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Last year I was honored to participate in a meeting of the Working Group on E-Government in the Developing World. In the months that passed, I observed Jeff Kaplan with the Council of Foreign Relations, and Nina Hachigian, formerly with the Pacific Council and now with RAND, work in a deliberate fashion via e-mail with e-government leaders from across the developing world. The work represents a simple model for using the Internet effectively to involve people in global policy deliberations mixed with an in-person conference to launch the process. What makes this report so important is that it represents the lessons and a message from e-government leaders in developing countries to other developing countries. It also provides solid e-government advice for all states and countries. Put another way, e-government leaders from developing countries seem to see hype and B.S. a lot more clearly and are willing to point it out. They can't afford to make big mistakes, so they come at this with a healthy skepticism from which we can all learn. Steven Clift Democracies Online See: http://www.pacificcouncil.org Available directly from: http://www.pacificcouncil.org/pdfs/e-gov.paper.f.pdf The Working Group on E-Government in the Developing World APRIL 2002 Roadmap for E-government in the Developing World 10 Questions E-Government Leaders Should Ask Themselves >From the Pacific Council on International Policy, the Western Partner of the Council of Foreign Relations Please direct comments on the report to [EMAIL PROTECTED] CONTENTS Introduction 1 Acknowledgements 3 Members of the Working Group on E-Government in the Developing World 4 The 10 Questions 6 1. Why are we pursuing e-government? 7 2 Do we have a clear vision and priorities for e-government? 8 3. What kind of e-government are we ready for? 11 4. Is there enough political will to lead the e-government effort? 12 5. Are we selecting e-government projects in the best way? 14 6. How should we plan and manage e-government projects? 16 7. How will we overcome resistance from within the government? 18 8. How will we measure and communicate progress? 20 How will we know if we are failing? 9. What should our relationship be with the private sector? 22 10. How can e-government improve citizen participation in public affairs? 24 Conclusion 26 Appendix: Additional E-Government Resources 27 1 R O A D M A P F O R E - G O V E R N M E N T I N T H E D E V E L O P I N G W O R L D INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND Governments around the world are embracing electronic government. In every region of the globe.from developing countries to industrialized ones.national and local governments are putting critical information online, automating once cumbersome processes and interacting electronically with their citizens. This enthusiasm comes in part from a belief that technology can transform government¡¯s often-negative image. In many places, citizens view their governments as bloated, wasteful, and unresponsive to their most pressing needs. Mistrust of government is rife among the public and businesses. Civil servants are often seen as profiteers. The spread of information and communication technology ("ICT") brings hope that government can transform. And, indeed, forward-looking officials everywhere are using technology to improve their governments. Defined broadly, e-government is the use of ICT to promote more efficient and effective government, facilitate more accessible government services, allow greater public access to information, and make government more accountable to citizens. E-government might involve delivering services via the Internet, telephone, community centers (self-service or facilitated by others), wireless devices or other communications systems. But e-government is not a shortcut to economic development, budget savings or clean, efficient government. E-government is not the ¡°Big Bang,¡± a single event that immediately and forever alters the universe of government. E-government is a process.call it ¡°e- volution¡±.and often a struggle that presents costs and risks, both financial and political. These risks can be significant. If not well conceived and implemented, e-government initiatives can waste resources, fail in their promise to deliver useful services and thus increase public frustration with government. Particularly in the developing world, where resources are scarce, e-government must target areas with high chances for success and produce "winners." Moreover, e-government in the developing world must accommodate certain unique conditions, needs and obstacles. These may include a continuing oral tradition, lack of infrastructure, corruption, weak educational systems and unequal access to technology. Too often, the lack of resources and technology is compounded by a lack of access to expertise and information. THE ROADMAP FOR E-GOVERNMENT IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD This project was motivated by a desire to leverage e-government lessons already learned in the developing world to maximize the chances of success for future projects. The "Roadmap for E- government" that follows highlights issues and problems common to e- government efforts and offers options for managing them. The Roadmap reflects the collective experiences that a group of knowledgeable e-government officials from the developing world wish to offer to others following the path to e-government. Officials and experts who participated in constructing this Roadmap, collectively called the Working Group on E-government in the Developing World, came from countries in every region of the world.Brazil, Chile, China, Denmark, Egypt, India, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. Officials came from cities, provinces or countries that have outstanding e- government programs. Their keys to success and insights learned from failures are embodied in the Roadmap. The Working Group held an initial conference on 6-7 August 2001 in Redwood City, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. Working Group members continued their dialogue via email over the subsequent months. The Roadmap presents ten questions that these e-government practitioners from around the world believe are crucial to successfully conceiving, planning, managing and measuring e- government. The Working Group suggests that e-government officials ask themselves these ten questions before they embark on the e- government path. The Roadmap has two primary audiences: (1) governments and their implementing partners that are new to the egovernment road and seek guidance on preparing projects; and (2) governments and their partners currently implementing e-government projects that want to check their approach and progress against the Roadmap. Lessons learned in Thailand or Mexico are as important as lessons learned by e-leaders like Sweden or the United Kingdom. And for other developing countries, they are often more important, and more relevant. The Report is a practical tool, meant to be useful and used by e- government practitioners. Thus, it is purposefully brief. It does not attempt to raise all the important e-government issues, nor does it analyze issues in enormous detail. Rather, the Report outlines ten basic questions that any government pursuing e-government should consider. While it offers lessons drawn from the experiences of members, at times the Report does not "name names" where lessons - especially from failures - were shared in confidence. The Working Group recognizes that there are no "one size fits all" e- government solutions. Each country - indeed each level of government within each country.has a unique combination of circumstances, priorities and resources. Therefore, the Roadmap is a guide based on experiences to date, not a guarantee of e-government success. The questions presented touch on all phases of e-government, from establishing a vision to developing management structures, assessing readiness to setting performance benchmarks and measuring success. The Roadmap offers advice on whether and when to include citizens in e- government planning, how to understand an unwilling bureaucracy and the importance of tailoring programs to the technology that is available. The fundamental theme of the Report is this: E-government is about transforming government to be more citizen-centered. Technology is a tool in this effort. E-government success requires changing how government works, how it deals with information, how officials view their jobs and interact with the public. Achieving e- government success also requires active partnerships between government, citizens and the private sector. The e-government process needs continuous input and feedback from the "customers" - the public, businesses and officials who use e-government services. Their voices and ideas are essential to making e- government work. E-government, when implemented well, is a participatory process. The Working Group, through the Pacific Council on International Policy, welcomes any and all comments about the Roadmap and, more importantly, case studies or "lessons learned" from the experiences of others in e-government. Please email us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] It is our sincere hope that some of the advice contained in this Roadmap will help guide officials down the exciting, but sometimes difficult, road of e-government. ^ ^ ^ ^ Steven L. 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