The business case should set out the rationale for the investment of public funds, in particular showing that service to citizens will be improved as a result.
"Our experiences with e-government initiatives have shown that these clients look for the following when choosing a technology partner,’’ claimed Slocum, director of Oracle University Asia Pacific.
"They want technology that will scale with their requirements, so that they don’t have to spend again to implement a larger solution from scratch or on re-implementation in the future; technology that can integrate seamlessly across agencies and with other applications to provide a single view; and the ability to measure results of the programme.
"They also want strength in managing data and metadata to achieve cost efficiencies in reuse and allow for sophisticated analysis; and flexibility to allow stakeholders to have access to results without compromising security,’’ she added.
The business case should calculate benefits using both a cost model and a benefits rationale.
The benefits rationale allows one to include benefits to business objectives that might otherwise be difficult to quantify. The benefits rationale derives from the desired benefit of services to citizens.
Slocum also suggested that these business cases be posted on government agency websites.
"Projects such as e-learning and knowledge management in e-government should give citizens a chance to evaluate results and review investment rationales,’’ she said.
One way was to make business cases available on government web sites and allow the public to provide feedback, Slocum said.
Another was to provide opportunities for formative (while learning) and summative (after learning) evaluation of the initiatives, such as are included in Oracle iLearning and other software.
But of equal importance with government accountability to its citizens was citizen accountability, Slocum pointed out.
"When opportunities are present to participate in and evaluate government programmes, citizens have a responsibility to take those opportunities. This may involve reading and understanding business cases, participating in e-learning programmes, or providing feedback when offered,’’ she said.
Quelle: The Star
