e-Government Primer

Using ICT for Public Sector Reform

Activity #	1264
Partners	Internews Network/infoDev/The World Bank
infoDev Lead	Dr. Tim Kelly

Summary

E-government initiatives have proliferated in both developed and developing countries in recent years. As developing country policy makers and citizens seek to harness the power of ICT as tools of effective governance, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive overview of the latest knowledge on how e-government can be implemented effectively and what the critical success factors are. Building on infoDev's earlier work on e-government and the work of many other organizations, this e-Government Primer was created in response to requests from donors and clients seeking a guide to the introduction of e-government in countries at the national and subnational levels. It presents an up-to-date range of insights and experiences on applying ICT in the complex environment of government. An accompanying Donor Annex provides a valuable resource on donors who finance e-government initiatives in developing countries.

Background

E-Government is about change. Governments, businesses, communities, and citizens around the world are recognizing the value that information and communications technologies can bring to their operations, relationships, and outcomes. In the context of government, this has been described as e-government – or electronic government. Properly designed and implemented, e-government can contribute to the achievement of many government policies and priorities. Not surprisingly, therefore, policy makers and managers have contemplated and initiated e-government in all countries throughout the world.

Those experiences have shown that e-government is a project, a process, and a way of doing things that is ultimately more about government than technology. Done well, it can deliver many benefits to government and citizens, but it requires sustained leadership and drive, careful planning, effective implementation, and performance reporting in order to succeed. However, those policy makers and international donors seeking to implement and support e-government programs in developing countries are faced with an abundance of examples, anecdotes, data, and initiatives, and must make difficulat decisions about which lessons to absorb and which examples to adapt from this vast and growing universe of e-government initiatives.

In order to help them better navigate the issues, opportunities and pitfalls, infoDev has produced this e-Government Primer, designed to provide easily-accessible, up-to-date, basic guidance and resources for the development community. The objective of the Primer is to help them overcome the various challenges presented by e-government and to contribute to the achievement of developing country governments' policy and service objectives for their citizens and stakeholders.

The Primer is organized in nine chapters under three main themes: (I) Delivering Public Value Through e-Government; (II) Governance and Implementation of e-Government; and (III) Enabling Successful e-Government. Each chapter includes extensive links (URLs) to reference materials, which were current at the time the report was drafted. A separate References section compiles resources, ranging from academic research, official national reports, and NGO presentations to case studies. Finally, a separate Donor Annex provides a valuable resource on donors who finance e-government initiatives in developing countries.