EGovernment from the Public Administration and Policy Perspective

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E-Government from the Public Administration and
Policy Perspective
SDI/NICI Joint Working SessionAddis Ababa,
Ethiopia20 23 November 2006
By Guy Ranaivomanana Governance and Public
Administration Division ECA
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Outline

• Development of Information Technology in the 20th
  Century
• Data Management
• Information Management
• Knowledge Management

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Outline

• E-Government for Economic and Social Development
  Public Administration Perspective
• The public sector accounts for a large percent of
  the economy
• Government is the largest owner and processor of
  public data and information
• Access to global knowledge and international
  databases and the mobilization of local knowledge
  and information resources

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Outline

• E-Government for Economic and Social Development
  Public Administration Perspective
• Expanded Government Services
• Simplified procedures of dealing with Government
• Transparent and accountable Government
• Increased public participation in debates and
  decision-making processes
• Reduced Government costs
• Swift operational processes for both Business and
  Government

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Outline

• Areas and Key Factors in e-Government Public
  Policy Perspective
• Political Conditions
• Organizational Conditions
• Cultural and Human Resources Conditions
• Financial Conditions
• Communication Environment
• Technical Infrastructure
• Data and Information Systems

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Development of Information Technology in the
20th Century

• Data Management
• Computing power largely concentrated in data
  processing such as census, payroll, etc.
• Information Management
• Focus of computer application was directed
  towards data and information Management as well
  as decision-making
• Knowledge Management
• The contents to be processed and managed shifted
  from data/information to knowledge
• Advent of age of information economy and
  knowledge economy

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e-Government for Economic and Social Development
Public Administration Perspective

• The public sector accounts for a large percent of
  the economy.
• Government is the largest owner and processor of
  public data and information
• Access to global knowledge and international
  databases and the mobilization of local knowledge
  and information resources

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e-Government for Economic and Social Development
Public Administration Perspective

• Expanded Government Services
• Address the inequities of regional/rural areas in
  accessing government information
• Break down the barrier of distance or mobility
• Enhance traditional service channels and provide
  around the clock access to government

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e-Government for Economic and Social Development
Public Administration Perspective

• Simplified procedures of dealing with Government
• Transparent and accountable Government
• Increased public participation in debates and
  decision-making processes
• Reduced Government costs
• Swift operational processes for both business and
  government

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Concluding Remark

• It can be said that governance and public
  administration cannot be productive, effective
  and efficient without the support of modern
  information technology. The use of information
  technology has been an absolute requirement for
  public administration and management development.
  There is no doubt that effective use of
  information technology can make governments work
  better while costing less.

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Areas and Key Factors in e-Government Public
Policy Perspective

• Area Political Conditions
• Good governance, as a condition for sustainable
  development, requires genuine commitment from
  political leaders, the private sector and
  organizations of civil society. In the same way,
  the introduction of e-Government in society
  requires strong political will to see through the
  transformation process it implies to government
  both in its internal operations as well as with
  regards to its interaction with civil society.

• Key Factors/Issues
• Awareness of political value of e-Government
• Commitment to e-Government and good governance
• Leadership skills
• National identity and perception of government
• Legislative framework
• Citizens participation in governments affairs
• Good governance and rule of law

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Areas and Key Factors in e-Government Public
Policy Perspective

• Area Organizational Conditions
• International experience shows that the
  introduction of e-Government calls for and causes
  profound and evolutionary change of the
  institutional arrangements. To guide this
  transformation process, appropriate management
  and coordination mechanisms are needed

• Key Factors/Issues
• Administrative structures and legacies
• Public administration reforms
• Civil service reform
• Central coordination and support unit
• Policy coordination
• Inter governmental relations

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Areas and Key Factors in e-Government Public
Policy Perspective

• Area Cultural and Human Resources Conditions
• Positive attitudes, knowledge and skills need to
  be in place especially within the public sector
  to initiate, implement and sustain
  e-Government.
• Cultural aspects may cause general resistance to
  change and information-sharing. Inadequate human
  resource capacity may lead to lack of
  customer-orientation and overall commitment.

• Key Factors/Issues
• Culture, traditions and languages
• Gender inequality
• Educational levels
• IT literacy and number of on-line users
• IT educational facilities and programmes
• Culture of information and knowledge sharing
• Prevailing organizational culture
• Attitude and adaptability to change, especially
  in public administration
• Managerial skills in the public sector
• Service orientation of public administration
  towards citizens

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Areas and Key Factors in e-Government Public
Policy Perspective

• Area Financial Conditions
• The initial costs related to implementing
  e-Government can be considerable and Governments
  may have limited capacity to bridge the period
  between initial investments and returns
• Proper resource planning and access to innovative
  financing mechanisms is critical for e-Government
  sustainability

• Key Factors/Issues
• Resource allocation process
• National income structure
• Access to alternative financing mechanisms
• Partnerships with private sector and other role
  players
• Access to capital markets
• Mechanisms for venture investment
• Available financial resources.

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Areas and Key Factors in e-Government Public
Policy Perspective

• Area Communication Environment
• In todays world, communicating with citizens is
  a duty and a necessity for governments
• e-Government needs to be accepted and understood
  by all stakeholders to ensure that its benefits
  flow to the society as a whole

• Key Factors/Issues
• Citizens awareness and understanding of ICT and
  e-Government
• Communication culture and channels
• Information and knowledge sharing

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Areas and Key Factors in e-Government Public
Policy Perspective

• Area Technological Infrastructure
• Lack of technologies is a major bottleneck for
  countries aiming to implement and maintain
  e-Government. Legacy systems may also represent
  considerable obstacles to change.
• The demographic and geographic conditions of
  different areas, accompanied by the distribution
  of economic activities, may also represent a
  strong bias in the rollout of ICT infrastructure
  if left to the market alone

• Key Factors/Issues
• (Tele) communications infrastructure
• Penetration rates of telecommunications
• Urban versus rural demographic/ geographic bias
• Software and hardware (legacy systems)
• IT standards

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Areas and Key Factors in e-Government Public
Policy Perspective

• Area Data and Information Systems
• Management systems, records and work processes
  must be in place to provide the necessary data to
  support the move to e-Government

• Key Factors/Issues
• Legacy of data processing, management information
  and decision support systems
• Available and accessible data and information
• Data collection procedures and data and
  information standardization
• Data quality and data security
• Capacity to analyze data and utilize information
• Capacity to direct information flows into
  decision-making processes

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Thank you for your attention