Instructor Ahmed BAGLAR

‫ر‬
E-government ‫االلكتونية‬ ‫الحوكمة‬ 4.‫المرحلة الرابعة م‬

e-Government at the Local Level

As e-government becomes prevalent around the world, policy makers and
technology vendors are focusing on the effectiveness of administrative
solutions at the municipal level. Local governments deliver front-line services,
from basic information to transactional services, to citizens and businesses. In
this chapter, we examine the benefits and example applications of e-
government solutions at the local level.

Building Smart Cities Through e Government

A city is designated a “smart city” when the quality of knowledge and social
infrastructure contributes to urban performance and a city’s competitive
advantage. The concept of the smart city has been introduced to highlight the
increasing importance of Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs), along with social and environmental factors in profiling the
competitiveness of municipalities. Smart cities combine the innovative use of
technologies with physical, social, and environmental capital to solve complex
problems at the municipal level.
New business models and funding mechanisms are inherent features of the
smart city. The smart city requires new partnership models between
governments and businesses, which result in increased private-sector
involvement.
The multiple roles strategic partners play in a smart city “value chain”
contribute to the complexity of the smart city. Examples of strategic partners
include utility providers, technology vendors, network providers, and
telecommunications operators.
The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), a think tank that studies the
economic and social development of modern communities, identifies smart
cities around the world and ranks them each year. They examine the ways that
communities can create prosperity based on advances in communications and
technology and sharing best practices for sustainable growth.
- Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), http://www.intelligentcommunity.org

1
Instructor Ahmed BAGLAR
‫ر‬
E-government ‫االلكتونية‬ ‫الحوكمة‬ 4.‫المرحلة الرابعة م‬

The Benefits of e-Government at the Local Level

Municipal governments are using e-government to do the following:
1-Increase citizen engagement, trust, and satisfaction with a one-stop portal
for program delivery
2-Improve productivity and service quality through an integrated, centralized
system for managing information within and across departments
3- Increase efficiencies and time-to-delivery
4- Reduce risk by managing information securely in accordance with privacy
laws
5-Enhance their reputation for good governance through increased
transparency and accountability.

Collaborative Case Management

Case transactions rely on a mix of information types like documents, emails,
meeting minutes, interview transcripts, photos, or other relevant exhibits. Case
management solutions provide a centralized view of case content, no matter
the type or where it is stored.

Case Management Content

2
Instructor Ahmed BAGLAR
‫ر‬
E-government ‫االلكتونية‬ ‫الحوكمة‬ 4.‫المرحلة الرابعة م‬

As part of a comprehensive e-government solution, a case management

application enables caseworkers to work more efficiently, resolving cases
faster and with improved results.
This results in a higher quality of service, while ensuring that information is
classified and retained in the appropriate way. To comply with regulatory
guidelines, some requests require that processes be turned into a case or
lifecycle file, while others may require regulated documents to be reverse-
engineered once submitted. An e-government solution can manage all these
requests within a single application, demonstrating certification and
accreditation of architecture, technology, and policy.

Next-Generation Processes
e-Government solutions add strategic value by facilitating the development of
next-generation processes or Smart Process Applications (SPA). Governments
at the local level can use them to rapidly create new processes that support
customer service delivery within hours, without requiring IT support or
software development skills. By combining well-structured modules with pre-
built components, SPAs allow people to build new processes easily. Alternately,
an existing process can be used as a template and modified to suit business
needs. This means staff can be creative in anticipating service
requirementsand designing ways to address them. An on-demand
environment supported by flexibleinfrastructure can dramatically improve
response times. Calgary Police Service is doing just this—improving their
response time by consolidating all case files in a secure e-government system.

e-Government Return on Investment

The major activities of a transformational government include sharing and
publishing infor-mation, interacting with citizens and agencies, and
transacting in a digital environment. To successfully carry out these activities,
government organizations rely on integrated e-government solutions. The
value of e-government lies in its ability to manage the processes around content
more efficiently to improve performance, encourage and facilitate a culture of
trusted collaboration, and control the risk and cost of content—allowing
governments to focus on delivering value for taxpayer dollars.

3
Instructor Ahmed BAGLAR
‫ر‬
E-government ‫االلكتونية‬ ‫الحوكمة‬ 4.‫المرحلة الرابعة م‬

e-Government and the Future

We have been through technological transformations before. In the 1840s and
‘50s, Dr. Egerton Ryerson (1803 -1882) earned lasting gratitude for his
inspired efforts to create a modern, province-wide educational system in
Ontario. His vision of a coordinated system was based on a standardized
curriculum, common textbooks, well-designed schools, and trained teachers.
The challenge for modern government is complex but two key trends emerge:
1) Society is being profoundly transformed by new Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs). Entire commercial sectors and old
business models have already been swept away as consumers find new ways to
access news media, music, films, books, and entertainment and satisfy daily
needs. Governments, imprisoned by decades of regulation and bureaucratic
habit, are challenged to become more responsive, citizen-centered, and flexible
organizations.
2) Governments are experiencing financial constraint with increased demand
for services. Productivity is the key to the future and to public support. To
achieve this, governments need to manage their information assets more
collaboratively and effectively. Information is the life-blood of public service.
While the imperative of change has been recognized by leaders in government,
the extent of change required is challenged by laws, regulations, and a public
service culture inherited from an analog world.

e-Government 2020
In the year 2020, models of e-governments will be:
1- Mobile and connected.
2- Open and transparent.
3- Intelligent .
4- Participatory .