1. Digital Governance -
An Overview
Dr Euripidis N. Loukis
Professor
University of the Aegean
Department of Information and Communication
Systems Engineering
2. Introduction
In the sessions of the Samos Summit 2020 and in the
Summer School lectures,
you will have the opportunity to attend many interesting
presentations of mainly some novel/emerging types of
information systems (IS)
that support functions of government agencies,
which are currently under development or have started
being used in the daily work of them
= NEW/EMERGING ELECTRONIC (DIGITAL)
GOVERNMENT
However, today they still represent a small part of ICT
usage and ICT budgets of government agencies
The digital government domain in much wider than that
3. Introduction
Most of the ICT budgets/effort/usage in government
agencies, and most of the time spent by ICT professionals
and ICT management, concern some traditional types of
government IS
= TRADITIONAL ELECTRONIC (DIGITAL) GOVERNMENT
So it is important to have a global overview - picture of the
digital government domain, of the main areas of it, both the
traditional and the new/emerging ones:
internal efficiency IS, transactions with citizens/firms IS,
transparency/consultation IS, public policy formulation IS
This is the objective of this lecture, and is very useful, as it
allows associating each of the presentations you will attend
in the following days to a specific area of the digital
government domain
and also obtain an overview of digital government
7. Introduction
Also having a global overview-picture of the digital
government domain
= areas +types of government IS each area includes
enables you to evaluate the usage/exploitation of ICT in a
specific government agency you work for or advise
= to what extent it has developed IS for each area of digital
government domain
or to make a strategic plan of future ICT exploitation and
ICT investment in this government agency
= what IS we should build next for each area of digital
government domain
Usually a good strategy is a balanced mix of both
traditional and new digital government/types of gov IS
8. Agenda
Government: our main target to be supported or
transformed – main functions
Definitions
Types of government IS - evolution
Adoption - Diffusion
9. Government
Government has an important role to play in modern
society and economy
The extent and content of this role is a topic of a big
debate at the academic level and at the political level,
and varies between political ideologies:
Conservative (Republican): limited role of government
Social-democrat (Liberal): stronger role of government
However, it is widely recognized that government has
some very important roles to play – duties to perform,
which are critical for the society and the economy:
10. Government
– Create laws and other types of rules for the behavior of persons
and firms, so that they do not cause problems to each other
– Apply and enforce them (through auditing-controls, sanctions,
providing licenses for some important activities, etc.)
– Provide some important services (e.g. national defense,
security/policing, justice, health, education, pensions, protect the
environment, etc.)
– Create and operate critical infrastructures (e.g. roads, ports)
– Redistribute income from richer citizens to citizens to poorer ones
(especially to citizens who cannot afford basic needs), or who are
in very difficult situations (e.g. unemployed)
In order to perform the above duties government has to
conduct two types of activities:
design activities (= DECIDE WHAT SHOULD BE DONE
= formulate policies – policy making)
execute activities (= IMPLEMENT=transactions/operations)
12. Government – policy making
• A public policy (for addressing a need of citizens, or
solving a problem of them) includes a set of actions:
• laws + rules,
• services provision (that can include financial support)
• building and operating infrastructures
• The design of public policies for addressing the complex
needs and problems of modern societies is a very difficult
task,
• since the problems of societies have become more
complex
• and societies became more heterogeneous and pluralistic
in terms of culture, values, concerns and lifestyles
• different groups with different views of the problem
and different needs and objectives = extensive information
13. Government – operations
• For implementing public policies government agencies perform
various internal operations: start with transactions with citizens /firms
• Applications for services and licenses, tax statements,
• followed by internal processing of them through complex operations
• Usually they are complex: long and complicated processes, using
many documents (some of them issued by other public organizations)
• numerous employees (public servants), high costs, delays
• For citizens/firms: spending much time and money, inconvenience,
complaints
• ICT has been initially used for supporting and transforming the
internal operations of government agencies,
• then for supporting their transactions with citizens/firms,
• and later for supporting policy-making:initially dialogue/consultation
• and only recently has ICT started being used for supported the
14. Electronic (Digital) Government
= The use of ICT in order to automate and support the internal
works of government agencies (=operations +policy making), as
well as their interaction with their external environment
(citizens and firms they serve)
interaction = transactions + dialogue/consultation
While initially ICT are used in order to automate and support
the existing internal works (=operations +policy making), as
well as ways of external interaction of government agencies
=SUPPORTIVE USE OF ICT IN GOVERNMENT
gradually we realize that much more benefits can be gained if
we use ICT in order to transform and improve internal works
(methods, processes) (e.g. replace serial with parallel process-
sing, abolish certificates from other agencies),
as well as ways of external interaction with citizens/firms
15. Electronic (Digital) Governance
= TRANSFORMATIVE USE OF ICT IN GOVERNMENT
This is called ‘Electronic (Digital) Governance
= The use of ICT in order to transform the internal works
(methods and processes) of government agencies, as well as the
ways of interaction (= ways of making transactions +
dialogue/consultation) with their external environment (= the
citizens and firms they serve).
This happens with all new technologies (both in the private and
the public sector):
initially they are used in order to automate or support existing
work methods, processes, products, services,
and latter (as we learn each technology better) they are used in
order to transform/innovate - improve work methods, processes,
interaction products/services=DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
16. Electronic (Digital) Government/Governance
We can distinguish three main generations in it:
E(D)-GOVERNMENT/E(D)-GOVERNANCE 1.0
= use of ICT in order to automate/support/transform the internal
works/processes of government agencies, as well as the
transactions of citizens/firms with it (e.g. enable transactions
not F2F but through the Internet or even mobile) – e-services
E(D)-GOVERNMENT/E(D)-GOVERNANCE 2.0
= use of ICT in order to automate/support/transform the bi-
directional communication of government agencies and
dialogue/consultation with citizens/firms (e.g. through the
Internet, or mobile, recently using Social Media) – e-
democracy, e-participation
17. Electronic (Digital) Government/Governance
E(D)-GOVERNMENT/E(D)-GOVERNANCE 3.0 (emerging)
= use of ICT in order to automate/support/transform the policy
making - decision making processes in government agencies
‘Policy Informatics’ (= use of ICT for assisting policy and in
general decision making in government agencies)
Advanced Policy Informatics ‘Policy Analytics’ = an
extension of the highly successful ‘Business Analytics’ for
government
18. Electronic (Digital) Government/Governance
All these three generation of e(d)-government/governance are not
static – they are continuously evolving,
in order to meet new needs of government agencies (for meeting new
needs of societies and solving new problems)
and exploit new emerging digital technologies
Recently there has been much interest in the exploitation of some new
‘disruptive’ ICT (having the potential to change many things in the
economy and the society), such as
Internet of Things (IoT), big data, business analytics, artificial
intelligence (machine learning), natural language processing,
distributed ledger technologies/blockchain, simulation
in all these three generations of e(d)-government/governance
mainly in the 3rd = for supporting policy making and decision making
and in the 1st = in internal operations, e.g. for automating some tasks
based on AI/ML, for the detection of fraud or tax evasion.
The use of IoT beyond gov. agencies, in the city spaces smart cities
19. Types of IS in Government
• IS for automating – supporting - transforming its internal operations
(reducing employees required, costs, time) INTERNAL IS
• for enabling transactions with citizens – firms through the Internet
E-TRANSACTION IS = basic e-services - advanced e-services (e.g.
legal information services about laws – official decisions)
• Electronic one-stop shops
• IS for the procurement of good and services E-PROCUREMENT
• E(D)-GOVERNMENT/E(D)-GOVERNANCE 1.0 (Managerial Approach)
• IS for communication/consultation with various stakeholders –
citizens’ groups during the design of public policies E-
PARTICIPATION IS, initially through consultation spaces
• latter using the social media, for understanding better citizens’ needs
and problems, and cooperating with them for the design of public
policies, exploiting their knowledge, proposals, ideas and creativity
SOCIAL MEDIA EXPLOITATION IS
20. Types of IS in Government
• Social Media Management IS - Active Crowd-sourcing IS
• External Social Media Monitoring IS - Passive Crowd-
sourcing IS – filtering capabilities – passive Expert-sourcing
• Open Government Data IS (opening government data to
citizens e.g. firms/sectors/regions financial data, pollution,
accidents, crime, accidents, education, health, weather,
agricultural production, tourism), in order to be used for
scientific, political and commercial (=new electronic
services and apps) purposes
• E-GOVERNMENT 2.0 (Participatory Approach)
22. Integrated IS of Insurance Fund
• Employers & Insurance Contributions Module
• Insured Persons & Benefits Module
• Pensions Module
• Health Module
• Loans module
• Financial Management Module
• Human Resources Module
23. Main citizens’ e-transaction services• Income taxes (submission of income tax declaration)
• Job search services
• Social security benefits’ applications
• Unemployment benefits
• Child allowances
• Medical costs
• Student grants
• Personal documents applications
• Passports
• Driver's license
• Car registration
• Application for a building permission
• Declaration to the police
• Public libraries (catalogues, search tools) search
• (Birth and marriage) Certificates applications
• Enrolment in higher education
• Announcement of moving
• Health‐related services (e.g. bookings for doctors and examinations)
24. Main firms’ e-transaction services
Social contribution for employees
Corporate tax (income tax declaration)
VAT declaration
Registration of a new company
Submission of data to statistical offices
Customs declaration
Environment‐related permits applications
Public procurement
26. Electronic One Stop Shops
• Development of advanced composite e-government transaction
services of ‘electronic one-stop shop’ type,
• which enable citizens/firms to conduct electronically many
different transactions
• with multiple government agencies
• required for specific ‘life-events’
• e.g. birth of a child, buying a car, or moving to another area for a
citizen, or creation of a new firm, expansion of a firm, etc.
27. Open Government Directive
• Extensively debated and highly influential ‘Open
Government Directive’ of USA
• Basic Principles: transparency, participation of citizens
and collaboration with them.
• It expands the pre-existing ideas of ‘Participatory
Democracy’
• As all of them can be greatly facilitated and supported by
ICT (and especially the Internet),
• this growing open government trend has strengthened
further the interest in and also the practical application
• of the participatory approach to e-government
30. Types of IS in Government• Internal IS (Integrated IS – ERP model)
• E-Transactions IS (e-commerce model) – basic + advanced e-services
• Electronic One Stop Shops (Interoperability)
• E-Procurement IS
------------------------------- e-government 1.0
• E-Participation IS
• Social Media Management IS
• External Social Media Monitoring IS
• Open Government Data IS
------------------------------ e-government 2.0
• Modeling IS and Simulation IS public policy and decision making
• IoT smart cities IS (pollution, traffic, etc. sensors in the city –
connected with a central system and transmitting data) policy
making, short term decision making, services to citizens
31. Technology Acceptance
Model (Davis)
The intention to use a new technology (e.g. a new
type of IS) and its actual use,
is determined mainly by two characteristics of it:
its perceived ‘ease of use’ (= the degree to which
potential users believe that using it would require
minimal effort)
and its perceived ‘usefulness’ (= the degree to
which potential users believe that using it will
enhance their job performance)
32. Diffusion of Innovations
Theory (Roger’s)
Characteristic Definition
Relative Advantage The degree to which an innovation is perceived as better
than the idea, work practice or object it supersedes
Compatibility The degree to which an innovation is perceived as being
consistent with the existing values, past experiences, and
needs of potential adopters
Complexity The degree to which an innovation is perceived as difficult
to understand, implement and use
Trialability The degree to which an innovation may be experimented
with on a limited scale basis
Observability The degree to which the results of an innovation are visible
to others
