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Last saved by: Ján Andruch

APPLYING THE e-GOVERNMENT FRAMEWORK 
TO TRANSITIONAL COUNTRIES 
                                       (Draft version)

Theodore Tsekos
Director, UNTC 
							       
Vassilis Peristeras
							      IT Consultant, UNTC
A. DEFINITION

e- Government is a public system of ICT applications fulfilling the functions of gathering, processing, filing, retrieving and disseminating information, as well as executing administrative and financial transactions between citizens, businesses and administrative agencies. 

A.1 Sub-systems

 e-Government systems incorporate two specific sub-systems :
An internal communication sub-system (Intra-com) and an external communication one (Extra-com). There have to be strong linkages and extensive interoperability between these two subsystems

Intra-com applications are supporting service production processes (Agency to agency-A2A- applications)

Extra-com applications are mainly supporting service delivery processes (Agency to citizens and businesses -A2C,B- applications).  They are also receiving incoming information flows (inputs) from clients and providers stepping, in this way, on the service production grounds (Businesses and citizens to Agencies-B,C2A-applications)

A.2  e- Government advantages.

e- Government facilitates a user oriented & user friendly administration. It permits the reduction of citizens’, as well as employees’, physical movement and a speedy response to applications and requirements. A better quality of processes and outputs is possible as e- Government focuses easily on details.
Lower costs of administrative processes, on the long run, as well as enhancement of democracy through more transparency and equality of access are some additional advantages of the e-G applications.

A.3 Organizational prerequisites

Process standardization is the main organizational prerequisite for e-G applications. Standardization facilitates process simplification, measurement and, thus, transparency. 

Measurement of processes, inputs, outputs and outcomes facilitates
decision making, planning and programming, control and evaluation.

From this point of view, cultural and organizational maturity is needed.

A.4 Political prerequisites

Administrative and political openness and willingness for transparency and participation are the main prerequisites for process standardization. Obviously, these are cultural and political values.

A.4 Technical & economic prerequisites

e-G heavily depends on the Internet penetration rate. This rate in its turn depends on the number of available PC’s and the telephone lines. 
All above mentioned factors depend on the economic development.

B. CLASSIFICATION

Several classification schemes of the e-government implementation and development steps have being used by scholars and practitioners worldwide.

B.1. The Five Stages of e-government according to the UN-
        DPEPA - ASPA classification

Stage 1: One-way communication- basic website 

Official websites

General information

Reports-documents 

Frequently Asked Questions

Stage 2: Two-way communication-enhanced website

Partly interactive websites

Database queries

Complete forms on line

Basic monetary transactions

e-Signature

Stage 3: Interactive web presence

Fully interactive

Multipurpose portals

Single entry points

Confidential information entering

All kind of transactions (issue & renewal licenses, permits, enrolments etc.)

Stage 4: Portal personalization 

Customized one-stop-shop portals

Integrated government services

Prioritized by need and function-not by department or agency

Stage 5: Fully integrated portal

A single official site

Any service available in a “unified package”

Ministerial demarcation lines blurred in cyber-space

B.2. The “Reinventing Government” classification. 

The guiding principle of this program developed in the United States by the Clinton administration was reengineering government around customers. According to M.A.Winograd a high ranking official of this program, e-G application can be classified according the following principles:

Phase one: Virtual Agencies

Organized by type of services
Organized by type of customer
Cross agency cooperation

Phase two: Universal Portal

Single point of access to all on line information and transactions
Virtual agencies access
Key topics –(Life episodes-UK)

Phase three: Transformed Government

Interactive Town square: virtual buildings
Conduct transactions
Provide feedback
View latest results of government action

Conclusions

Democracy & transparency as well as economic development are factors influencing effective government. Effective government, in its turn, is a precondition for e-government.

C.  The situation in Transition Countries

C.1 Current situation

Low level of administrative transparency
State Capture (Hellman, Jones & Kaufmann)
Lack of maturity for standardization and measurement
Low Internet penetration rate 
Low income

C.2   Do we have to wait?

The answer is “No” 
Political willingness for reform is the critical factor
e-G can accelerate the change process
Community internet access points, call centers and help desks as well as one-stop-shops can be used at an intermediate stage to facilitate this process

C.3  Action plan 

Political Willingness for Reform              
Create public demand                                        
Massive investment in A2A, community & public access solutions
Step by step implementation 
Showcase best practices