The Governance Gauge: E-Government, ICT and Innovation for Citizen Engagement
“There is no “silver bullet” solution to the myriad complex issues facing countries. However, sharing information and transferring knowledge on innovations are important tools for stimulating and inspiring governments in their reform efforts toward more inclusive development. In fact, learning from other countries’ experiences in reinventing government through knowledge exchange can save time and inspire new reforms. Why re-invent the wheel? In some cases, it can help countries leapfrog various stages of development.” — Dennis Anderson, Robert Wu, et al.
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In this book, Dennis Anderson, Robert Wu, et al present e-Governance as the transformation of government through information technologies to provide more efficient and better services. The book draws heavily from international public institutions, such as the UN or the World Bank, for the identification of problems, goals and processes related to e-Governance.
There are many key insights which can be derived from this publication. First off, simply creating static websites for existing bureaucratic services is not enough anymore. Governments should now be focused on delivering value to citizens, and the best way to achieve that is by engaging the citizen through active participation mechanisms in governmental apps or websites.
Another important point is about how e-Governance systems should be as close to the local communities as possible, spurring identification and engagement. This involves decentralized service delivery, but also the transformation of the capacities of local leaders and public officials.
However, the authors also point out to a need of integration and specially avoiding redundancies. If the intercommunication technologies (ICTs) are not properly organized, the result is different government agencies wasting resources on different systems to solve the same problem. For this, national plans for innovation in the area are recommended, so that there is integration and guidelines for local agencies are set. One successful example of this is the UAE, which has decentralized services, but central common tools development: the local agencies are responsible for their services, while the common e-government platform provides components such as data exchange mechanisms, security, customer support and payment systems.
Moreover, a potential for increasing sustainability while increasing efficiency is seen in the integration of services through digital means. This could be achieved by linking environmental agencies to governmental structures, increasing the coordination between them.
Open Government is also seen as a positive development. In this regard, providing all citizens with easy access to governmental data, such as government spending, can increase transparency and help fight corruption. The use of open standards and open source software is also cited in Sweden’s case study.
A further focus is set on what is defined as “m-Governance”. With an ever-growing mobile phone penetration in all countries, systems must be designed considering that the majority of internet users are accessing the internet through their mobile devices. This involves the development of apps specifically for mobile systems or of mobile friendly websites.
The book is split into 5 chapters covering current global challenges, the “whats, whys and hows” of government innovation, lessons learned regarding the role of ICT and the case studies of regional successes in e-Governance.
Creators of zones and societies will find in chapter 3 the current trends and developments regarding ICT use, as well as get a better understanding of the transition to transformative and empowering systems and how to handle the m-Government phenomenom.
Policymakers and analysts should go to chapter 2 to find out what the guiding principles of e-Government initiatives are as defined by international organizations, as well as which strategies should be taken to pursue innovation.
Scholars and experts can refer to chapter 4 for the case studies of six countries that are leading e-Governance in their respective regions: South Korea, Sweden, USA, UAE, Russia and Mauritius.
The book can be found here.
Written by: Francisco Litvay
