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E-Government

In its broadest sense, electronic government, more popularly referred to as e-government, is the use of information and communications technologies by governments to operate more effectively and transparently; to provide more and better information and services to the public; and to facilitate the participation of individuals, businesses, and groups throughout society in their own governance. Another, more succinct, way of putting this may be that e-government is the use of electronic technology to facilitate better and more open government and governance. There is now a common understanding of e-government as encompassing most or all of the components noted above, even if there is still some level of controversy among academics and practitioners as to the proper scope and definition of e-government and its subcomponents in practice.

There are some who argue that e-government has in fact been in existence since the introduction of the first mainframe computers in government agencies in the 1950s. At some level, this may be factually correct, but the term itself was most surely not in existence at that time. The use of the term and the more dynamic and commonly understood concept of e-government as a transformational process in government, governance, politics, democracy, and public management are directly associated with the rise of the Internet, especially as the Internet entered the mainstream of society in the midto late 1990s.

Definition and Study of E-Government

E-government is an inherently multi- and interdisciplinary field. Concepts include government/public administration, political science, communications and media studies, law, public policy, engineering and computer sciences, and others. The study entails understanding of what e-government is and how it affects the structure and management of government institutions, the delivery of any and all public information and services, and the relationship between individuals and organizations in society as well as those who govern them. This field is still in its infancy.

The main axis of controversy in both defining and studying e-government is whether e-government is or should be thought of as a broad and inclusive concept or a narrow and exclusive concept. In terms of technologies, the narrow-broad distinction focuses on the “e” in e-government: Does it include only or primarily the Internet and Internet related technologies, or does it include any and all electronic/digital technologies from personal computers (PCs) and traditional computer based technologies, telecommunications technologies, as well as the Internet and the host of new mobile technologies and others that are only now in the testing stages?

In terms of public management and government institutions, the main point of dispute, especially among academics, is whether the term e-government refers narrowly to administration of government and delivery of public services or whether the term should be more broadly construed and include the impact of the Internet and new communications technologies on the democratic process, including elections, political communications, and the participation of individuals and groups in society.

There are many definitions of e-government, with both commonalities as well as distinctions between them. A key reoccurring theme, however, centers on the transformational aspect of government in using technology. A number of illustrative definitions that have been adopted by a range of large, credible organizations are included in the following.

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