E-Governance:

Conceptual Overview
 Government & Governance

Government is an institutional superstructure that

society uses to translate politics into policies and
.legislation

Governance is the outcome of the interaction of

government, the civil service, and citizens
throughout the political process, policy
.development, program design, and service delivery
Donald F. Kettl, The Transformation of Governance
Government and governance both are
about getting the consent and
cooperation of the governed, where
government is the formal apparatus for
this objective and governance is the
outcome as experienced by those on
.the demand side
 ?What is governance in PA
Governance can be defined as “regimes of
laws, administrative rules, judicial rulings,
and practices that constrain, prescribe, and
enable government activity, where such
activity is broadly defined as the production
and delivery of publicly supported goods and
”services

.Source: Heinrich and Lynn, 2000, p.3

E-government & E-governance

E-government refers to a ey and eclectic

variety of front-office and back-office operations
that happen to be carried out by government
.and that has in places become properly systemic

There is a broader term than e-government. The

notion of ‘e-governance’ refers to the wider process
of bringing about the corresponding transformation
.in society
e-government is about delivering government services
using information technologies
e-governance is about transforming the relationship
between governments and their citizens through the use
of information technologies
 E-governance is modernizing governance
through use of ICTs for good governance and
democratic governance that requires to
ensure greater convenience and better
services for all citizens and ultimately lead to a
.knowledge-based society
Electronic Governance
E vs. G

Why
? "E" in Governance
 Governments are under pressure
PUSH & PULL FACTORS

Civil Society
Citizens

Globalization
Governments
Businesses

New Technologies New Challenges

 Through innovative uses of ICTs, e-governance is a tool to
improve and facilitate governmental functions and activities

Innovativ
e use of
ICTs
Governments
need to be more

Effective Change in
Responsive Public
E-governance
Competitive Administration
is a tool
Citizen centric
 Background
IT and ICTs in Public Administration
-A Chronological View
Basic electronic data processing: Since 1960s
Spreadsheet: Since 1970s on mainframe computers and 1980s on PCs
Expert Systems: Since 1970s in the USA and since 1980s in UK
Electronic mail (e-mail): since early 1980s
Geographical Information System (GIS): since mid 1980s
Modeling and simulations: since 1980s
Intranets: since early 1980s
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): since 1990
The World Wide Web/Internet: since mid 1990s

E-government: since 1990s

Evolution Period & Organizational
Involvement of E-Government Phases

Period Phase Involvement

Early 90s Information Presence

Mid 90s Interaction Intake process

Present Transaction Complete transaction

Future Transformation Integration and

organisational change
Introduction of ICTs IT in Government

-Interconnected agencies -Processing internal functions

-Digitizing internal functions -Internal communication and
and processes interactions
-Connected with businesses -Little information flow
and citizens -Only to meet organizational
-Electronic services needs
-Citizens' needs & choices

e-governance ... moves old 'IT in government' models... The old model was ..."
one of information technology (IT) automating the internal workings of
government by processing data. The new model is one of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) supporting and transforming the external
".workings of governance by processing and communicating data

."Source: Richard Heeks, "Understanding E-Governance for Development

It is about- E-Governance is not
about-
Changing or reforming, how Changing of government's
 government works (internal functions) 
functions or purposes
 manages information  goals or objectives
 improves delivery of services
 connects & engages citizens
Its not an end by itself
Its not a panacea
 E-governance Relationships

Source: Micheal Backus

 Government to Citizen (G2C): This model of relationship between e-
government and citizens provide greater access to government
information through making available online laws, regulations, forms and
data. Promotes civic engagement by enabling the public to interact more
conveniently with government officials (examples: obtaining license,
certificates, filing tax return, etc.). It also cares for providing rural and
traditionally underserved communities with information and
communications capabilities.
 Government to Business (G2B): Here government serves as an enabler
and broker of economic activities, a consumer of commercial goods and
services and as the regulator of both domestic and international trade and
commerce.
 Government to Government (G2G): This partnership model defines the
relationship between other levels and branches of government for the
purpose of efficient and effective service delivery through their smooth
coordination and integrated functionalities. It is also about serving and
preparing employees, allocating responsibilities and engaging in ongoing
interactions with foreign states and international organisations to further
political and economic goals.
E-government Maturity Levels
E-government Fifth Level Sophistication
as suggested by EU
 Connected Government
Governments transform themselves into a
connected entity that responds to the
needs of its citizens by developing an
integrated back-office infrastructure. This
is the most sophisticated level of online e-
government initiatives and is characterized
by:
1. Horizontal connections (among government agencies)
2. Vertical connections (central and local government
agencies)
3. Infrastructure connections (interoperability issues)
4. Connections between governments and citizens
5. Connections among stakeholders (government, private
sector, academic institutions, NGOs and civil society)
 Organizational Change
Front office - Back office Rebalancing
(R)e-balancing government

Demand -- ’front’ office Supply – ‘back’ office

citizen interface and service administration
1. e-services – online services based 1. intra Government Process Re-
around citizen and business life engineering – incorporating
events (do-it-yourself or via knowledge management and data
human amplifiers) inter-exchange within the public
2. traditional services and channels administration
supported by ICT – human, 2. inter Government Process Re-
organizational and physical engineering – incorporating
3. e-democracy – greater knowledge management and data
accountability, openness, inter-exchange between public
transparency, accessibility, administrations and across borders
participation, etc. 3. re-engineering of legacy
technology, organisations,
processes, skills, mindsets, etc.
Must get bigger and better Must get smaller and smarter

Jeremy Millard-
 Success Factors
Three Domains of E-Government
Policy
Technology US Digital Government[
] Research Program

Management

a. There must be visible and committed leadership within both the political and
administrative arms of government.

b. There must be the right infrastructure and implementation programme, with

clear accountability for results.

c. There must be clear policy statements, set deliverables and a timetable.

d. There must be a framework for an authentic e-government strategy.

Accenture Ltd-
Vision: E-governance Policy
Strategy: Framework for
Action
Projects: Action
Michiel Backus-
 Introducing E-governance

:Strategic factors/activities

Preparing Organizations
Preparing Legal Environment
Preparing Technology Participation and feedback
Preparing Workforce Equity & trust
Preparing Citizens Accountability
Rule of law
Re Transparency
gra quir Efficiency
e
ba dual s
la &
gro nce Effectiveness
wt d
h
Provisions/outcomes
The Four Pillars of eGov

e-Government

Legislations
Technology
Process
People
Roles played by actors in an
e-government system
;Politicians -who enact/legislate a law

Public Administrators who define the

;processes for realizing a law

Programmers who implement these processes

;for realizing a law

End-users who use e-government services

Other Strategic Considerations

 Needs for a National Strategic Framework

 visions, targets, milestones, approaches, standards, priorities
 backed by strong leadership

 Top-down & bottom-up approach

 Top-down- centralized, integrated: delay for a national strategy
Singapore, China
 Bottom-up- agency based initiatives: less orderly
United States, Philippines

 Public-Private partnerships
 contractual arrangement
 private party performs some activities of a public agency and
assumes the associated risks
 private party, in return, is paid according to predefined
performance criteria
Think Big, Start Small and Scale Fast
(Anderson Consulting, 2000)
Challenges

 Leadership and Strategic Challenges

o Political Leadership
o Bureaucratic Devotion
o Strategic Roadmap
 Technological Challenges
o National Connectivity I nfrastructure
o Rescuing Technologies from the Setback of Underutilization
o Creating Connectivity for Rural Areas
o Security and Privacy
 Challenges to Connect and Engage Citizens
o Minimizing Digital Divide and Ensuring Access of Mass People
o Bringing Citizens in the Mainstream of E-Governance I nitiatives
o Creation of Local Contents and Services
o Language Barrier
 Challenges related to Organizational Change and Reforms
o Managing change
o Collaborative Governance
o Back office I ntegration
o Creation of Attractive Online Services
o Adapting New Skill and Culture
Conclusion

Transition from traditional governance to e-governance is

not mere technological drills or creating some official
.websites

E-governance is a citizen-centric concept that intends to

provide public services at the ease and option of citizens, keep
citizens informed, and solicit their voice in the functioning of
government. The ultimate goal is to ensure providing citizens' stake
at their hand -to put citizen at the heart of public administration
.without any exclusion

A balanced growth of the enabling factors is required to

conquer the goal. However, the degree of success bluntly depends
on organizational changes and reforms, legal environment,
preparing the civil servants, and preparing, connecting and
.engaging citizens
Thanks