E-government is the movement of government services that were previously delivered in person to Internet platforms, and has the potential to improve citizens' experience when interacting with government agencies. Efficiency is also improved by enabling certain aspects of government through apps on smartphones or web browsers on laptops.
However, we need to be clear about what we mean by “efficiency” and who exactly benefits it. Efficiency is a function of time, and does the public spend less time interacting with government agencies remotely, or is the goal to reduce government costs? In a democracy, clearly the experience of the people should be of paramount importance.
Not cheap service, but better service
When done well, e-government can improve services to citizens and make civil servants' jobs easier. The efficiency is felt when citizens file taxes, apply for driver's licenses, and register their children for school without having to go to the office. For civil servants, the time freed from face-to-face daily tasks can be invested in tackling more complex requests that require the human touch.
In Germany, for example, e-government could add value to the management of immigration services. In many regions, in-person appointments are required for all services, including new residence permits, asylum applications, and visa extensions. E-government portals help manage relatively simple tasks such as visa extensions for foreign residents. That would give caseworkers more time to focus on complex cases such as asylum claims.
It's important to note what isn't happening in the example above. There is no mention of saving money for two reasons:
- First, building and maintaining a high-quality e-government platform is not cheap. Digitization does not eliminate administrative complexity, and poorly designed e-government platforms only create new frustrations. In countries with significant resource constraints, dysfunctional e-government approaches can increase staff stress and even prevent them from focusing on delivering services to their citizens. This is especially likely at the local government level.
- Second, e-government should not replace human workers, but complement civil servants by reducing routine tasks and allowing them to focus on more difficult tasks.
Practical implementation of e-government
To understand e-government better, we need to see it in action. Here are some examples from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Fairly simple national e-government portal systems are becoming increasingly common in middle-income countries. Kenya's 'eCitizen' portal includes standard services such as requesting an ID card, marriage registration, land registration and tax matters, and applying for a driving license. Malaysia's MyGOV portal functions similarly, allowing citizens to register for school, register for marriage, file tax returns, access the healthcare system, and more. These are examples of standard citizen and government activities, such as individual citizen services and enterprise tools, being centralized through a single web portal.
Togo, a least developed country, introduced a basic minimum income during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications and payments were made via mobile phone.
The Colombian project Kioscos Vive Digital is implemented by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and supported by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). This is a creative bottom-up approach to digital citizen engagement. This has allowed people from different communities to share online how they use the Internet in general, and their interactions with government agencies in particular. The aim was to understand the different internet cultures across Colombia and generate region-specific insights on how to improve the situation.
Donor agencies’ interest in e-government
E-government systems are being implemented even in extreme political situations. Ukraine's Diia is a mobile phone-based portal that citizens can use to access government ministry services. This is happening against the backdrop of a war of aggression, with large-scale infrastructure becoming a target for Russia. In this situation, a decentralized system based on mobile phones serves a practical need.
There are also political implications. Western governments are supporting Ukraine with money and military equipment, and also insist on transparency and fighting corruption. E-government systems, if properly designed and implemented, can address such concerns.
This is one reason why bilateral and multilateral development agencies are interested in e-government. In fact, USAID, a bilateral agency of the US government, is supporting Dia in Ukraine. Germany's GIZ is currently supporting a program to create a comprehensive e-government in Egypt with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ).
Both USAID and GIZ tend to focus on tools that meet the needs of their citizens, so their programs and systems are designed accordingly. The idea is to improve the government's capabilities based on this. There is a need to balance in-house capabilities within the public sector with the allocation of software companies to adapt programs or develop new ones.
A key element is the role of continuously assessing the political context in which e-government systems are introduced. A government's respect for human rights, privacy, and transparency all have a major impact on whether e-government improves or degrades the quality of life for its citizens. When democratic governance is not in place or appears unstable, it can be difficult to decide what e-government projects to support. More generally, e-government approaches yield the best results when people trust government institutions. Fear of repression can lead to temptations to minimize contact and enter incorrect information.
Multilateral institutions also play a supporting role in developing and deploying e-government strategies. The World Bank's Information Solutions Group oversees e-government advisory work and provides advice on integrating digitization solutions into government procedures and economic management. The model is built around consulting and knowledge sharing, helping partner countries identify needs, organize funding, and integrate new technologies into government procedures.
The United Nations provides global monitoring services that track the status of e-government in member states, along with advice. The UN E-Government Development Index (EGDI) provides comparative data between countries.
Ensuring e-government remains people-centric
E-government can significantly improve the relationship between people and government institutions. Most importantly, make sure your services are citizen-centric. You need to build a completely comprehensive system. Investments in e-government should not come at the expense of maintaining in-person services for those who need new paper documents or do not have access to the internet. On the other hand, e-government solutions hold particular promise in developing countries that lack the traditional administrative systems that characterize countries in the global north. When public services are poor, digital technology can quickly improve the problem.
In Kenya, for example, one of the most common services you will see when you open the eCitizen website is marriage registration. Marriage may not be high on the agenda of donor governments. This is critical for Kenyan couples living in rural areas, as a viable e-government solution means avoiding inconvenient travel to the nearest town.
charles martin shields He is a senior researcher at the German Institute for Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in Bonn.
charles.martin-shields@idos-research.de
