eGov: e-Business Strategies for Government Author: Douglas Holmes Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London, 2001 ISBN: 1857882784

Public sector reform is not a new concept but early attempts to improve service delivery have not always benefited citizens and businesses – government's customers. When dealing with public administration, people still have the hassle of long waits, endless form-filling, red tape and inflexible bureaucrats. But as the internet changes the means of communicating, working, shopping and entertaining, it too can enable a new way of governing. Whether it's to renew a driver's license, pay income tax or receive welfare benefits, rather than stand in line, citizens can now go online.

In time, e-business will affect the public sector much more profoundly than it has the private sector. The internet provides government the opportunity to deliver cost-effective, round-the-clock, customer-orientated services. The web can integrate traditional vertical structures to provide cross-cutting services from one point of contact, such as a portal or one-stop shop. Public sector employees can share information and work as a team. Government can be more open, paving the way to participative democracy. Ultimately, e-business in government – or e-government – is about making the transition from the industrial society to the information society. By going online, governments create a healthy employment and business climate for their regions to succeed in a knowledge-based economy.

Drawing upon the experiences of some early leaders, “eGov” sets out e-business strategies and best practices that can be replicated throughout the public sector – central government, local government, education, public safety and health, criminal justice, military, and supranational and inter-governmental bodies. In each case study, organizations aim to put services and information online, and ensure easy and universal access to these services and information. They skill their employees to be knowledge workers, and they work in partnership – with business and other agencies. Above all, government removes barriers to the information society and leads by example.

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction View / Download

Part One: The ABCs of eGovernment
1. Getting from A to C: Administration to Citizen
2. Getting from A to B: Administration to Business
3. Getting from A to A: Administration to Administration

Part Two: Living with eGovernment
4. Social Exclusion: Better Ways to Work
5. Learning: Lifelong and Online
6. Quality of Life: a Greener and Healthier Society
7. Crime: Connecting Cops and Courts
8. War: Establishing Information Superiority

Part Three: The Emerging Challenges
9. Public Policy: Taming the Wild Web
10. Universal Access: Spreading the Web Worldwide
11. Smart Communities: Better Places to Live and Work
12. Cyberdemocracy: Onward to Electronic Suffrage

Bibliography
Web References
Index