited access to the Internet, etc.

What is eGovernment?

eGovernment stands for “electronic government” which aims to integrate public services online and easing the interaction between public administrations and citizens. eGovernment is the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve the activities of public sector organisations.

Some definitions restrict eGovernment to Internet-enabled applications only, or only to interactions between government and outside groups. All digital ICTs are included plus all public sector activities are included.

eGovernment Definition:

eGovernment refers to the implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) like internet, to improve government activities and process. e-Government aims to increase transparency, efficiency and citizen involvement in the various government schemes, operations and process. Hence it can speed up the justice delivery system in the country.

It facilitates:

• Greater level of efficiency and effectiveness in government activities and process.
• Enhances quality of public services
• Simplifies administrative processes
• Improves access to information
• Increases communication between various government agencies.
• Strengthen support to public policy
• Enables seamless government

What eGovernment is NOT:

• e-Government is NOT about "e" but about government!
• e-Government is NOT about computers and websites but about citizens and businesses
• e-Government is NOT about translating processes but about improving internal processes.

Governments have been practising e-government for more than 50 years. Using that first mainframe in the Statistics Office was "eGovernment". We just didn't give it that name 50 years ago.

What eGovernment Covers

There are three main domains of eGovernment, illustrated in Figure 1 below (adapted from: Ntiro, S. (2000) eGovernment in Eastern Africa, KPMG, Dar-es-Salaam) :

1. Improving government processes: eAdministration
2. Connecting citizens: eCitizens and eServices
3. Building external interactions: eSociety

Respectively, these particularly address the problems that government is too costly, too inefficient and too ineffective (e-admininstration); too self-serving and too inconvenient (e-citizens and e-services); and too insular (e-society).

Figure 1: Focal Domains for eGovernment Initiatives

Improving Government Processes: eAdministration

eGovernment initiatives within this domain deal particularly with improving the internal workings of the public sector. They include:

• Cutting process costs : improving the input:output ratio by cutting financial costs and/or time costs.
• Managing process performance : planning, monitoring and controlling the performance of process resources (human, financial and other).
• Making strategic connections in government : connecting arms, agencies, levels and data stores of government to strengthen capacity to investigate, develop and implement the strategy and policy that guides government processes.
• Creating empowerment : transferring power, authority and resources for processes from their existing locus to new locations.

Connecting Citizens: eCitizens and eServices

Such initiatives deal particularly with the relationship between government and citizens: either as voters/stakeholders from whom the public sector should derive its legitimacy, or as customers who consume public services. These initiatives may well incorporate the process improvements identified earlier. 

They also include a broader remit:

• Talking to citizens : providing citizens with details of public sector activities. This mainly relates to certain types of accountability: making public servants more accountable for their decisions and actions.
• Listening to citizens : increasing the input of citizens into public sector decisions and actions. This could be flagged as either democratisation or participation.
• Improving public services : improving the services delivered to members of the public along dimensions such as quality, convenience and cost.

Building External Interactions: eSociety

Such initiatives deal particularly with the relationship between public agencies and other institutions - other public agencies, private sector companies, non-profit and community organisations. As with citizen connections, these initiatives may well incorporate the process improvements. 

This remit broadens further:

• Working better with business : improving the interaction between government and business. This includes digitising regulation of procurement from, and services to business to improve quality, convenience and cost.
• Developing communities : building the social and economic capacities and capital of local communities.
• Building partnerships : creating organisational groupings to achieve economic and social objectives. The public sector is almost always one of the partners, though occasionally it acts only as a facilitator for others.

Types of eGovernment transactions

There are three types of eGovernment transactions: G2C, G2B and G2G. In the G2C(Government-to-citizen) category government agencies are using the internet to provide services to citizens. An example is electronic benefits transfer (EBT), in which governments transfer benefits such as Social Security and pension payments, directly to the recipients’ bank accounts or to smart cards

In G2B(Government-to-Business), governments use the internet to sell or buy from business. For example, electronic tendering systems using reverse auctions are often mandatory to ensure the best practice and quality for government procurement of goods and services. G2G(government-to-Government) includes intra-government e-commerce (transaction between different governments) as well as services among different government agencies.  

Technology specific eGovernment

There are some technology-specific sub-categories of e-government, such as m-government (mobile government), u-government (ubiquitous government), and g-government (GIS/GPS) applications for e-government.

eGovernment portals and platforms

Social networking is an emerging area for eDemocracy. The social networking entry point is within the citizens’ environment and the engagement is on the citizens’ terms. Proponents of e-government perceive government use of social networks as a medium to help government act more like the public it serves. Examples can be found at almost every state government portal through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube widgets.

An example:

The City of Carlsbad California faced with an outdated e-mail system and no collaboration system for its team-based projects and severe budget constraints. The city needed to replace the aging e-mail system that it managed in-house to provide its employees with improved collaborations. Therefore, given its limited budget and server expertise, the city decided on a cloud computing solution. This solution avoided on-premises investments with Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Standard Suite, collaboration software hosted at Microsoft data centres. For a low per-user, per month subscription fee, the suite offers hosted communication and collaboration services that include desktop and mobile e-mail, calendaring and contacts, instant messaging and presence, shared workspaces, and live audio visual Web conferencing applications.

eGovernment Implementation Model

How does eGovernment help?

• Introduces transparency in data, decisions/actions, rules, procedures of government agencies
• Automates processes to take away discretion
• Entry point for simplification of rules and re-engineering processes
• Makes decisions traceable and tracks actions
• Builds accountability - greater access to information through web publishing - role of civil society
• Provides documentation for citizens to follow up

As a result, eGovernment may facilitate fundamental changes in the relationships between citizens and governments. 

Issues/Challenges of eGovernment

The main disadvantages concerning eGovernment is the lack of equality in public access to the internet, reliability of information on the web, and hidden agendas of government groups that could influence and bias public opinions.

Cost

Although "a prodigious amount of money has been spent" on the development and implementation of e-government, some say it has yielded only a mediocre product. The outcomes and effects of trial Internet-based governments are often difficult to gauge or unsatisfactory.

Inaccessibility

An eGovernment site that provides web access and support often does not offer the "potential to reach many users including those who live in remote areas, are homebound, have low literacy levels, exist on poverty line incomes.

Governments also have to embrace innovations of information technology in order to improve efficiency. When changing their current structures with new IT improvements, they have to consider all the aspects really carefully. Otherwise it can lead to many failures. For example shared corporate services using technology were introduced in Western Australia government agencies in 2003. The objective was to reduce the overall cost of providing corporate services in the public sector. But the review later in 2011 found that there were substantial problems with the shared services arrangements.

Benefits of eGovernment

From the examples given above, cities benefit from more flexibility in resource allocation, reduced costs, accelerated deployment, and improved employee productivity.

• Long run cost effectiveness

Moving from paper to electronic system has the potential to save time and money throughout the public sector. I.T. also means creating a net of online services connected through online servers and data centers, a great first investment in technology infrastructure. Many countries cannot afford to transform from traditional to digital governance because of their budgets.

In this regard, cost effective solutions will help not only in reducing the final bill but speeding up long time maintenance of the solutions provided. Virtualizing services on already existing infrastructures could help in cutting down costs.

• Boost governance participation

Part of e-government is e-participation. Digital governance can tap networking opportunities, promoting citizens participation and decision-making. The availability of those online services should perform efficiently and correctly to encourage people to take part of governance.

Any system collapse would have severe consequences for structures within the public sector. It could mean a great financial and time loss if the services are not available.

• Open Government Data transparency

Big Data allows collecting a huge amount of information, from all sort of devices. Turning all this information into Open data, available for public consultation and transparency of the public services, leads not only to efficiency gain and increase in citizens trust and collaboration.

Data is the fuel of digital transformation. Securing this sensitive information is key for guaranteeing users and organisms privacy. Securing nodes on the data servers is a robust method for securing sensitive users information and avoiding threats and attacks.

• Offers greater opportunities for citizens to provide feedback to government agencies and to participate in democratic institutions and processes.

Centralising services

Voting, medical appointments, tax management and more, all in one, requires a zero downtime policy for ensuring services fluency, high availability is a must for avoiding public services disruptions. Developed countries have moved all public services online, developing countries boost their transformation using open source solutions.

While technology to achieve smarter, joined-up administrative eServices is there, public administrations often face numerous obstacles including budget constraints, legal, procedural and technical interoperability problems between services and administrations (as well as between countries) and access to technical know-how. These issues have limited the roll-out of digital public services. 

What is the difference between e-Government and e-Governance?

Generally people use eGovernment and eGovernance as the synonyms of each other. But these words are different from each other.

Difference Between e-Government and e-Governance

e-Government implies the implementation of information and communication technology like the internet, to improve government activities and processes, with the aim of increasing efficiency, transparency, and citizen involvement. On the other hand, e-Governance means governing or administering a country/state or organisation, with the help of information and communication technology.

Many think that these two are related to delivering government services through the internet, but the fact is they use ICT as a tool for the development of good governance in any country.

Key Differences Between e-Government and e-Governance

The points presented below are noteworthy, so far as the difference between e-Government and e-Governance is concerned:

1. By e-Government we mean the application of ICT in government operations, as a tool to make better government. e-Governance, on the other hand, implies the use of ICT in transforming and supporting functions and structures of the system.
2. While e-Government is a system, e-Governance is a function.
3. e-Government is a one-way communication protocol. On the contrary, e-Governance is a two-way communication protocol.

e-Governance and e-Government are not a one-day affair, but the entire system should work together and make plans and strategies, which are able to implement it. There are a number of merits of like; it results in decreased corruption, increased trust in government, transparency in government activities, citizen engagement, growth in GDP, expansion in government reach and so on. Moreover, it accentuates internal government inconsistencies.

e-Governance Models

• G2G (Government to Government): The exchange of information between government agencies or departments, i.e. within the confines of government is called as G2G interaction.
• G2C (Government to Citizen): As the name suggests, it is the interaction between government and the citizens of the country. It involves establishing an interface, to enable the general public to access information and services, whenever and wherever they want. They can also give their feedback with respect to policies and rules.
• G2B (Government to Business): The dissemination of information between government and the business, is G2B interaction. It focuses on reducing red-tapism, establishing transparency and accountability in the business environment.
• G2E (Government to Employees): The interaction between government and employees to increase employee morale and satisfaction, is made easier and faster with the help of information and communication technology.

Phases of eGovernment development:

Successful eGovernment should aim to meet three primary goals:

• Improve the quality, cost, accessibility and speed of delivering government information and services
• Make government more accountable by increasing the opportunity for citizen participation in the governance process and bringing citizens closer to elected officials and public servants
• Organise the production and distribution of public information and services in new ways to transform government services to meet citizens needs in an automated world.

Tools for Enabling the Next Stage of eGovernment

As eGovernment advances beyond the early stages of basic information, access and simple interactions towards active engagement of citizens and agencies, the tools enabling this progression will be those that promote networking and collaboration while addressing issues of data portability, reusability, and longevity. The flow of information will be the focus as government adapts to new demands for sharing, accessing, and distributing information. 

The transition has already begun as technologies and practices introduced within the past few years have had significant effects on citizens’ expectations and agencies’ ways of doing business. The proliferation of devices and access methods (wireless laptops, mobile/cellphones, ipods, iPads, etc) have transformed how and when people retrieve information. Use of that data is also undergoing dramatic changes as Web leaders such as Google, Yahoo, and Amazon.com and once-small start-ups like MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr have altered our perceptions of information sharing and delivery. More than perceptions have changed; behaviours are changing too. The past years have seen a marked increase in the use of blogs and other collaborative software within corporate and government domains.

What does this mean for eGovernment in the coming years?

• We can no longer assume that data will be accessed in a set manner at predictable times. Governments need to ensure their data is portable enough to accommodate virtually any format, even those unanticipated today, and not confined within proprietary software or platforms.
• We can no longer assume that we will be using data as we have in the past. The era of one-way flow of information from a producer to a consumer is ending. Data will be shared, linked, transformed, and distributed in a dynamic, collaborative fashion.

As a result, the keystones for the next stage of eGovernment will include:

• open data standards,
• accommodation of multiple devices, and
• an emphasis on sharing data.

Recently, countries all over the world started applying Blockchain into government systems. America first devoted themselves into public service and management system, which needs immutability and transparency. America is not alone in testing Blockchain use case areas, Japan is seeking Blockchain eGovernment system solutions to see how Blockchain could improve its online systems for accepting government contract bids.

Japan aims to to incorporate and integrate Blockchain technology into its eGovernment systems. According to Nikkei Asian Review, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, who oversees the Japanese administrative system and manages local governments, Japan tested a blockchain-based system for processing government tenders in the fiscal year starting from this April through to March 2018.

The centralized servers behind much of today’s IT systems require costly protection against cyber attacks, and the risk of data theft places limits on the types of information that can be shared with and within government.

However, a blockchain-based system makes tender applications easier for both the private sector and government. Instead of applicants collecting the tax payment certificates and other necessary documents from various government offices, for example, the agency issuing the tender would be able to gather the information electronically.

In China, the government is also trying to apply such advancing technology i.e. Blockchain in their system to improve the working efficiency. Therefore, the use of blockchain technology in big data can make great use in the government management system for information storage and circulation. 

In conclusion, eGovernment also known as eGov, digital government, online government or transformational government is used to refer to the use of information and communication technology(ICT) to provide and improve government services, transactions and interactions with citizens, businesses and other parts of government. eGovernance is an evolutionary phenomenon which requires a change in mindset of all i.e. citizens and the government.

With the support of the internet, the government processes defined by specialisation can be made efficient, effective and citizen friendly.

Redefining the rules and procedures, information transparency, legal issues, infrastructure, skills and awareness, access to right information, inter-departmental collaboration are all the main concerns for the government to address.

Applying new and emerging technologies, may notably enhance the quality of life, improve efficiency, and reduce the costs of delivered services. Technology helps to reach the unreached but it can make things worse through the digital divide.

Conclusion:

Banking has become eBanking, commerce has become eCommerce. So government are increasingly turning into eGovernment.

Digitalization has become important for government because citizens have grown tired of long, complicated processes.

Governments across the world are transitioning to eGovernment by using mordern processes that save citizens and governments time and effort. In the process process of doing so, they create proficiency and timely delivery of services.

eGovernment promises to save countries and their citizens boith time and money as public services gradually move online.

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