E-Gov and Public Sector Reform: What roles for Government in e-Government?
E-Gov and Public Sector Reform:
What roles for Government in e-Government?
Matthias Finger
Technology Policy Institute
College of Management
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne
BAC 103, Station 5
CH-1015 Lausanne
+41 21 693 00 01
matthias.finger@epfl.ch questions about privatization, de- and re-regulation, entrepreneurship and management in government, and others more. These questions are of course still relevant, even though less debated these days. The question in this paper therefore is how e-government endeavors relate to public sector reform and its dynamics since the 1980s. Ultimately, this is the question of the roles government should play in e-government, which in turn pertains to an overall e-government “e-policy”.
ABSTRACT
E-Government is often conceived as the next logical step after public sector reform. However, the implications of this step are not always acknowledged. In this paper, I will first recall, how exactly e-government follows the various public sector reform efforts. I will then identify what this exactly means in terms of government’s various roles, namely telecommunications infrastructures, software solutions and platforms, and e-government services. For each of these three roles, I will finally detail what exactly is expected from government from a liberal perspective. In conclusion, I will summarize the various roles of government in promoting e-government in terms of an overall e-policy. The paper is structured as follows: in a first section, I will recall the main elements of public sector reform, as they were discussed prior to the more recent e-government endeavors. I will take here deliberately a liberal look at governments’ roles, assuming that it is not at all obligatory that government is also in charge of its own e-government services. The paper will nevertheless argue that, in some crucial areas, the role of government is indeed needed so that e-government does function optimally.
What roles for Government in e-Government?
Matthias Finger
Technology Policy Institute
College of Management
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne
BAC 103, Station 5
CH-1015 Lausanne
+41 21 693 00 01
matthias.finger@epfl.ch questions about privatization, de- and re-regulation, entrepreneurship and management in government, and others more. These questions are of course still relevant, even though less debated these days. The question in this paper therefore is how e-government endeavors relate to public sector reform and its dynamics since the 1980s. Ultimately, this is the question of the roles government should play in e-government, which in turn pertains to an overall e-government “e-policy”.
ABSTRACT
E-Government is often conceived as the next logical step after public sector reform. However, the implications of this step are not always acknowledged. In this paper, I will first recall, how exactly e-government follows the various public sector reform efforts. I will then identify what this exactly means in terms of government’s various roles, namely telecommunications infrastructures, software solutions and platforms, and e-government services. For each of these three roles, I will finally detail what exactly is expected from government from a liberal perspective. In conclusion, I will summarize the various roles of government in promoting e-government in terms of an overall e-policy. The paper is structured as follows: in a first section, I will recall the main elements of public sector reform, as they were discussed prior to the more recent e-government endeavors. I will take here deliberately a liberal look at governments’ roles, assuming that it is not at all obligatory that government is also in charge of its own e-government services. The paper will nevertheless argue that, in some crucial areas, the role of government is indeed needed so that e-government does function optimally.
References: [1] Ingraham, P. Et al. (1994). New Paradigms for Government. [2] Lane, J.-E. (2000). New Public Management. London : Routledge. [3] Pollitt, C. (1990). Managerialism and the Public Services. [4] Grönlund, A. (2002). Electronic Government: Design, Applications and Management [5] Finger, M. 2006). Du gouvernement électronique à la gouvernance électronique: le rôle des technologies de [7] Finger, M. & G. Pécoud (2003). From e-government to e-governance? Towards a model of e-governance [8] Savas, E.S. (2000). Privatization and Public-Private Partnerships