Birmingham is the most advanced city in Europe in provision of eGovernment, according to a new report.
The city has come top of a benchmarking survey of e-goverance initiatives in 35 European cities across 12 EU Member States. Academics at the University of Zaragoza, Spain, examined the cities during 2003-4 and ranked them in terms of their e-service, e-democracy and website sophistication.
The findings see UK cities taking up six of the top 10 places in the overall league table.
Birmingham achieved an overall e-goverance score of 52.6 per cent , equalled by Barcolena which was ranked in second place.
The next highest-scoring cities, in order, were Amsterdam, London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Vienna, Dublin, Sheffield and Leeds.
Birmingham City Council told eGov monitor that it was "delighted" that its progress has been recognised. "The Council has developed a business transformation vision to deliver significant, sustainable improvements in service, of which e-government is one such area", it said.
The report highlights that the cities studied were using their websites predominantly to provide information to the public, offering few interactive or transactional services. Similarly, e-democracy facilities were found to be fairly limited at this stage, with little evidence of technologies being used to engage citizens in the policy-making process.
The authors noted that in effect, ICT appeared to be actually reinforcing existing structures and ways of governance, instead than significantly transforming them. To fulfill its potential, e-Government needs to be integrated into broader public management reforms and information society activities, says the report.
Rankings from the Study
| Ranking | City | e-Service | e-Democracy | Web Maturity | Total |
| 1 | Birmingham | 40.3% | 60.0% | 75.0% | 52.6% |
| 2 | Barcelona | 35.8% | 62.5% | 83.3% | 52.6% |
| 3 | Amsterdam | 28.1% | 64.2% | 83.3% | 49.9% |
| 4 | London | 33.3% | 62.5% | 58.3% | 49.0% |
| 5 | Glasgow | 29.9% | 73.3% | 25.0% | 48.9% |
| 6 | Edinburgh | 28.4% | 66.7% | 58.3% | 48.6% |
| 7 | Vienna | 48.8% | 44.2% | 50.0% | 46.8% |
| 8 | Dublin | 32.3% | 64.2% | 33.3% | 46.8% |
| 9 | Sheffield | 35.8% | 56.7% | 50.0% | 46.6% |
| 10 | Leeds | 25.9% | 60.8% | 50.0% | 44.0% |
| 11 | Stuttgart | 41.3% | 37.5% | 58.3% | 41.3% |
| 12 | Madrid | 27.8% | 41.7% | 83.3% | 39.6% |
| 13 | Berlin | 27.9% | 45.0% | 66.7% | 39.5% |
| 14 | Munich | 37.8% | 39.2% | 41.7% | 38.8% |
| 15 | Essen | 36.3% | 42.5% | 33.3% | 38.8% |
| 16 | Cologne | 30.8% | 35.8% | 83.3% | 38.3% |
| 17 | Cardiff | 32.3% | 36.7% | 58.3% | 36.9% |
| 18 | Zaragoza | 36.8% | 26.7% | 83.3% | 36.9% |
| 19 | Luxembourg | 26.4% | 41.7% | 58.3% | 36.4% |
| 20 | Frankfurt | 21.4% | 38.3% | 91.7% | 36.0% |
| 21 | Hamburg | 25.4% | 27.5% | 83.3% | 32.1% |
| 22 | Genoa | 31.8% | 28.3% | 50.0% | 32.1% |
| 23 | Valencia | 30.3% | 24.2% | 66.7% | 31.2% |
| 24 | Paris | 11.9% | 33.3% | 83.3% | 28.7% |
| 25 | Brussels | 22.9% | 25.8% | 66.7% | 28.6% |
| 26 | Milan | 12.4% | 40.0% | 33.3% | 26.9% |
| 27 | Palermo | 11.9% | 36.7% | 50.0% | 26.9% |
| 28 | Seville | 25.9% | 21.7% | 50.0% | 26.4% |
| 29 | Naples | 13.4% | 28.3% | 66.7% | 25.5% |
| 30 | Lisbon | 16.4% | 31.7% | 33.3% | 25.0% |
| 31 | Marseille | 14.4% | 23.3% | 75.0% | 24.5% |
| 32 | Athens | 18.9% | 18.3% | 66.7% | 23.4% |
| 33 | Rome | 20.4% | 23.3% | 33.3% | 23.0% |
| 34 | Lyon | 16.9% | 18.3% | 58.3% | 21.7% |
| 35 | Belfast | 16.9% | 25.8% | 25.0% | 21.7% |
| Average | 27.1% | 40.2% | 59.0% | 36.2% |
Quelle: eGov monitor, 26.07.2005
