1(#total) CS5038 The Electronic Society Lecture 8: e-Government Lecture Outline Terminology - G2C, G2B, G2E Major areas of G2C activities Six stages to.

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CS5038 The Electronic SocietyLecture 8: e-GovernmentLecture Outline

• Terminology - G2C, G2B, G2E

• Major areas of G2C activities

• Six stages to implementation

• Implementation Problems

• Current state in UK

• E-Government - Increasing Inequality?

• Addressing the Democratic Deficit

• eParticipation

• eGovernment in the Developing World – Sri Lanka

• eGovernment in Singapore

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E-GovernmentThe use of electronic technology by a government to: Deliver its services better Improve its efficiency and effectiveness (just like eCommerce)

Less staff needed to serve people quicker/cheaperMake governments more transparent to citizens and businesses Access to more of the information generated by government

Government to citizens (G2C) Delivery of public services etc. (next slide)

Government-to-employees (G2E)Activities and services between government units and their employees

Government to Government (G2G) Intragovernmental activities

Within a Government department and between Government bodies

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E-GovernmentGovernment to business (G2B)E-Procurement – reverse auctions for MROs

Group purchasing• eFAST service (gsa.gov) conducts reverse auctions for

aggregated orders

E-Auctions government surpluses real estate seized goods

Tax collection and management electronic filing of taxes is now available in over 100

countries

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E-GovernmentMajor areas of G2C activities: http://www.direct.gov.uk/Homepage/fs/en

tourism and recreation research and education downloadable forms discovery of government services information about public policy advice about health and safety issues Pay tax & bills, receive documents and payments

Nationwide Electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system in U.S. to deliver government benefits electronically

• deliver benefits to recipients’ bank accounts• smart card system for those without bank accounts

Makes government more transparent to citizens - access to information Greater opportunities to participate in democratic institutions Future: voting

Useful in solving constituents’ problems Track problems using CRM-type software

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E-Government StagesSix stages to implementation (most governments are at stage 1)

1. Information publishing/dissemination – services available, contact details

2. Two-way transactions - Submit personal information, monetary transactions

3. Multipurpose portals – in Australia: www.sa.gov.au

4. Portal personalisation – must allow interfaces to be manipulated by user

5. Clustering of common services – people see clusters of services rather than agencies– reorganisation of government structure

6. Full integration and enterprise transformation – full service centre personalised to customer

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E-Government

Implementation issuesTransformation speed - usually slow:

Resistance by employees Limited budget Legal environment

G2B implementation Easier than G2C Can be outsourced (Hong Kong)

Security and privacy issues Citizens’ data Especially healthcare

Wireless applications E.g. wireless tourist service (Bergen)

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E-Government in UKImplementation issues

Has reached the stage of two-way transactions with many sites Fast uptake of broadband in UK, but sparse use of online eGovernment

services by citizens Few government employees have completed their first ECDL module 800 Government bodies spawned 3000 sites (2003)

Need for sites offering related services in one place Each distinct site needs to be clear and focused E.g. housing, transport, education, immigration Public will learn to associate that site with its particular services

Fragmented view of a citizen Many different departments hold records Often Different formats Implementation of cross agency infrastructure lacking

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E-Government - Increasing Inequality?Digital divide within UK:

The haves – Broadband access from the homeThe have-nots – no Internet access

Except in Public libraries perhaps May lack skills/education to use it effectively

The elderly – may lack skills, and may not trust faceless interaction

Those on the wrong side of the digital divide may be even more excluded from participation in democracy Important information on candidates at election timeSubmission to ePetitions – for lobbying parliament

Solutions?Brazil offering half a million computers to citizens at low

pricesCredit schemes to assist citizens to buy

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Addressing the Democratic DeficitVoter turnout has dropped

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Addressing the Democratic Deficit(Many facts from essay by Robert Glasgow)

Voter turnout has dropped in the United States:

70% of eligible population register to vote 50% vote in presidential elections

Western Europe: average 77% turnout UK: 60%

Especially low among young, unemployed, ethnic minorities Latin America: 54% Decline almost wholly concentrated among young people

Membership in political parties: 1950s – 3.5M 2000s – 0.5M

Public Trust in: Politicians 18% Doctors 91%

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Addressing the Democratic Deficit

Participation in new social movements has increasedCampaign groups~1M demonstrated against Iraq warNGOs (e.g. Amnesty International) Increasingly on the Internet

People disillusioned with traditional political system?

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Electronic ParticipationeRevolution?

Top down benefits: Potential to make citizens More informed

• Streaming footage of debates• Political information

More engaged• Webchats with elected representatives• Online Voting (Estonia and Switzerland)

More trusting Bottom up benefits: Potential for citizens to

Contribute to policy making• Online Questionnaires• Discussion Forums

Propose policies themselves Hold politicians to account

Reach to young people 30% of 15-24yr olds have engaged in online political activity (10%

offline)

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Electronic ParticipationCriticisms:

Unrealistic Ignores existing political process

De-legitimises existing institutions Power devolved from elected representatives and placed in

hands of administrative side Politicians may be unable to fulfil campaign promises

Ignores problems in web technologies Easy to set up forum Hard to analyse and collate results – unrealistic software Too open to deception/malicious use

Some politicians view public participation as a threat

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Electronic Participation“Big Conversation” - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3245620.stm

77-page document setting out challenges faced by Britain Website gives people a chance to air their views on policies Issues:

Ban workplace smoking? Should rowdy city centre pubs contribute towards policing? Funding in further education and UK How important is the euro to locking in macroeconomic

stability? Criticisms:

Merely a publicity stunt Danger of pressure groups hijacking exercise

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Electronic Participation“Big Conversation”

- Guardian Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3245620.stm

“For the duration of its life, the Big Conversation website carried not a single comment from a single voter on: Iraq Terrorism Blair's relationship with Bush

“Working on this newspaper's Diary column at the time, I was contacted almost daily by people who had attempted to address one of the above issues in either an email or text message (price: 25p), but whose comments mysteriously never materialised on the site…”

“As for those that made it through… "I am so proud to have voted Labour with my first ever vote a few

years ago," read one comment. "Everywhere I look I see new cars, wealth, opportunities, investment and most favourable mortgage rates."

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eGovernment in the Developing World

"About 99% of the benefits of having a PC come when you've provided reasonable health and literacy to the person who's going to sit down and use it".

Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft

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eGovernment in the Developing World

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eGovernment in the Developing World

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eGovernment in the Developing WorldCase study in Sri Lanka (by Geeth de Mel):

ICT Programme established in 2002

Aims: Improved delivery off social services

Let people access information efficiently Improve inter organisation communication Reducing the vulnerabilities to natural disasters

Example of existing problems: Tsunami of 2004 – still no accurate figures on affected people No mechanisms to support aid organisations in immediate aftermath

Greater transparency Reduce corruption Increased social participation Empowerment off poor Further socio-economic development

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eGovernment in the Developing WorldCase study in Sri Lanka (by Geeth de Mel):

Example Failure/SuccessMinistry of Education went online with exam results

System poorly planned and crashed Took department longer than old manual system

Success story from same department in 2004 Introduced new ICT curriculum Success due to Internet+television+radio (more accessible)

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eGovernment in the Developing WorldCase study in Sri Lanka (by Geeth de Mel):Difficulties

Lack cash flow – encourage assistance of 3rd parties Vested Interest by 3rd parties can change project goals

Corruption by high ranking officialsSchools starting to get computer labs

But not all villages have electricity IT literacy

City: 35% Rural: <10%

Computer ownership Urban: 10% Rural: 3% Estate: 0.3%

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eGovernment in Singaporehttp://www.ecitizen.gov.sg/eCitizen can

do passport application register as resident find jobs in government pay road tax donate to Charities

Government’s role changes from manager to service providerCitizens become like customersDangers:

Dependence on technology also brings vulnerabilityHackers/terrorists

easier than physical attacks on governmentprivacy

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eGovernment Summary• Terminology - G2C, G2B, G2E

• Major areas of G2C activities

• Six stages to implementation

• Implementation Problems

• Current state in UK

• E-Government - Increasing Inequality?

• Addressing the Democratic Deficit

• eParticipation

• eGovernment in the Developing World – Sri Lanka

• eGovernment in Singapore