Gathering Best Practices for E-Government

Over the past five years, with the rise of information technologies, there has been increasing focus on e-government—getting government services and information online—for both developed and developing countries.

Facing pressure from outside donors to reduce corruption, and motivated to cut costs while promoting citizen participation, even some of the least developed nations of the world are beginning to explore e-government.

To guide countries through the complex process of implementing e-government solutions, Internews is developing a comprehensive knowledge map and “toolkit” with global best practices and case studies on e-government. Internews received a grant for this project from the Information Development Program (infoDev), which is housed at the World Bank.

The information includes training materials on e-government and even software code for particular e-government applications.

Internews Network’s partners in the infoDev project, which began in February 2006, include the Center for Democracy and Technology, Transnational Data Reporting Service, and SONAS Innovation.

E-government is much more than giving government officials computers or automating old practices. It is clear that focusing solely on technical solutions will not change the mentality of bureaucrats who view the citizen as neither a customer of government nor a participant in decision-making.

According to Project Manager Sarah Tisch, “E-government utilizes technology to accomplish reform by fostering transparency, eliminating distance and other divides, and empowering people to participate in the political processes that affect their lives.”

The knowledge map, toolkit, and training materials created by Internews will be online and continuously updated at the InfoDev web site. The searchable site will include detailed recommendations and descriptions of e-government projects focussing on citizens and businesses which are useful to developing countries. The site solicits additional submissions of successful e-government examples to contribute to the knowledge map.