eGovernment is a term used to describe several closely related topics.
The term (in all its uses) is generally agreed to derive from 'electronic government' which introduces the notion and practicalities of 'electronic technology' into the various dimensions and ramifications of government.
The most frequent use of the term eGovernment (also spelled e-government as well as egovernment, Egovernment, E-government, E-Government, e-Gov, egov, EGOV, E-GOV and EGovernment) is related to:
- the delivery of public services, where there is an 'online' or Internet based aspect to the delivery of the services (sometimes called e-Services)
- the conduct of government business where the activities of those involved in the process of government itself (such as legislators and the legislative process) where some electronic or online aspect is under consideration.
- voting where some online aspect is under consideration
Non-Internet aspects of eGovernment
- It would be easy to make the mistake of assuming that eGovernment was all about 'online government' or 'Internet based government'
- Many non-Internet based 'electronic government' issues exist which appear under the eGovernment heading
- Similarly, it would also be an error to imagine that all Internet-related eGovernment is about 'government websites'
Non-Internet aspects of eGovernment include:
- Telephone and telecommunications issues in a government context, including:
- the provision of government services by telephone (such as in call centers)
- the use of fax in the provision of government services and the conduct of government business
- the use of mobile phone (and PDA) based communications technology (such as SMS text messaging and MMS as well as 3G, GPRS, WiFi and Bluetooth) in the provision of government services and the conduct of government business
- general Government IT, which is now starting to be 'reclassified' as eGovernment, in many cases because it is becoming ever more difficult to disentangle 'internal' (i.e., non-'citizen-facing') IT resources and projects (which have hitherto mostly not been seen as part of eGovernment) from 'external' (and thus mostly already seen as eGovernment) service provision. This reclassification is by no means universal and is often controversial.
- Surveillance systems, CCTV, tracking systems, RFID, biometric indentification, road traffic management and regulatory enforcement
- Identity cards, smart cards
- 'Polling station technology' (where non-online 'e-voting' is being considered)
- TV and radio-based delivery of government services (this often has a 'crossover' with the Internet, but also includes many non-Internet based aspects and projects)
Non-Website-specific aspects of Internet-based eGovernment concerns:
eGovernment Issues
- 'rate of take up' of eGovernment services
- 'Digital Divide' the impact of non-use, non-availability or inaccessibility of e-government, or of other digital resources upon the strucure of society
- broadband provision and its impact on rate of take up of eGovernment services
- accessibility (impediments to take up of eGovernment services, especially through disability, but also through geography, cost, and public education as well as any shortcomings in the design and implementation of e-government services)
- service integration
- interoperability (e.g., E-gif)
- local eGovernment
- international egovernment
- transactional services / e-Services
- cost of implementation / impact on existing budgets
- impact on civil service jobs / job cuts / change of roles
- centralisation
- self government
- public education (concerning the availability of eGovernment services, but also adequacy of skills, confidence, interest and choices, also e-learning issues)
- education policy (including the impact of e-government upon non-egovernment eduction issues)
- 'legacy technology' (making 'pre-eGovernment IT' work together with (or be replaced by) eGovernment systems
- environmental impact
- impact on bureaucracy / waste
- social impact
- political impact
- technology policy impact
- science policy impact
- legislative impact
- 'freedom of information'
- privacy / data protection
- impact of eGovernment on commerce and trade (e.g., public vs. private resourcing)
- impact on transport policy (e.g., 'homeworking' issues)
- impact on the legal system and the judiciary
- Impact on Internet Service Providers and Internet infrastructure
- impact on crime
- gender issues of eGovernment (e.g. 'women in IT')
- age related issues in eGovernment (e.g., online pension payment, special provision for the elderly)
- e-citizenship
- cultural impact
- e-enablement
- political disintermediation
- impact on party politics
- impact on government departmental structure, compartmentalisation/integration
- impact upon geopolitical boundaries
- impact on government procurement (including but not restricted to e-procurement issues)
- impact upon (non-e-government) business practices, industry and trade
- health and safety policy (impact of e-government upon work pactices, the health industry) and also e-health issues like Internet Addiction, stress, work-life balance
- GIS (Geographical Information Systems) i.e, 'spatial data' systems (mapping and location data) in government and GIS interoperability
- e-campaigning (including election fundraising)
eGovernment news websites
