E-Government: International Experiences, Trends and Perspectives Vikas Nath Founding President The Digital Governance Initiative Vice-President, Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance, India Digital Development Initiative Uzbekistan 27 May 2004

in simple terms E-Government is... Use of Information Technology by government agencies to deliver government information and services. Governments may use IT for its internal and external operations: Internal Operations Interactions within the government agency (G2G) Interactions with other government agencies - local, central, national government agencies (G2G) External Operations Interactions with citizens (G2C) Interactions with businesses (G2B)

The 4 Key Goals of E-Government One-stop, 24/7 service (high quality citizen-focused services) Efficient government (cost-effective, paperless) Transparent and responsive Government Improved decision-making (Knowledge Government)

More than 1 reason for E-Government ? USA Part of market-oriented government reform process, to maintain national competitiveness, realize in-depth democracy and enhance citizen satisfaction UK To enhance administrative efficiency, effectiveness, and responsiveness Korea Part of new growth engine after exponential economic growth Australia Reduce gaps between service standards between cities in the vast country Singapore Means to become the number-one country in the 21st century by taking advantage of its superior workforce and excellent economic environment Malaysia Transform government from bureaucracy to government for common people

Who leads E-Government within a country? Separate organization under Office of President or Prime Minister Under organization responsible for National Informatization Organization under an existing department USA Korea France Malaysia UK Japan Singapore Azerbaijan Canada Italy

Some Lead Agencies Australia: Australian Government Information Management Office -AGIMO (formerly NOIE) and the former Office of the Government Online (now part of AGIMO) Canada: Chief Information Office Branch of Treasury Board (under Ministry of Finance) Italy Ministry of Information Technology, Informatization Cabinet Member Committee Korea: Special Committee on E-Government Malaysia: Malaysian Administrative Modernization and Management Planning Unit- MAMPU (agency within Prime Minister's department) Singapore: Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) (formerly National Computer Board–NCB and Telecommunication Authority of Singapore -TAS) UK: e-Envoy and the Central IT Unit –CITU in the Cabinet Office USA: Office of Electronic Government and Information Technology Services under the Office of Management and Budget (Executive office of the President)

USA: Office of E-Government and Information Technology (formerly the Office of Information Technology and Electronic Government) Statutory office under the Office of Management and Budget - OMB (OMB is the part of Executive Office of the President) Primary tasks: Overseeing implementation of IT throughout the Federal government, and development of enterprise architectures within and across agencies Management of government information scattered throughout each department Effective and innovative application of information technology within the government as emphasized by the Paperwork Reduction Act Management of e-government fund which was established to generate interagency technical and service innovation

Part of the Prime Ministers Delivery and Reform team based in the Cabinet Office Primary tasks: Improve the delivery of public services and achieve long term cost savings by joining-up online government services around the needs of customers Ensuring that all government services are available electronically by 2005 with key services achieving high levels of use. 2 principle work areas: policy and delivery Policy: e-Government Group, e-Communications Group, e-Economy Group Delivery: Brings out UK Online Annual and Monthly Report, updates UK Online Action Plan, manages e-Champions network UK: Office of E-Envoy

Australia: Australian Government Information Management Office (formerly the National Office for the Information Economy, NOIE) Separate office within the federal Communications, Information Technology and the Arts portfolio Primary tasks: Research on e-government issues- security, authentication and investment Assist government agencies in new contractual arrangements for ICT services Develop benchmarks for e-government activity to assess e-government performance Improve access to Australian Government information by providing simplified web sites, online information and printed directories

Legal basis for developing E-Government Only a few countries have prepared integrated legal measures for e-Government. Most countries drive e-Government under current informatization-related laws. USA e-Government Act of 2002 (Accessibility, usability, and preservation of government information) December 2002 Korea Laws related to the promotion of computation in the administrative project for e-Government March 2001 Japan Three laws for bringing the administrative process online December 2002 UK Electronic Communication ActMay 2000 Germany Electronic signing lawMarch 2001 Source: Development Gateway Foundation- Korea Training Center Some form of eSignature law adopted in over 60 countries.

E-Government acts legislated by different countries Public Access to Electronic Information (under Right to Information Act) Citizens will be afforded access to government information in electronic form that is not less than access afforded to government information in other forms Recognition of Electronic Documents and Electronic Signatures Provides for the Creation of Certification Authorities to issue digital signatures. Makes electronic signatures and documents legally binding Cyber Crimes Act Makes misuse of computers and Internet a criminal offence Consumer Protection Act Consumers who participate in electronic transactions should be afforded transparent and effective consumer protection that is not less than the level of protection afforded in other forms of transactions Consumer Privacy Act Personal information collected over Internet should be acquired, disclosed, and used only in ways that respect an individuals privacy Amendment of Copyrights, Intellectual Property (IP) Act Making it illegal to transmit copyrighted works over the Internet E-Procurement Laws

E-Government at a Glance Source: UNPAN

E-Gov Readiness Index (top 10) capacity of public sector to use ICT Web Measure Index, Telecommunication Infrastructure Index & Human Development Index USA0.927 Sweden0.840 Australia0.831 Denmark0.820 UK0.814 Canada0.806 Norway0.778 Switzerland0.764 Germany0.762 Finland0.761 Source: UNPAN E-Participation Index (top 13) willingness to provide information and communication tools 6 Areas: Education, Health, Finance, Employment, Social welfare and General United Kingdom1.000 United States0.966 Canada0.828 Chile0.828 Estonia0.759 New Zealand0.690 Philippines0.672 France0.638 Netherlands0.638 Australia0.621 Mexico0.603 Argentina0.586 Uzbekistan was considered as a country with no online presence in the survey

Ranking of Municipalities Online (84 Cities) CRITERIA: Security and Privacy, Usability, Content, Services, Citizen Participation 1 Seoul 2 Hong Kong 3 Singapore 4 New York 5 Shanghai 6 Rome 7 Auckland 8 Jerusalem 9 Tokyo 10 Toronto Source: Survey done by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey- Newark, USA Taskent (Uzbekistan) ranks 76 out of 84 cities Beirut Karachi Almaty, Tashkent LaPaz Lima Among the top 20 cities: 4 cities are from developing countries: Shanghai (China), Tallinn (Estonia) 14th, Dubai (United Arab Emirates) 18th, and Jakarta (Indonesia) 20th

E-Government at a Glance Source: Taylor Nelson Sofres 2003 Survey of 32 Countries

People find E-Government useful for… The major Government Online use continues to be Information Seeking Source: Taylor Nelson Sofres Survey 2003 of 32 Countries

Common E-Government Strategies across countries Identify key e-Government priorities and the limits of e-Government in the area of G2B, G2C and G2G. Adopt customer-centred approach Develop appropriate and affordable architecture: infrastructure, technological and legislative Foster public-private partnerships Create robust implementation and monitoring plan

Companies / Vendors undertaking E-Government Projects: a glimpse Wipro Technologies Dubai (Municipality E-Government) Siemens Technologies Latvia (Border control), Hungary (Digital archive of notarized documents), Ukraine (Border Authority), South Africa (Department of Labour) CompuSearch USA (Federal e-procurement) Booz Allen Hamilton USA (Electronic tax products and services) IBM Brunei, Austria (Ministry of Justice) Sigma Indonesia (E-commerce applications)

E-Government Where Are We? Where Are We? Politically Relevant Not Politically Relevant Customer Centred Desired ModelWill not renovate government processes or enhance efficiency Not- Customer Centred Will not find users or become popular Will not make any difference

For more information: Vikas Nath Founder, The Digital Governance Initiative Vice-President, Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance, India A network of over 2800 individuals with National Networks in India, Ghana, Nigeria and Nepal. DigitalGovernance.org ElectronicGovIndia.net