In Europe, the USA, and recently in Bangladesh, commercial and privates banks have already adopted this approach. Most transactions can be done at an ATM, by e-mail or by the Internet, which has saved banks' enormous costs. In other words, they do more work, with less people, in less time and with less and smaller offices. They use the Internet. Government, as a collector and source of information, could follow this trend, to serve its customers (citizens and businesses) better and to save costs by making internal operations more efficient.
What is e-governance? E-governance is more than just a government website on the Internet. But what is it exactly, and what is it not? Many definitions exist for e-governance. Several other terms are also commonly used, including: e-business, e-democracy and e-government. E-democracy refers to the processes and structures that encompass all forms of electronic interaction between Government (elected) and the Citizen (electorate).
E-government is a form of e-business in governance and refers to the processes and structures pertinent to the delivery of electronic services to the public (citizens and businesses), collaborating with business partners and conducting electronic transactions within an organisational entity. The strategic objective of e-governance is to support and simplify governance for all parties; government, citizens and businesses. The use of information communication technologies(ICTs) can connect all three parties and support processes and activities. In other words, in e-governance electronic means support and stimulate good governance. Therefore, the objectives of e-governance are similar to the objectives of good governance.
Good governance can be seen as an exercise of economic, political, and administrative authority to better manage affairs of a country at all levels. More practical objectives of e-governance can be given when the objectives for e-democracy and e-government are described separately. The two main objectives of e-democracy are: to provide citizen access to information and knowledge about the political process, about services and about choices available. And to enable the transition from passive information access to active citizen participation by: informing the citizen, representing the citizen, encouraging the citizen to vote, consulting the citizen, involving the citizen. Regarding e-government a distinction can be made between the objectives for internally focused processes (operations) and objectives for externally focused services. The external objective of e-government is to fulfill the public's needs and expectations satisfactory on the front-office side, by simplifying the interaction with various online services.
The use of ICT in government operations facilitates speedy, transparent, accountable, efficient and effective interaction with the public, citizens, business and other agencies. In the back-office, the internal objective of e-governmence in government operations is to facilitate a speedy, transparent, accountable, efficient and effective process for performing government administration activities. Significant cost savings (per transaction) in government operations can be the result. An e-governance model, the three main target groups that can be distinguished in e-governance concepts are: government, citizens and businesses. Abbreviations such as B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) are used, like in e-commerce concepts, to shortly describe which of the main groups are interacting. The most common interactions in e-governance, G2C, G2B and G2G, are presented schematically in G2C, G2B, G2G interactions. Gartner, an international consultancy firm, has formulated a four phase e-governance model. This can serve as a reference for governments to position where a project fits in the overall evolution of an e-governance strategy. Most governments start by delivering online information, but public demand and internal efficiency soon require more complex services. Of course this takes effect gradually; some services will be online earlier than others. In some cases the public demand is the driving force, in other cases, cost saving aspects for the government are leading. According to Gartner, e-governance will mature according to the following four phases: The four phases--In the first phase, e-governance means being present on the web, providing the public (G2C & G2B) with relevant information. The format of the early government websites is similar to that of a brochure or leaflet. The value to the public is that government information is publicly accessible; processes are described and become more transparent, which improves democracy and service. Internally (G2G) the government can also disseminate static information with electronic means, such as the Internet. In the second phase, the interaction between government and the public (G2C & G2B) is stimulated with various applications. People can ask questions via e-mail, use search engines, and download forms and documents. These save time. In fact, the complete intake of (simple) applications can be done online 24hours per day. Normally this would only have been possible at a counter during opening hours. Internally (G2G) government organisations use LANs, intranets and e-mail to communicate and exchange data.
With phase three, the complexity of the technology is increasing, but customer (G2C & G2B) value is also higher. Complete transactions can be done without going to an office. Examples of online services are filing income tax, filing property tax, extending/renewal of licenses, visa and passports and online voting. Phase three is made complex because of security and personalization issues: e.g. digital (electronic) signatures will be necessary to enable legal transfer of services. The fourth phase is the when all information systems are integrated and the public can get G2C & G2B services at one (virtual) counter.
One single point of contact for all services is the ultimate goal. The complex aspect in reaching this goal is mainly on the internal side, e.g. the necessity to drastically change culture, processes and responsibilities within the government institution (G2G). Government employees in different departments have to work together in a smooth and seamless way. In this phase cost savings, efficiency and customer satisfaction are reaching the highest possible levels. The model does not imply that all institutions have to go through all phases and all at the same time. On the contrary, in the Western world, government institutions are in phase 1, 2 or 3. The differences can be huge: the tax department can be in phase three, while the department of public works is starting phase one. It all depends on where the benefits are highest. For implementing e-governance, the model presented can serve as a reference for governments to position where projects fit in the overall evolution of their e-governance implementation. The model can also support governments in defining an e-governance vision and strategy. A vision is a high-level goal, or ambition level, of government regarding the democracy, government and business aspects of e-governance. A strategy consists of plans that translate the vision into SMART (simple, measurable, accountable, realistic and time-related) projects. A good strategy is crucial to keep the speed in the reform and implementation process. Thus, budgets must be available, time consuming legal transformations should be initiated and quick results must be achieved and communicated to all stakeholders, including the public.
A good approach towards implementation of e-governance is to combine short-term steps (projects) and long-term goals (vision). Projects will have a more structural value for development when embedded in a vision and supported by a strategy. Accenture, an world wide ICT consultancy firm, has defined an approach to implement e-governance projects: Think big, start small and scale fast. The process of going from global objectives to concrete targets is complex. It is a joint effort undertaken by all stakeholders.
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The writer is an engineer, working as LAN Administrator LAN Administrator with the Ministry of Environment and Forest Courtesy: The International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD)
Autor(en)/Author(s): Md. Mamuur Rahman Tipu
Quelle/Source: The Financial Express, 28.05.2007
