Webfaqt.com - What Is E-Government?

What Is E-Government?
By: Taban Khajehnassiri

With this article I try to provide you with the information regarding this term and I lead you to the site with more information.

It all started with an idea, then proposed as a project in the United States. "The Electronic Government, as stated by Joseph Lieberman and Fred Thompson, two U.S. Senators, is an opportunity to take advantage of the increased productivity and reduce costs that can be achieved using Internet-based technology." They believe E-government can enhace the citizen's access to government information and services. [For more info you may visit http://cct.goergetown.edu/development/eGov/ ] - Last June, Economist magazine published a survey on Government and the Internet which I think is a comprehensive attempt to define the issues of E-government. Yes, after the E-business and E-commerce, it is the time for E-government in which the potential is huge and enormous. In most countries, citizens are getting connected to the Internet, using online (mostly private0 services) and this will lead them to think the same way for government services. They look for government web sites and after a while, the expect better and faster online services from their own government. Perhaps it is somehow beyond this brief editorial, but let me name some of the main points here to draw your kind attention this really important issue. First, regarding this newly added term, we are going to deal with in the following years to come. E-government means that you do not need to queue in any government departments, agancies or offices to register or renew your documents. Only, you have to get connected to a given web site, fill the related form and then submit it for the results or any further electronic process. The transaction may take only two or three minutes, but you will be ahead days or weeks, because you have used an online service instead of consuming your time and money in traffic, crowded rooms of government departments etc. The topics on E-government need more detailed discussions and further surveys. E-government requires greater citizen access to the Internet, enhanced searching capabilities making any search easy, practical and useful, and it need public contributions, organized government information, better public services, computer security and fundings too. Online government privacy issues are really important and vital both for the government and citizens as well.

Educating and training the concened officers in government bodies are also fundamental. Yes, perhaps, again, it is the time to think twice, it is 2000 now, and we know the next Internet revolution will be E-government, what shall we do as citizens? what should our governments, policymakers and economists as well as programmers do? Implementing E-government on the net needs more study, more planning and due consideration. Again, within the next five years, E-government will be a global issue for the peoples of the world. In the United States, citizens are conducting their experimental E-government via online voting (for their next presidential election), in Arizona, since 1996, ServiceArizona has been online for doing motor vehicle documentations and renewing registrations, in Europe, "smart communities" for instance in Denmark, Spain and Britain are getting much bigger and wider. In Asia, GeBiz in Singapore, has created a one-stop, round-the-clock center for the government's business dealings.