ELECTRONIC GOVERNANCE AND ELECTRONIC DEMOCRACY: LIVING AND WORKING IN THE CONNECTED WORLD

CHAPTER TWO:
ELECTRONIC GOVERNANCE: (LEADING TO GOOD GOVERNMENT)

Rogers W'O Okot-Uma
Commonwealth Secretariat London
r.okot-uma@commonwealth.int

Abstract

1. Conceptualising Good Governance
   
2. Relationships Good Governance and the Processes and Structures of Socio-Economic
   
3. Towards Re-Inventing Good Governance: ICT and Good Governance
   
4. Government Role in Transforming Digital Convergence into Creative Divergence: Creating Knowledge Societies
   
5. Government Role in the Empowerment of Individuals, Communities and Civil Society
   
6. Electronic Governance (eGovernance)
       6.1 Electronic Democracy (eDemocracy)
       6.2 Electronic Government (eGovernment)
       6.3 Electronic Business (eBusiness)
   
7. Introducing the Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance (CCfEG)
   

References
Appendix AA: Government Role in Transforming Digital Convergence into Creative Divergence: Creating Knowledge Societies - Examples
Appendix BB: From Passive Information Access to Active Citizen Participation
Appendix CC: A Summary of eGovernment Initiatives Worldwide

ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the significance of the emergence of Electronic Governance (eGovernance) as a mode of practice in the re-invention of Good Governance. It presents eGovernance as inclusive of Electronic Democracy (eDemocracy), Electronic Government (eGovernment) and Electronic Business (eBusiness), examines the nature and scope of developments in this emerging field and provides a wealth of examples to illustrate essential, embedded concepts and modes of practice. The article introduces the Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance (CCfEG) as a special focus centre, to date the only one of its kind in the Commonwealth and beyond, poised to be the organization of choice in moving Commonwealth member countries forward in the use of the new information and communication technologies as a tool for re-inventing Good Governance.

1. Conceptualising Good Governance

Good Governance is a concept that has recently come into regular use in political science, public administration and, more particularly, development management. It appears alongside such concepts and terms as democracy, civil society, popular participation, human rights and social and sustainable development. In the last decade, it has been closely associated with public sector reform. The Commonwealth has shown its commitment to good governance through declarations made by Heads of State at their biennial meetings. The Bretten Woods Systems and the Development Agencies have shown their commitment through re-defining their roles and responsibilities in global governance.

The 1991 Harare Commonwealth Declaration, for example, committed member governments to the democratic process and institutions which reflect national circumstances, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, just and honest government, fundamental human rights, including equal rights and opportunities for all citizens, regardless of race, colour, creed or political belief. As a goal and vision to be achieved in time, these intentions remain a fundamental milestone in the development agenda of member countries.

Within the public management discipline or profession Good Governance has been regarded as an aspect of the New Paradigm in Public Administration which emphasises the role of public managers in providing high quality services that citizens and diverse communities of interest, communities of expertise and communities of inter-dependence value; advocates increasing managerial autonomy, particularly by reducing central agency controls, demands, measures and rewards, in relation to both organisational and individual performance; recognises the importance of providing the human and technological resources that managers require to meet their performance targets; and is receptive to competition and is open-minded about which public purposes should be performed by public servants as opposed to the private sector.

• Within the context of inter- and intra- governmental interfaces and transactions, Good Governance strives to effectuate collaboration as partners in business and alliances in the sharing of knowledge across institutions for comparative advantage within a trusted environment.

2. Relationships Good Governance and the Processes and Structures of Socio-Economic

There is discretionary space left by the lack of a clear, well-defined scope for what Good Governance encompasses. This allows users to choose and set their own parameters (FIGURE 1).

Good Governance can also be conceptualised as part of a development process. Whatever definitional format it may assume, there is general consensus amongst practitioners that Good Governance should, among other things, be participatory, transparent and accountable in characteristic. This provides a framework within which political, social and economic priorities are based on a broad consensus in society, and that the voices of the poorest and most vulnerable are heard in the decision-making processes regarding the allocation of resources. In addition, Good Governance has major implications for equity, poverty and quality of life. In particular, Good Governance may be defined as comprising the processes and structures that guide political and socio-economic relationships, with particular reference to "commitment to democratic values, trusted services and just and honest business", including the relationships listed below.

FIGURE 1: Which Purpose for Good Governance?

A: Democracy Focus

• The processes and structures that define the relationship between Governments and Citizens;
• The processes and structures that define the relationship between the Elected (politicians) and the Appointed (civil servants);
• The processes and structures that define the relationship between Legislature and the Executive; and
  

B: Business Focus

• The processes and structures that define the relationship between Governments and the Markets;
• The processes and structures that define the relationship between Governments and the Voluntary or Private Sector;
• The processes and structures that define the relationship between Central Government institutions and Local Government
  

C: Service Focus

• The processes and structures that define the relationship between Governments and Citizens;
• The processes and structures that define the relationship between Local Government institutions and Urban and Rural Dwellers; and
• The processes and structures that define the relationship between Nation states and International institutions.
  

3. Towards Re-Inventing Good Governance: ICT and Good Governance

The emergence of the new information and communication technologies has all the attributes of imparting added value to the processes that that give identity, form and relationships that characterise Good Governance. The rapid development, deployment and proliferation of the new and emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) herald new opportunities for growth and development in countries around the world. Governments worldwide are seeking to harness the potential offered by these new technologies to create new dimensions of economic and social progress. Immediate challenges relate to the need for requisite efforts by Governments to aim at transcending the digital divide by narrowing the digital gap through incrementally (i) putting in place the necessary national information infrastructure; (ii) developing and nurturing the necessary human resource to operate the national information infrastructure; and (iii) providing adequate financial resources to implement both the infrastructural and human resource requirements.

Creative divergence resulting from the impact of the emerging digital convergence promise significant benefits such as improved health care, easier access to public services, improved and new access to training and work, new commercial, leisure and entertainment opportunities and, above all, good governance. The application of information and communication technologies can also be risky and is, therefore, not without attendant problems. These can be of diverse origins, namely, problems of strategy, problems of context and problems of operation. The opportunities and challenges posed by the new and emerging information technologies has stimulated efforts by national governments to work toward the development of national information policies and strategies. Several Commonwealth Governments are among the world leaders in these initiatives. In particular, some Governments have seized upon the opportunities offered by the new and emerging information and communication technologies to transform government, democracy, government-related transactions as well as the embedding society, both economically and socially. Others have yet to begin to appreciate the impact of the new information and communication technologies. They have continued to depend on the traditional ways of creating wealth and providing services. Governments and the other governance structures, particularly the private sector share the responsibility for the evolution of the new digital society and the knowledge economy through focusing on people-centred development. Despite the trend toward privatisation and a decreasing size of the public sector, governments continue to be the single most significant force to influence the future in this area. Governments set and promulgate policies and are collectively the major spender on information and communications technologies and services. Moreover, they are a major producer or potential producer of content and of innovation.

4. Government Role in Transforming Digital Convergence into Creative Divergence: Creating Knowledge Societies

Governments - central or local, national or regional - from around the world are or should be cognizant of the critical roles they can play and the key responsibilities they can hold in transforming the emerging digital convergence into creative divergence through initiatives aimed to create knowledge societies. Knowledge societies may be perceived as societies that are able to exploit knowledge, limited only by their imagination (creative divergence), to derive comparative as well as competitive advantage using the opportunities rendered possible by the emergence of digital convergence.

APPENDIX AA gives examples of selected national initiatives in the Commonwealth and beyond, in which individual governments and regional economic entities have put in place strategic initiatives aimed at fostering and developing knowledge societies.

In nearly all the strategic initiatives to foster and develop knowledge societies, the issues involved are largely of a non-technical nature. The barriers are ones of high level commitment and leadership, policy, investment, education, organization, regulation/deregulation, culture and delivery. The principal levers being used by governments are to promote and enable high-capacity telecommunications networks; to create favourable business, taxation, research and development environments.

5. Government Role in the Empowerment of Individuals, Communities and Civil Society

Governments bear the role and responsibility of targeting individuals, communities and the organisations of civil society with information and knowledge. The objective is to create the conditions for the empowerment of individuals, communities and the civil society. Initiatives in the empowerment of individuals, communities and the civil society can be classified into the following generic areas:

• Enabling participation in the information society;
• Creating the infrastructure for the information society;
• Fostering a sense of citizenship and cultural identity using ICTs.
  
  

Enabling Participation in the Information Society may be illustrated by a number of examples, including the following:

• The UK Government's Information Society Initiative (www.isi.gov.uk/isi), which aims to businesses to take full advantage of the potentialities of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) including new ways to information access, information use and information circulation. The Information Society Initiative has focus on individual IT skills, training to address the competency deficiencies to exercise informed decisions about adopting information and communication technologies in small businesses.
• The Canadian 'Smart Communities Programme' (www.smartcommunities.ic.gc.ca) is aimed to enable communities to use information and communication technologies to empower residents and local organisations by improving access to, and involvement in, health care, education, training and business development.
  

Creating the Infrastructure for the Information Society may be illustrated by the following examples:

• The Danish Naestved Information Society 2000 Project (www.naescom.dk/danish/addres.seliste/htmlcitynet.htm) is developing a city-wide information highway as a vehicle for the information society.
• The Delivery and Access to Local Government and Services (DALI) Project in Gotenborg, Sweden (www.goteborg.se) aims to empower citizens, providing them with information about the municipal political process, informing them about services and providing a medium for political debate.
• Fostering a sense of Citizenship and Cultural Identity Using ICTs may be exemplified by the following initiatives:
• DRIK Bangladesh provides a photographic resource to present an alternative image of the developing world through the eyes of local photographers (www.drik.net/htmal/home1.html)
• SCRAN is a searchable archive of Scotland's history and culture (www.scran.ac.uk)

6. Electronic Governance (eGovernance)

Electronic Governance (eGovernance) offers an opportunity for governments to re-invent themselves, get closer to the citizenry and forge closer alliances and partnerships with diverse communities of interest, practice, expertise, conviction and inter-dependence within the context of national development agendas.

As a concept and an emerging practice, eGovernance seeks to realise processes and structures for harnessing the potentialities of information and communication technologies (ICTs) at various levels of government and the public sector and beyond, for the purpose of enhancing Good Governance.

As an initiative at a national, governmental, or community level, eGovernance can be perceived within the context of a country's national information infrastructure (NII) which, in turn, can be perceived to be part of the emerging Global Information Infrastructure (GII).

The route to eGovernance is only now emerging, as governments and citizens around the world experiment with, and learn to exploit, new media and the new information technologies. Electronic Governance involves new styles of leadership, new ways of debating and deciding strategies, new ways of accessing services, new ways of transacting business, new ways of accessing education, new ways of listening to citizens and communities of practice and new ways of organising and delivering information. As a concept, eGovernance can be perceived to be contextually inclusive of Electronic Democracy (eDemocracy), Electronic Government (eGovernment) and Electronic Business) eBusiness.

6.1 Electronic Democracy (eDemocracy)

Broadly, Electronic Democracy (eDemocracy) refers to the processes and structures that encompass all forms of electronic communication between Government and the Citizen.

In a narrower perspective, eDemocracy refers principally to the processes and structures that encompass all forms of electronic communication between the Electorate and the Elected.

As is typical of Electronic Governance, in order to enable all citizens and diverse communities of practice, expertise, interest, inter-dependence and conviction, to plug in, it is essential to have basic access, to the requisite technology, which is affordable, in addition to having a literate population able to use the technology.

Open Government and Citizen Access to Information & Knowledge

Citizens the world over demand that governments be more open in their interaction with the civil society. Access to information and knowledge about the political process, about services and about choices available, is a characteristic requirement in all good governance systems.

• A more informed citizenry is in a better position to exercise its rights, play its roles, carry out its responsibilities and define its relationships to others; and
• Citizens as consumers expect to be involved in the process of securing services to suit their needs, and to receive a higher standard of 'customer care' from government.
  

Access to information is both a consequence, and a driver of, the digital revolution. Governments can respond to the need to be more open by adopting a number of principles of information management, using a 'mix' of technologies (FIGURE 2).

FIGURE 2: Information Management Principles for Open Government Adoption

Specific barriers exist, which retard Governments in the provision of access to information:

• Problems of achieving universal access or making information widely available to citizens;
• Problems of harnessing the new media/information and communication technologies to the full;
• Problems of safeguarding security, privacy and confidentiality;
• Problems of capturing information once and sharing it across all relevant services;
• Problems of adequate information maintenance;
• Problems of equitable information access; and
• Problems of information sharing between and within governments.
  

From Passive Information Access to Active Citizen Participation

The emergence of Electronic Democracy (eDemocracy) is characterised by the transition from passive information access through to active citizen participation:

• Informing the Citizen;
• Representing the Citizen;
• Encouraging the Citizen to vote;
• Consulting the Citizen;
• Involving the Citizen
  

Informing the Citizen within the context of eDemocracy is various and varied in nature. APPENDIX BB(1) gives examples of initiatives that can be classified as predominantly Informing the Citizen in character.

Representing the Citizen within the context of eDemocracy aims to realise the following, among others:

• Enhancing the representative role;
• Improving accessibility of citizens to their elected members;
• Developing the capacity of elected representatives to engage in eDemocracy;
• Engage in action learning.

One mode of effecting the representative role is for elected members to be provided with access to a local authority's Intranet and e-mail systems or for all elected members to have their connectivity (e-mail) details available in a published directory in the public domain. A Directory of Uganda's Sixth Parliament (1996-2000) provides a published directory of e-mail details of all Elected Members of Parliament for the period 1996-2000. Examples of Representing the Citizen function is shown in APPENDIX BB(2).

Encouraging the Citizen to Vote aims to involve stakeholders in the following activities:

• The voting process;
• Stimulating debate; and
• Exchanging views and information matters pertaining to voting;
• Sharing experiences on the pros and cons of election monitoring for good governance.

Example relating to Encouraging the Citizen to Vote are shown in APPENDIX BB(3).

Consulting the Citizen aims, among others, to provide the following:

• Two-way communication and interaction;
• Increasing participation by citizen in decision-making;
• Equality of access;
• Public information and feedback.
  
  

In order to ensure a high degree of access, Government - local or central - would need to install computers for public use in public domain locations, including museums, libraries, net-kiosks, free of charge or for an inexpensive fee. A sizeable number of public schools and libraries would need to be connected to the Internet.

Examples of Consulting the Citizen function are shown in APPENDIX BB(4).

Involving the Citizen function would aim to realise, relative to specific issues to shape policy, the following:

• A vision for partnership and conjoint ownership of the decision making process;
• Engaging communities of practice, expertise, interest, inter-dependence and conviction;
• Developing individual skills for active participation in eDemocracy;
• Creating the conditions for information and knowledge relevant to civil society, voluntary organisations and businesses to be generated and communicated more expeditiously and freely.

Involving the Citizen function may be realised through the creation of a web site which provides comprehensive, interactive information services with public access points in libraries, social services resource centres, one-stop shops, business centres and neighbourhood centres. Examples are illustrated in APPENDIX BB(5).

6.2 Electronic Government (eGovernment)

Electronic Government (eGovernment) refers to the processes and structures pertinent to the electronic delivery of government services to the public.

Electronic Government (eGovernment) is functionally dependent on the assertion that Government "is branches", namely, comprising Administration, Political, Civil Service, Parliament and Judiciary functions; Government "is levels", namely, comprising Central, Provincial/State/County or Local functionality; and information sharing as a service can be effectuated within and between Governments and between Governments, the Public Sector and the Private Sector (FIGURE 3); Government is amenable to a public service delivery model of varied complexity, which takes cognisance of both the two characteristics of Government "is branches" and Government "is levels" (FIGURE 4).

FIGURE 3: A Broad Schematic for eGovernment and eBusiness

A summary of eGovernment initiatives worldwide, as perceived at their conception or initial formative stage (see APPENDIX AA) shows the following, namely, that:

• eGovernment is at an early stage of development;
• Common approaches in the use of trusted services within the context of eGovernment are not yet visible; and
• The market, through public private partnerships (PPP), need to develop solutions that could be adopted in future.
  

FIGURE 4: Public Service Delivery Model

6.3 Electronic Business (eBusiness)

It is conceivable, on the basis of the above, that the benefits of eGovernment will continue to depend on the realisation of technical advances in Electronic Business (eBusiness) in the broadest sense. Electronic Business (eBusiness) refers to a broader definition of Electronic Commerce (eCommerce), not just buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners, and conducting electronic transactions within an organisational entity. According to Lou Gerstner, IBM's CEO: "eBusiness is all about time cycle, speed, globalisation, enhanced productivity, reaching new customers and sharing knowledge across institutions for competitive advantage." Perceived as eBusiness, Electronic Government will comprise the following categories:

• Government to Government (G2G) exchange of information and commodities;
• Government to Citizen/Consumer/Public (G2C) exchange of information and commodities;
• Citizen/Consumer to Government (C2G) exchange of information and commodities;
• Government to Business/Private (G2B) exchange of information and commodities;
• Business/Private to Government (B2G) sale of goods and services; and
• Intra-Government eBusiness.

Common approaches in the use of trusted services within the context of eBusiness are not yet visible. Current approaches are to date supported by the concern that technical and usage standards are not yet fully mature, which may present possible interoperability issues, possibly in the areas of:

• Certifications compatability;
• Certification use by applications;
• Structure of certification; and
• Consistency approach in structuring how certificates are handled by directories.
  

Three basic elements are essential in promoting confidence in the electronic medium as a vehicle for eBusiness:

• A trusted business environment (based on public key infrastructure, PKI);
• A suitable legal framework (which recognises electronic (digital) signatures as having legal effect and validity); and
• Valid laws of evidence (providing for the admissibility of electronic documents and electronic signatures in legal proceeedings).

A trusted business environment is based on the use of the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). PKI is, in turn, based on the use of electronic (digital) certificates. Electronic certificates have the functionality of binding the identity of a person or organisation and the ownership of a public key. The central component of a PKI is the Certification Authority (CA). The Certifification Authority is trusted third party charged with the issuance and management of electronic certificates. It is important that the trusted environment can operate on a large scale and this can be achieved by CAs mutually recognising each other's electronic certificates through some accreditation mechanism, process or other.

Electronic (digital) Signatures refer to signatures that use public key technology and result in a user's identity being crystographically bound to the document or entity being signed. This interpretation is broadly equivalent to the term "advanced electronic signature" defined in the EU Directive on Electronic Signature and the US Government use of the term "digital signature" defined under the Government Paper Elimination Act.

7. Introducing the Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance (CCfEG)

Commonwealth commitment to Good Governance is a platitude, and has been mainstream in the political agenda of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings since the Harare Declaration in 1991. The recent initiative to launch The Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance (CCfEG) was to bring to the fore initiatives aimed to realise a framework for the development of best practices in the harnessing of the potentialities of the new information and communication technologies (ICTs), taking cognisance of member countries' individual circumstances and national aspirations for the realisation of Good Governance. Electronic Governance, as conceived and perceived by the CCfEG, cuts across eDemocracy, eGovernment, and eBusiness. The CCfCG will pursue, inter alia, the following strategies for the benefit of the Commonwealth in particular, and the world at large in general, under the auspices of its core business, namely, eGovernance:

• Facilitate networking of communities of interest, expertise, practice, interdependence and conviction in the Commonwealth and world-wide;
• Facilitate sharing and dissemination of information and ideas, and management of knowledge;
• Carry out advisory and consultancy services;
• Organise consultative seminars, workshops and colloquia and roundtables; and
• Implement research and development projects;
• Facilitate specialist high-level consultations.
  

References

1. SamAgere (Ed), Promoting Good Governance: Priciples, Practices and Perspectives, Commonwealth Secretariat, London (2000)
2. Access, Empowerment and Governance in the Information Age, NITC Malaysia Publication, Kuala Lumpur (2000)
3. Governance in an Internetworked World: Towards a Global Civilised Society, NITC Malaysia Publication, Kuala Lumpur (2000)
4. Larry Caffrey (Ed), Electronic Government in the Information Society, ICA - International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration, London (1996)
5. Larry Caffrey (Ed), ICA Information: General Issue 1998, London(1998)
6. Rogers W'O Okot-Uma and Larry Caffrey (Eds), Trusted Services and Public Key Infrastructure, Commonwealth Secretariat, London (2000)
7. Developments in Electronic Governance, British Council, Manchester (1999).

APPENDIX AA

Government Role in Transforming Digital Convergence into Creative Divergence: Creating Knowledge Societies - Examples

1. Singapore Example: 'IT2000'

The earliest example was Singapore with its IT2000 vision of an Intelligent Island. This set out five strategic thrusts, namely:

• Developing a Global Hub;
• Improving the Quality of Life;
• Boosting the Economic Engine;
• Linking Communities locally and globally; and
• Enhancing the potential of individuals
  

2. Hong Kong Example: 'Digital 21'

Hong Kong's initiative towards the creation of a knowledge society is manifest in a recent publication of a report by the Chief Executive's Commission on Innovation and Technology and with its Digital 21 IT Strategy. Hong Kong's strategy sets out a vision, initiatives and targets of how government, business, industry and academia can work together to make Hong Kong a leading digital city in the globally connected world. Hong Kong's Digital 21 presents an all-encompassing strategy based on four enabling factors:

• Developing a high-capacity communications infrastructure;
• Establishing an open and secure common interface for electronic transactions;
• Empowering people with the know-how to use IT;
• Nurturing a culture, which stimulates creativity and welcomes advances in the use of IT.
  

3. Malaysia Example: 'Malaysia Vision 2020'

Malaysia Vision 2020 is a national development agenda, unveiled on 28 February 1991, with specific goals and objectives for long term development. Vision 2000 is a master plan for transforming Malaysia into an industrialized country by the early 21st Century. Vision 2020 outlines nine challenges to be met in Malaysia:

• Unity
• Self-Confidence and Self-Respect;
• Mature Consensual Oriented Democratic Society;
• Moral and Ethical Society;
• Scientific and Progressive, Innovative and Forward-Looking;
• Caring Society, Social Priority over Individual
• Economically Just
• Prosperous: Robust, Resilient and Competitive Economy
  

Chosen strategy to achieve Vision 2020: Leapfrog into the Information Age.

• The Seventh Malaysian Plan, including the National IT Agenda (NITA) (1996-2000) promises to do the following:
• Ensure widespread diffusion and application of IT within and across sectors;
• Develop a national IT Action Plan, involving the development of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), Smart Cities and an IT Culture;
• Expand IT Education and Training in line with the expected rise in demand;
• Review laws hampering IT development;
• Promote Local IT Development;
• Develop Malaysia into an International IT Hub; and
• Enhance IT Awareness among the Population.

Vision 2020 has been followed by the declaration of "Strategic Initiative One of the 21st Century" which will prepare Malaysia for a committed quantum leap to re-make Malaysian corporations and re-invent the Malaysian society. This will be marked by a paradigm shift ensuring a fundamental move from the production-driven economy (p-Economy) to the knowledge-driven economy (k-Economy).

4. Mauritian Example: 'Mauritius Vision 2020'

Mauritius Vision 2020 is a national strategic plan with emphasis on the service sector that by the year 2020 services would account for 65% of the GDP; emphasises a fundamental shift away from comparative advantage based on a low-cost workforce to a higher-waged, skill-based and technology-driven economy; and strategic vision to establish Mauritius as an information-based economy.

• Government recognizes IT as a significant tool capable of increasing efficiency;
• Computerisation made the focus in five main sectors of the economy: civil service, the manufacturing sector, agricultural sector, the services sector, and the financial services sector.
• IT Master Plan for the Government was conceived with the aim to realize a number of objectives:
• Deliver services efficiently and cost-effectively;
• Rationalise and share data across the civil service;
• Encourage IT diffusion at the national level; and
• Ensure value for money for IT-related projects in Government.
• Implementation of the Services Sector Modernisation initiative, comprising the following:
• A telecommunications services component, with responsibility for implementation of institutional and regulatory reforms;
• A financial services component, with responsibility for the implementation of an electronic payments infrastructure;
• A public services component, with responsibility for providing support of institutional arrangements in the delivery and management of IT services in the public sector; and
• A tourism services component, with responsibility for the creation of bookings, destination and market research information systems
• IT Human Resource Strategy, set up as a 'computer professionals training scheme' to produce a much-needed IT-based competencies over a ten-year period;
• The Mauritius TradeNet System, implemented as the first major EDI application Mauritius to mitigate delay in the trade conventional process in Mauritius.
  

5. State Government of Rajasthan (India) Example

The State Government of Rajasthan, India, has set up initiatives to assist making the transition to the Information Age. The following schemes form part of the State initiative:

• Establishment of an Information Technology Park;
• Implementation of a High-Speed Data Communications Scheme;
• Implementation of a One-Point 'Government Clearance' Scheme; and
• Establishment of a Software Training Institute.
  

6. European Union Example: The Bangemann Report and the Bangemann Challenge

In Europe, the Information Society initiative is contained in the Bangemann Report (1994), which set out recommendations for Europe to organize the exploitation of the new information and communication technologies to develop an information society. The Bangemann Challenge recognizes a range of initiatives designed to address a number of challenges:

• Enhancing public services delivery;
• Enhancing democracy;
• Use of ICTs to bring economic and social benefit to local people, business and the wider community in fifteen cities and regions across Europe (The 'InfoCities' Project);
• Alternative viewpoints presented by Tapscott (1995) suggest a more limited role for governments in transforming society, namely, limiting it to:
• The market;
• The social sector of non-governmental organisations;
• Consumers;
• Business.
  

APPENDIX BB

From Passive Information Access to Active Citizen Participation

APPENDIX BB(1)

Informing the Citizen Examples

• Australian Government's Entry Points (www.nla.gov.au/oz/gov)
• Canadian Government Primary Internet Site (www.canada.gc.ca./main_e.html)
• Federal world government (US Department of Commerce) (www.fedworld.gov)
• Hong Kong Interactive Government Services Directory (www.info.gov.hk)
• Singapore On-Stop Government Web Service Centre (www.gov.sg)
• South Africa Government On-line (www.gov.za)
• UK Government Information Service (www.ukonline.gov.uk)
• USA Government Information Exchange (www.info.gov)

APPENDIX BB(2)

Representing the Citizen Examples

• Althingi-Icelandic Parliament (www.althingi.is/eksag/nra-d/i0.shtml)
• Canterbury Regional Council, New Zealand - links on every page to elected members (www.govt.nz/crchrome/crchonme.asp)
• Cape Town Metropolitan Council, South Africa (www.cmc.gov.za/council/default)
• Chesapeake City Council, USA - council meeting agendas and e-mail the mayor (www.chespeake.va.us/council/council.html)
• Christchurch, New Zealand - 'Contacts' (www.ccc.govt.nz/Council)
• Rajasthan, India - feedback link and telephone directory of politicians (www.rajgovt.org)
• South Africa Government On-line - general feedback and links to directory of ministers (www.gov.za)
• United States Senate - links to personal web site of every senator (www.senate.gov/senators/index.cfm)
  

APPENDIX BB(3)

Encouraging the Citizen Examples

• Newham London Borough, UK: Securing Instant Feedback in Debate (www.newham.gov.uk)
• St Alban's District Council, UK - referendum on locally elected mayor (www.stalbans.gov.uk)
• Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council UK - telephone voting (www.walsall.gov.uk)

APPENDIX BB(4)

Consulting the Citizen Examples

• Citizen's Democracy: The City Information Highway of Tampere, Finland (www.tampere.fi/english.htm)
• Brent London Borough, UK - annual budget consultation (www.brent.gov.uk)
• Oxfordshire County Council UK - 'News and Features' issues for debate/response (www.oxfordshire.gov.uk).
• New Zealand Government On-line (www.govt.nz)

APPENDIX BB(5)

Involving the Citizen Examples

• Australian Capital Territory - on line consultation papers (www.act.gov.au/government/reports)
• Brisbane, Australia - 'Your City, Your Say' Community Reference Group (www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/council_information/at_work/ycys.shtml)
• Cape Town, South Africa - on line discussion forum (www.cmc.gov.za/disc22frm)
• Durban City Council, South Africa - general purpose bulletin board (www.durban.org.za/forum/index)
• Minnesota, USA - list of web forums, chat rooms and e-mail servers (www.e-democracy.org)
• Naestved, Denmark - Information Society 2000 Project (www.naeskom.dk/danish/addresseliste/html/citynet.htm)
• New Zealand - community discussion forums (www.community.net.nz)

APPENDIX CC

A Summary of eGovernment Initiatives Worldwide