The State of Egovernment

This document provides a definition of E-Government and reviews current E-Government initiatives within the United States. Each initiative is discussed using the model of overview, discussion, analysis, and recommendation for improvement.

E-Government is more than just technology and a presence on the web. It is transforming the nature of government into an interactive and integrated institution, thus providing greater value to citizens. E-Government has been called a reinvention of government due to the benefits of reduced cost, increased efficiency, and better customer service.

The three main initiatives are; Government to Citizen (G2C), Government to Business (G2B), and Government to Government (G2G). Notable challenges include adequate funding, management focus, and effective marketing to the citizen. A prominent strategy of E-Government initiatives involves placing information on the web at centralized sites such as FirstGov, the White House, and Homeland Security, and then cross-linking to many other related sites. This strategy allows citizens to enter the system at any point and be able to navigate to specific information with minimal effort.

E-Gov initiatives have made strong progress in a short period. Notable successes include FirstGov which was named �one of the 50 most useful sites� by Yahoo. GovBenefits was listed as a �hot site� by USA Today. A chart titled Implementing the President's Management Agenda is attached. E-voting and the SERVE project, which is in initial trials to provide voting for overseas military personnel, are discussed. Concerns include security, hacking, and virtual identities.
Efficiency and effectiveness are important to E-Gov success. Industry best practices have been applied to increase cross-agency partnering, increase citizen focus, and to reduce stovepipe systems. We recommend the continued implementation of these programs.

Local levels of the state, county and city are explored. Seattle, King County, and Washington State have made great strides in implementing E-Government. The Washington State Department of Information Services stands out. We recommend that these local and state governments continue to pursue their initiatives to foster greater interactivity with citizens and reduce paperwork volume.

Implementation standards such as XML, the Microsoft .NET framework, and Open source programming are discussed. Because XML is becoming a predominant method of data transmission, the government must provide a specific standards framework for its websites. States and federal agencies are embracing open-source due to the advantages and opportunities offered. Joint ventures have been formed, and software solutions tailored, to support the needs of various agencies. New software solutions must possess adequate security measures to protect data.

Finally, a brief look to the future provides a vision of E-Government helping to both unite communities of citizens, and encourage these individuals to become more engaged in the processes of government.

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