The leaders in e-government - for example Canada, Singapore and the US - are beginning to reap tangible savings by delivering enhanced government services which are, at the same time, more cost-effective, the firm said.
The firm's surveys also show that citizens want to use e-government. In almost every country 75 per cent say they would make greater use of e-government if it saved them time, money, or both.
Yet, compared to use of on-line consumer and business services, citizens rarely take advantage of what is there. Difficulty finding the right site, the ease of conducting business by telephone or in person, and on-line privacy and security concerns deter people, the survey found.
This means that while there appears to be "good understanding of the potential for e-government ... there is a considerable gap in citizen expectations that it can actually deliver on that promise," Stephen Rohleder, a senior Accenture executive in its government practice, said.
Governments thus need to find "innovative ways to market their offerings, improve citizen awareness of benefits and increase take-up of on-line services," he said. Until they do that, governments will not get the full value out of their investment.
Growth in governments' use of internet technology has slowed for the second year in a row after a period of rapid advance, the survey found. A dozen, chiefly European countries, are all massed around broadly the same level of attainment, with some of them, including the UK, making little progress in the past twelve months.
But the leaders are getting real gains from e-government and it is clear that others want a share of that, the study says. Governments have proved better at linking with business via the internet than citizens, in part because more of those transactions are routine and high volume.
Canada topped the survey for the fourth year running and "continues to set the standard for the rest of the world," the study found, increasing its lead over Singapore and the US. Its approach has always been customer focussed and aimed at transforming the way services are delivered to produce both operational efficiencies and better results.
It has added a wireless portal, heavily promoted internet use, and provides a wide range of transactional services which allow on-line payment, claims or licence applications, backed by a secure e-pass.
The US kept pace with Singapore, both of which made modest advances. The UK and Germany slipped down the rankings, but remain in a cluster of countries with similar levels of achievement.
Quelle: Financial Times, 04.05.2004
