Quote of the week
“(G)overnments must increasingly begin to rethink in terms of e-government – and e-governance…”
– United Nations e-Government Survey 2012
Editor”s Corner
The UN’s E-Government Survey for 2012 ranks Canada in a tie for 5th place behind South Korea, the Netherlands, the U.K. and Denmark. Canada’s fifth place partners are the U.S., France, Norway and Singapore.
A main message from the report is that a whole-of-government approach is what makes a country a leader in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public sector service delivery.
Going further, the report notes that many countries are moving toward an “integrated unified whole-of-government model” that creates a single entry point for citizens to get to all government services.
The report makes the point that partnering with other sectors to deliver e-services is also a recipe for success.
Citizens are demanding more services, and e-participation is a tool that countries can use to promote client-oriented services. And who would have thought the UN would rank Kazakhstan as one of the winners in this area?
Not surprisingly, an ongoing challenge relates to digital divide, although the UN report says that the use of mobile technology and e-mobile service delivery solutions could break down that inequality.
The report focuses also on the degree to which countries provide environment-related information online.
And the report notes that e-government linkages horizontally and vertically will lead to greater participation and social inclusiveness. The key is to take technology to the people.
You can find the report, and previous ones, at http://www.unpan.org/DPADM/EGovernment/UNEGovernmentSurveys/tabid/600/language/en-US/Default.aspx
