OTTAWA – Management consultants at Accenture, a respected longtime observer of the intersection of government and high technology, are calling on public sector managers to take e-government to a new level.
In a new review of e-government programs around the world, unveiled at the Government Technology Exhibition and Conference (GTEC) in Ottawa, Accenture notes the “limitations” of e-government.
The requirement now, according to Greg Parston, director of the company’s Institute for Public Service Value, is to move “from e-government to e-governance,” not by using “technology for technology’s sake” but by focusing on the relationship between citizens and government.
The Accenture study, From e-Government to e-Governance, says that “people are no longer content to be passive consumers of services. They expect a different relationship with their government – one that places individual needs and expectations at the heart of public service planning and delivery.
“While e-government has largely been a one-way street – with government delivering and citizens receiving – new ‘e-governance’ strategies enable government and citizens to engage and partner with each other in the creation of public value.”
Accenture’s Public Service Value Governance Framework identifies four components of governance: Outcomes, balance, engagement and accountability. Accountability, Parston told GTEC, is increasingly important in the mix.
Details of the study are available through Accenture’s site at www.accenture.com.
