Essentials
United Nations Development Programme
Evaluation Office
ESSENTIALS
No.15 April 2004
UNDP Practice Area: Democratic Governance
Synthesis of Lessons Learned
E-governance
Introduction
universally recognized goals for human
dignity and development established by the
The arrival of new information and
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
communication technologies (ICTs), in
pertinent covenants. Most recently these
particular the Internet, has dramatically
principles have been reaffirmed in the 2000
increased our capabilities to gather,
United Nations Millennium Development
process, and share information. The
Declaration, which emphasizes the pivotal
bursting of the ICT investment bubble
role of good governance for human
notwithstanding, the accomplishments are
development. Setting a clear goalpost for e-
very significant. For instance, transmitting a
governance, the 189 Member States
40-page document from Chile to Kenya by
pledged to “strengthen the capacity … to
e-mail costs less than 10 cents, faxing it
implement the principles and practice of
about $10, sending it by courier more than
democracy”, “to work collectively for more
$50. Or, equally impressive, in 2001 more
inclusive political processes allowing
information could be sent over a single
genuine participation by all citizens” and “to
cable in a second, than what was sent over
ensure the right of the public to have access
the entire Internet in one month in 1997. 1
to information”.3
This technological quantum leap can be
Given the scale, scope and potential of e-
channelled to support the goals of
governance interventions underway, this
sustainable and equitable human
ESSENTIALS has synthesized the most
development. The field of possible
significant lessons learned from current
applications is wide. More than 90% of
evaluative evidence from UNDP and partner
developing countries explicitly consider
organizations on what works and what does
ICTs in their national development plans
not. The urgency of this exercise is also
and more than 40% accord them a
underscored by emerging experience with
particularly prominent role in their poverty
ICT projects in private sector organizations
reduction strategies.2 One cross-cutting
in industrialized and developing countries.
area that has received special attention is
Research in this area suggests that ICT
the use of ICT in the pursuit of good
projects can deliver significant benefits but
governance, usually subsumed under the
only 25% of large-scale ICT projects are
term e-governance. A large number of
found to be on target.4 The link between
development interventions focus on the role
better technology and better governance is
of ICTs for enhancing the efficiency,
not automatic. The opportunities are
accessibility and democratic accountability
tremendous, but the challenges are
of public administration and collective
formidable, and the conditions for success
decision-making. With these objectives e-
or failure need to be carefully identified.
governance is firmly anchored in the
Concept
Internet. This set of technologies provides a
common standard to exchange information
E-governance is a multifaceted concept that
across diverse networks, transmit it as
refers to the use of ICTs for improving
broadcast or in targeted form almost
collective governance. This definition covers
instantly, at negligible variable cost and with
a wide range of activities, that can be
significant feedback options.
grouped in four clusters of ICT-enabled
reform objectives:
Taken together, these features can support
the four broad objectives for e-governance
I. Facilitating access to political information
outlined above in multiple ways.
and improving the means for political
Interconnectivity bodes well for easier co-
expression, discourse, mobilization and
ordination across government departments,
advocacy;
new public spaces for political deliberation
II. Enhancing the democratic quality of the
and engagement, as well as for new and
political process and public more efficient channels for service delivery
administrations through more and consultation. Greatly augmented
transparency, accountability, participation
opportunities for information publishing and
and disintermediation;
information research promise more
III.Making the internal working of public
informed decision-making and democratic
administrations more effective and
control for the citizenry. But ultimately
efficient; and,
governance is a social, not a technological
IV.Enhancing the range and utility of public
phenomenon and improvements are social
services on offer and making their delivery
and institutional accomplishments.
to citizens and business more accessible,
Understanding these linkages between
efficient and responsive to the needs of all
governance and technology is pivotal to
groups of clients.5
making ICT work for human development.
Emerging evidence from e-governance
What exactly are the technological
interventions provides a number of
innovations that inspire e-governance
important insights for this purpose.
initiatives? In principal, e-governance is
nothing new. ICTs have for quite some time
Lessons Learned
played an important role in public sector
reform initiatives, mainly with the aim to
1. The benefits from e-governance are
improve the efficiency of bureaucracies and
very diverse, often subtle and go
enhance the quality of information for public
beyond cost-saving and direct
decision-making. For example, ICTs have
been deployed to automate case-handling
democratic participation
procedures and establish information
systems in support of budget management
The costs of e-governance should not be
or resource planning. Digitization of
underestimated. Direct expenses for ICT
information has made it possible to create
equipment are only one component of the
perfect copies of information items at
total price tag. Experience shows that
negligible costs and integrate or manipulate
significant resources are also being devoted
them in flexible ways. But only recently have
to user training and ongoing ICT support
these technologies become affordable for
services. As a result, a country like Malaysia
mass deployment in the public sector and
earmarked a total of $113 million for a
the end-user market alike. And their
package of six flagship e-governance
potential to support information flows
initiatives between 2001 and 2005. In this
between governments and citizens, as well
context, e-governance projects can still
as within bureaucracies has been
serve as a revenue generator, for example
dramatically amplified with the advent of the
by making fee collection more effective. But
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UNDP, Evaluation Office
ESSENTIALS No. 15 • E-governance • 2
financial self-sustainability or even
and political engagement in interventions
administrative cost savings are difficult to
that seek to enhance the democratic
achieve. This does not mean that e-
quality of governance and principles of
governance cannot deliver results. The
individual empowerment. On the
main benefits can often be found elsewhere,
government side, initiatives can be
and they are more dispersed and less
designed to support freedom of
quantifiable. Better accessible and faster
information practices that increase
public service delivery translate into time
access to government-held information
and resource savings for businesses and
and thus provide valuable inputs to the
citizens. Enhanced accountability reduces
work of advocacy groups and the media.
corruption, fosters trust in public institutions
On the citizen side, initiatives can directly
and strengthens public legitimacy, important
target ICT capacity building for civil
yet difficult to measure factors in economic
society and media organizations. Bear in
and political development.
mind that related instruments such as e-
voting, e-referenda or e-consultations are
Likewise, the main effect of e-governance
technically challenging and require a
projects that seek to strengthen democratic
firmly established and inclusive political
structures does not seem to come from
space.
radical disintermediation of political
information flows or electronic voting.
Example:
Persistent disparities in ICT access and
In 1999 the city of Seoul launched an
skills coupled with individual limits on
initiative for Online Procedures
available time and cognitive capacities
Enhancement (OPEN) with the aim to
render political intermediaries such as civil
reduce corruption and enhance
society or the media indispensable and
accountability for routine transactions
bring these institutions into focus for related
between citizens and the administration,
development interventions.
such as planning and license applications
and the issuance of certificates.
What to do?
54 of the most problematic and corruption-
• Take a broad perspective when
prone applications were made available
designing an e-governance initiative.
online. An information tracking system
Consider all possible objectives, fully
enabled citizens to receive an electronic
account for all project costs and critically
receipt for filing their request and track the
assess, whether financial self-
status of their application through different
sustainability is feasible without trading-
review processes up to the final approval or
off other developmental goals.
rejection. In order to ensure effective
oversight, applicants were provided with the
• Apply cost-benefits analysis carefully.
name and contact details of the involved
Many benefits and costs are dispersed,
case officers and a flow-chart of the entire
materialize with a time-lag, and are
decision-making chain. To keep the system
difficult to quantify. A narrow focus on
up-to-date, the case officers were obliged to
direct expenses and immediate cost-
post changes in the status of an application
savings can exclude worthwhile projects
within eight hours after they had taken
from funding and overall lead to a narrow
place. Survey data from 2001 testifies to the
project portfolio that does not maximize
success of the system. Of 500 polled
the benefits that ICTs offer for
citizens 68% reported to experience a
governance.
reduction in illegality and corruption, while
• Evaluate carefully the value of ICT for
63% observed a faster turnaround.6
democracy interventions by identifying
concrete constraints for accountability
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ESSENTIALS No. 15 • E-governance • 3
Example:
more effective collection of customs duties.
In Colombia two domestic civil society
Revenues increased from $136 million in
organizations embarked upon an initiative to
1999 to $190 million in 2002, while the
improve public accountability at the
overall costs for the ICT upgrade was put at
municipal level through the provision of
$1.25 million. The success of the initiative
procurement and budget information online.
also gave a strong impetus for extending
ICT-led modernization to other government
Following a successful pilot implementation
entities.8
in the city of Paipa in late 2002, the initiative
was extended to four more interested
municipalities with partial funding from
2. The poor do not automatically
USAID. Using free software developed by
benefit from e-governance
one of the NGO project partners, the local
initiatives
government websites were populated with
accountability information such as
Not everyone derives equal benefits from e-
government contracts, budgetary governance. Differences in ICT access,
provisions, administrative decrees and
skills, income or socio-cultural status make
plans. The initiative is undertaken in close
specific e-governance services more
co-operation with the respective Mayor’s
accessible for some, usually more
offices, thereby also exemplifying an
privileged, user groups. An ICT upgrade
innovative public-private partnership for
programme for a ministry in Vietnam, for
enhancing access to government-held
example, was found to reinforce gender
information and stimulating citizen
disparities, since not a single of the civil
engagement in local political affairs.7
servants selected for intensive training as a
key user of the new system was female.
Example:
Likewise, the failure of key stakeholders and
In 1999 UNDP launched a project with the
implementing experts to understand
Government of Azerbaijan to introduce new
strategic poverty objectives limited the
ICTs into the day-to-day operations of the
impact of an initiative to broaden ICT
customs service. The initiative aimed at
access in the Philippines.
improving a work environment that was
characterized by outdated hardware
Different user groups have different needs
equipment, limited Internet connectivity, a
and thus derive different utility from a
lack of timely and relevant customs data,
specific application. In India, for example,
and the prevalence of paper-based case
electronic channels for paying utility bills are
handling.
found to add much convenience for middle-
income users, but do not hold much in store
Under a cost-sharing arrangement between
for the poor.
UNDP and the government a computer
network was built to link customs units
What to do?
across the country and equip them with the
required ICT resources, as well as tailor-
• Identify the specific information- and
made software applications. In addition,
service requirements of different user
customs officers received intensive training
groups and design e-governance
in ICT skills, and specific customs-related
interventions accordingly. E-governance
activities.
interventions should respond to urgent
information and communications needs,
As a result of the initiative, the reliability and
not mere technology disparities.
relevance of export-import data greatly
improved. The ability to access and report
• Adopt a pro-poor focus. Closely align e-
case-related information in real-time led to a
governance interventions with strategic
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UNDP, Evaluation Office
ESSENTIALS No. 15 • E-governance • 4
development objectives as expressed in
Example:
the Millennium Development Goals and
In 2001 the Indian state of Karnataka
with specific national development
launched an ambitious project to overhaul
priorities. While e-governance initiatives
the management of rural land records,
tend to serve more privileged user
which are essential certificates for
groups, they can still benefit the poor
smallholders to secure loans and trade plots
indirectly, for example by creating a more
of land. Obtaining or modifying these
conducive business environment and
records used to be a tedious, non-
stimulating economic activity. This
transparent subjecting in particular the least
requires a better understanding of
powerful to corruption, long delays, and
differential impacts and existing
arbitrary treatment. Under the so called
structural barriers that need to be taken
Bhoomi (land) initiative records of land
into account when conceiving and
ownership for 6.7 million farmers were
justifying development interventions for
computerized. In addition, ICT-enabled land
e-governance.
record kiosks were established at the sub-
district level, at which farmers can inspect
• Integrate e-governance initiatives with
records, register modifications and obtain
collective and decentralized ICT access
printed copies.
facilities, such as rural community ICT
centres. In addition, consider to harness
The new system dramatically streamlined
innovative wireless infrastructure the application process and rolled back
solutions, in order to mitigate connectivity
corruption. A survey in 2002 found average
constraints. Both strategies can serve to
bribes per person reduced by 98%, leading
broaden access beyond the urban
to overall estimated savings of more than
middle classes. For this purpose
$16 million per year. Moreover, 72% of
innovative public-private partnerships
users required only one visit to obtain a
should also be explored at the national
certificate as opposed to only 5% under the
level, since they might offer additional
conventional system. And the initiative
channels for spreading e-governance
proved particularly beneficial for the most
facilities.
disadvantaged clientele: 78% of polled user
found the computerized system easier to
• Address disparities in skills by tailoring
use and 21% of users reported to come
awareness, outreach, and training efforts
from a household, in which the chief wage
onto less privileged segments of the
earner is illiterate in contrast to only 8.5% of
targeted users, using lessons learned
users in a control group that still had to use
from existing programmes in the country
the old manual system.
and from experience in other countries.
Example:
•
Conceive e-governance as a
In 1998 UNDP launched a project in Egypt
complement, not as a substitute for
to provide Internet access and training to
conventional modes of government-
rural and remote communities through
citizenry interaction. Rolling out e-
Technology Access Community Centers
governance at the cost of neglecting
(TACCs). The outreach to local
established channels for service delivery
communities and marginalized groups was
or participation, will leave the most
significantly strengthened in 1999, when the
disadvantaged groups worse off and
United Nations Volunteers (UNV) entered
exacerbate the effects of ICT skill and
the programme. ICT volunteers were
access disparities.
dispatched to these Internet access sites, in
order to build skills and foster ICT adoption
at the community level. Although the project
was not directly focussed on e-governance,
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ESSENTIALS No. 15 • E-governance • 5
its strategies for reaching out beyond
What to do?
affluent early adopters and involving
marginalized segments of the population
• Raise awareness about envisaged
was exemplary.
objectives and benefits through strategic
partnerships with existing national
Establishing outreach and capacity building
institutions and consult widely to fully
as stand-alone project priorities sharpened
understand stakeholder needs and
the developmental impact of TACCs by
concerns in different contexts.
concentrating their impact on the users and
applications that are ill-served by the private
• Build political support by enlisting a high-
sector. The volunteerism aspect also
ranking political champion and by
ensured the participation of individuals with
creating a task force at senior
high levels of commitment and flexibility,
departmental level.
traits that are of particular importance for
the difficult-to-define task of community
• Engage key users in the design process
outreach. Likewise, the presence of women
and share responsibilities in
volunteers facilitated the targeting and
implementation to generate a sense of
involvement of female users. Finally, mixing
ownership and to align user interests
international with national volunteers greatly
with project objectives.
supported learning and skill transfers.
National volunteers served as important
• Integrate e-governance projects in
bridges between international expertise and
broader public administration reform
local knowledge.
initiatives and leverage existing
information infrastructures. New ICTs do
not work in isolation, but interact with
3. E-governance can act as a catalyst
other media and information and
for change only when there is
communication practices. Maximizing the
political will, institutional support,
impact of e-governance interventions
and commitment from key
requires to understand this pre-existing
stakeholders
information environment. Initiatives
designed to supplement and amplify
E-governance initiatives have been
existing capabilities, rather than to
observed to facilitate institutional change
supplant them are more effective, limit
when there is strong political and
disruption and thus the resistance to
institutional support. In such a context, ICT
change.
tools for collaboration and information
sharing can be successfully deployed for
• Develop an integrated strategy to build
collaborative one-stop-shop-provision of
momentum for change. Start with
public services. However, ICTs do not
initiatives in the most conducive
simply imprint these features on
environments, which can often be found
organizational structures. They cannot
at reform-minded entities at the
flourish where no incentives for information
municipal or sub-national level. Harness
sharing exist. Experience shows that
the showcase effect of these pioneer
stakeholders that feel ignored or threatened
initiatives to bring on board more change
by e-governance reforms find many ways to
agents, promote policy reform and
boycott and manipulate the adoption of ICTs
animate debate about an e-governance
in governance systems and thereby
strategy at the national level. Finally,
severely undermine, or even fully
help to exploit synergies between local,
compromise the intended outcomes.
regional and national initiatives by
providing a platform for exchange of
experience, as well as for discussion of
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UNDP, Evaluation Office
ESSENTIALS No. 15 • E-governance • 6
ideas on how to link-up individual e-
through better integration with existing
governance endeavours, in order to
media and information management
move towards an integrated provision of
infrastructures.
governance functions to the fullest
benefit of the citizens.
In 2001 the Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)
Example:
chose a different approach. It commissioned
Lebanon expedited the development of
a study to go beyond the assessment of
online public services by launching a cross-
mere ICT disparities and map in more
departmental initiative to digitize and
comprehensive fashion the existing
provide online all official forms from 21
information assets and services in
ministries and 44 government agencies.
Mozambique. Low levels of computerization
Twelve staff from the Office of the Minister
and web presence notwithstanding, the
of State for Administrative Reform spent six
study discovered a number of remarkably
months to collect more than 1600 forms and
effective information systems in use in the
make them available online in a central
public administration. Best practices
repository. Launched in January 2002, the
included a well developed case-handling
website received more than 20000 hits
system in the Ministry of Fisheries,
already on its first day of operation. Since
integrated library services for the
then it has grown to include forms from
agricultural sector and a decentralized and
regional districts and municipalities,
highly effective system for education
providing by the end of 2003 access to over
statistics.
4500 forms with detailed information on
related workflows, fees and departmental
Supplementing conventional e-readiness
contacts. The initiative illustrates how
assessments, the study provided donors
specific administrative functions that greatly
with a more fine-grained understanding of
enhance the transparency and convenience
gaps in the existing ‘soft’ information
of government-citizen interaction can be
infrastructure. It helped to identify priorities
brought online in expedited manner by
for intervention and to fathom interventions
circumventing intra-departmental
that align themselves synergistically with
constraints through a concerted initiative at
and provide maximum leverage to existing
ministerial level. A positive feedback loop to
national capacities.
public sector can also be observed. The
resulting centralized online collection of
forms has also made it possible to identify
4. The right mix of technologies can
inconsistencies and duplicated information
add flexibility, foster local
gathering, thereby assisting efforts to
adaptation and ensure competition
streamline and better co-ordinate the
and choice in the market for e-
provision of public services.
governance solutions
Example:
Open source software (OSS) has evolved
ICT for development interventions, including
into a major alternative to proprietary
e-governance initiatives often take as point
software solutions and is increasingly
of departure so called e-readiness
embraced by developing countries for e-
assessments that focus narrowly on
governance projects. Driven by voluntary
shortcomings in ICT availability, skills,
inputs from thousands of developers, OSS
applications and policy environment. As a
has proven its maturity by capturing a
consequence, e-governance projects often
dominant market share for many mission-
run the risk of concentrating on conceiving
critical functions at the core of the Internet.
stand-alone ICT solutions and at the same
OSS is programmed in a way that keeps the
time forgo opportunities for leverage
inner workings of the software visible and
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UNDP, Evaluation Office
ESSENTIALS No. 15 • E-governance • 7
malleable. And it comes with a license
effect on the direction of investments and
agreement that explicitly preserves the right
market development. In addition, the
of any user to freely modify, refine and often
software design of e-governance projects
also redistribute the software.
has important cross-effects on the
software choice of other users, since it
E-governance initiatives around the world
determines the data formats that citizens
increasingly take advantage of these
and business can use when filing
features to adjust OSS applications to local
information with the administration.
languages and needs. The open
development environment ensures that
• Review the OSS software development
these tasks can be tendered competitively
work undertaken by other countries and
to the local software industry. As a result,
explore options for building upon and
popular OSS software applications are
sharing existing modules through.
available in more than 40 languages, double
the number of comparable language
• Explore the options for public-private
adaptations in proprietary systems.9 It also
partnerships, since various key industry
provides a particular advantage when
players have launched open source
dealing with important government-held
products and are eager to promote OSS
information. The choice of OSS file formats
adoption in different contexts.
ensures that long-term access to digital
archives is guaranteed and does not
Example:
depend on a single software proprietor or a
As in many other countries, the Government
decision on how long to support a specific
of the Philippines assumed an active role in
file format in later product versions.
OSS development and stepped up efforts to
adapt OSS software to its own needs. The
What to do?
Advanced Science and Technology
Institute, the main public ICT research
• Address software choice not only at the
agency, actively undertakes OSS research.
project implementation level, but also
In 2002 it released its own version of a
upstream, in the context of strategic e-
flexible and slim OSS operating system,
governance policy frameworks through
Bayanihan Linux.
consultation with public and private
sector partners to realize economies of
The initiative has already yielded tangible
scope in development and maximize the
results. Bayanihan Linux was licensed by a
compatibility between applications.
major telecommunications company in the
country for an initiative to provide low-cost
• Factor in the specific accountability
‘people’s computers. The system was also
requirements for public sector
adopted by the University of the Philippines
information systems, which render
and received endorsement by the
transparency, adaptability, security and
Commission on Higher Education for further
long-term data preservation as important
use in colleges and universities. Bayanihan
criteria towards better governance.
Linux is continuously undergoing
• Consider the strategic impact of
refinements and in its latest version,
technology choice on the domestic
released in November 2003, was linked with
software and ICT services economy and
a number of office productivity tools to
possible implications for national
ensure widespread adoption.
governance programmes. In
industrialized and developing countries
In addition to public research on OSS
alike the public sector is quite often one
operating systems, other public OSS
of the biggest software consumers and
initiatives in the Philippines aimed directly at
thus exerts a considerable demand-pull
e-governance applications. For example,
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ESSENTIALS No. 15 • E-governance • 8
the National Computer Centre, another
rapid interventions that hope to trigger
public research entity, developed an OSS
change rather than accompany it. This is
website template and content management
particularly true for human resource
system that was distributed for free to all
management. Long-term strategies to
government departments and contributed to
develop skills, uphold motivation and retain
an online presence rate of almost 100% of
qualified staff are important to sustain a
all government agencies.10
positive learning environment and staff
commitment.
Example:
Public support for OSS need not be
In addition, e-governance poses a number
confined to research and development. The
of policy challenges. For example, clear
activities of the government of Brazil
guidelines for the legal validity of electronic
illustrate some options to harness public-
communication and contracts, are a key
private partnerships and the role of the
prerequisite for online transactions.
public sector as major ICT consumer . A
Similarly, the prospects of electronic voting
policy frameworks for public sector adoption
and easy information sharing across
of OSS was introduced in October 2003,
departments raise important questions with
when the federal government published
regard to privacy, data security, and the
guidelines for OSS software use in
auditability of electronic transactions. And
government. It also signed a letter of intent
enlisting the private sector for the delivery of
with IBM with the aim to boost use of OSS
electronic public services comes with
systems in the public sector and is in the
challenges in terms of maintaining adequate
process of finalizing recommendations that
levels of public accountability and redress.
at least 80% of computers procured at the
federal level in 2004 should run on OSS
What to do?
systems.
• Utilize tested management techniques in
Meanwhile, at the municipal level, the city of
the implementation phase by fully
Sao Paulo is in the process of rolling out its
articulating long-term goals and specific
municipal network of community telecentres
objectives, and putting in place clear
equipped with OSS software. Emerging
responsibility structures for all tasks and
evidence from this initiative suggests that,
establishing mechanisms for progress
despite its reputation of being less user-
review and possible goal readjustment.
friendly, OSS software is easily mastered
This requires adopting a gradual and
by children and telecentre users with limited
integrative approach for the introduction
formal education.11
of e-governance initiatives, clear
milestones and modularized execution.
In general scalable interventions are
5. Implementing e-governance preferable to sweeping ICT related
initiatives places considerable
reform projects since experience shows
demands upon human resource
that complexity and failure rates increase
exponentially with project or programme
development, management skills
scale.
and the policy environment
• Equally important are a realistic time
E-governance initiatives in the context of
frame, a full account of human resource
public sector reform are complex and rarely
needs, adequate provisions for funding
produce quick results. Interventions that
over the entire lifetime of the initiative
take the long view and incorporate a long-
and a strategy for phasing out direct
term commitment into programme planning,
support and institutionalising
design and implementation fare better than
achievements.
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ESSENTIALS No. 15 • E-governance • 9
the institutional and regulatory framework
• Undertake complementary efforts to
for digital signatures, a key tool for
create an enabling policy environment.
electronic transactions, was explicitly
Raise awareness about required policy
recognized as a priority task in the National
changes, and facilitate deliberation on
Program for the Information Society, the
the updating of legal rules in areas such
overarching ICT masterplan for the country.
as privacy, the validity of digital
Building on this a 1998 decree established
signatures, freedom of information or
the validity of digital signatures for internal
fiduciary duties of private providers of
use within the Argentine public sector. In
public services.
addition, a 2001 a law gave general legal
recognition to the use of digital signatures.
Example:
Funded by the Government of the
Following public consultations with industry
Netherlands and UNDP, the Ministry of
and civil society representatives the law
Agriculture & Rural Development in Vietnam
specified the minimum requirements that
drew up a comprehensive IT Master Plan.
need to be met for legal validity of electronic
This blueprint for e-governance not only
signatures and outlined the necessary
listed the envisaged infrastructure and skill
institutional structures to be put in place for
upgrades, but also devised a concrete
this purpose. Finally, a public awareness
implementation plan with details on
program on digital signatures was launched,
management structure, human resource
training courses were offered to civil
requirements, the structuring of servants and the general public, and a
responsibilities around service level
website established to provide information
agreements, as well as on the sequencing
resources. The campaign was met with
and budgeting for the entire initiative.
considerable attention. By 2002 more than
400 individuals had received training, the
Upon approval of the IT Master Plan the e-
website recorded over 100 visitors per day,
governance initiative was not immediately
the group of subscribers to weekly news
rolled out in its entirety, but put to test in a
updates had grown to more than 1000
more limited one year pilot project, directly
individuals and, as a result of the overall
followed by a comprehensive assessment of
initiative, more than 1500 digital certificates
results. This sequencing provided the
had been awarded.
opportunity to review both implementation
strategies and the overall premises and
goals of the Master Plan. The evaluation
1
identified some shortcomings with regard to
All data from UNDP. ‘Human Development Report
2001’, chapter 1.
user training and relevance of online
2 Statistics based on OECD. ‘Information and
content. As a response, it recommended a
Communication Technology (ICT) in Poverty
number of corrective steps, for example an
Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs)’, 2003.
3
assessment of information needs, as well as
United Nations General Assembly. Resolution
better tailored and more gender-aware skill-
A/RES/55/2 [Millennium Declaration], September 18,
2000.
building. Taken together, these 4 For aggregate statistics see Standish Group. ‘The
recommendations informed the CHAOS Chronicles’, 1999.
5
implementation of subsequent modules and
E-governance should not be confused with Internet
ensured a more effective and inclusive
governance, which refers to the rules and regimes
that govern the Internet itself, such as infrastructure
human resource strategy to accompany
and intellectual property policies or standard setting
them.
procedures. Sometimes e-governance is also
Example:
distinguished from e-government, in order to highlight
Argentina instituted a multi-pronged strategy
the democratic qualities of new ICTs that do not only
stand to support the work of governments, but also
to deal with the many challenges related to
promise to foster new forms of political mobilisation
electronic transactions. For a start, creating
and multi-stakeholder governance.
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ESSENTIALS No. 15 • E-governance •
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6 See Kim, Y. and Lee, G. ‘Strategic Use of IT: The
8 See Gadjiyev, S. ‘ICT and Innovative Customs
Effectiveness of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s
Tactics’. Presentation for ICT Roundtable. UNECE.
Open System’. in: Seoul Development Institute.
Geneva. February 24-25, 2003.
Building Good Governance : Reforms in Seoul, 2003;
9 See Economist. ‘Open Source’s Local Heroes’.
Boyoung I. and Jinwoo J. ‘Using ICTs to Strengthen
December 4, 2003.
Government Transparency and Relations With
10 See Sabido IX, D. et al. ‘Philippine Country Paper
Citizens in Korea’. in: OECD. Citizens as Partners.
on Open Source Policy, Status, Adoption, and Future
Information. Consultation and Participation in Policy
Directions’. Paper for Asia Open Source Software
Making, 2001. pp. 209-219.
Symposium. Singapore, 2003.
11
7
See Dravis, P. ‘Open Source Software:
APC News. ‘Online Websites Promote Transparent
Perspectives for Development’. Washington DC.
Local Government in Colombia’. May 30, 2003.
World Bank/InfoDev, 2003.
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ESSENTIALS No. 15 • E-governance •
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Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. ‘Computerized Interstate Check Posts of Gujarat State, India: A Cost
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Other Resources
Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa
APDIP - International Open Source Network
http://www.fossfa.org/
http://www.iosn.net/
UNDP - E-governance Academy Tallinn
Development Gateway
http://www.ega.ee/
http://www.developmentgateway.org/
UNDP - Networking and Information Technology
DigitalGovernance.org Initiative
Observatory
http://www.digitalgovernance.org/
http://www.sdnp.undp.org/observatory/
Digital Opportunity Channel
UNESCO - Free Software Portal
http://www.digitalopportunity.org/
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal_freesoft
Eldis Gateway to Development Information
http;//www.eldis.org/
The ESSENTIALS series summarizes and synthesizes main lessons learned and recommendations
made by UNDP and other development agencies on selected subjects. It is designed to provide UNDP
country offices and headquarters easy access to lessons learned from evaluations.
Evaluation Office (EO)
Telephone: (212) 906 5095
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Fax: (212) 906 6008
One United Nations Plaza
Intranet: http://intra.undp.org/eo
New York, NY 10017
Internet: http://www.undp.org/eo
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UNDP, Evaluation Office
ESSENTIALS No. 15 • E-governance • 12
