e-government

Just as the way business is organized and conducted has been profoundly changed by information and communica-tions technology, the operation of government at all levels has been similarly affected. The term e-government (or elec-tronic government) is a way of looking at these changes as a whole and of considering how government uses (or might use) various computer applications.

The use of information technology in government can involve changes in the organization and internal commu-nications of government departments, changes in how ser-vices are delivered to the public, and providing new ways for the public to interact with the agency.

Internally, government agencies have many of the same information management and sharing needs as private enterprises (see data mining, database administration, e-mail, groupware, personal information manager, and project management software). However, govern-ment agencies are likely to have to adapt their information systems to account for complex, specialized regulations (both those the agency administers and others it is subject to). The standards of openness and accountability are gen-erally different from and stricter than those that apply to private organizations.

A major focus of e-government is in expanding agencies’ presence on the Web and making government sites more useful. This can include providing summaries of regulations or other complicated information, offering online assis-tance, allowing filing of tax or other forms electronically, and helping with applications such as for Social Security or Medicare. Where applicants must physically visit the office, a computerized system can make it easy to make appoint-ments to reduce time waiting in line (a welcome option now offered by many state departments of motor vehicles).

Implementation

Obtaining employees with the necessary skills for maintain-ing sophisticated information systems and modern dynamic Web sites is not easy. The government hiring process tends to be cumbersome and slow to respond to changing needs. Government must often compete with a private sector that is willing to pay high prices for top talent.

In many cases, adopting comprehensive e-government would require a rethinking of an agency’s purpose and pri-orities. There is also a tension between the Web culture, which focuses on linking information across conventional boundaries, and the tendency of bureaucracies to compart-mentalize and centrally control information. Nevertheless, even without fundamentally restructuring how agencies operate, there has been considerable success with bringing information to the public through a central portal (USA. gov, formerly FirstGov).

Once a service is offered, it has to be promoted. While some services (such as “e-filing” of tax returns) can be read-ily promoted for their convenience, other services are more obscure or may be of interest only to a narrow constituency.

Social and Political Impact

A survey by the Hart-Teeter poll found that respondents considered the most important potential benefit of e-gov-ernment to be greater government accountability; the second was greater access to information; and, perhaps sur-prisingly, convenience came third.

One criticism of e-government initiatives is that they often lack central coordination and may be implemented without keeping in mind the need of an agency to provide uniform, consistent, and impartial treatment to all citizens. For example, if an agency focuses its resources on develop-ing its Web site, people who lack online access may come to feel that they are receiving “second class” service (see digital divide). This is particularly unfortunate because the unconnected people are likely to be in poor and isolated communities that are most likely to be in need of govern-ment services.

 As with private enterprise, there can also be important online privacy issues. Information that has been collected digitally is easy to transfer to other agencies or even (as in the case of DMV information in some states) sold to private companies. Having a clearly spelled-out privacy policy is crucial.

Besides keeping private what people expect to be pri-vate, government agencies must also provide information that helps ensure public accountability. Information col-lected by government agencies is often subject to the Free-dom of Information Act (FOIA). This may require that data be provided in a format that is readily accessible.