Index

Executive Summary
What is E-Government?
E-Government Strategy

   Introduction

   Challenges and Successes

   E-Government Initiatives

   Government to Consumer

   Government to Business

   Government to Government

   Internal Efficiency and Effectiveness

   E-Auth and Privacy

   Homeland Security

State and Local E-Government

   Washington State

   King County

   Seattle City Government

Implementation and Standards

   Web Standards

   Technology Suppliers

The Future of E-Government

Conclusion

Appendices:

   1. Presidential Memo

   2. International E-Government

   3. E-Gov Initiates at a Glance

What is E-Government?

Introduction

Overview: 

The E-Government initiative relies on Internet technologies in order to make the interactions between citizens and government, and also between businesses and government easier, faster, and more efficient. E-Government also aims at improving inter-departmental interactions on various levels of government, as well as the elimination of redundant services. 

Discussion of Legislation: 

The idea of using information technology to streamline government processes is not new.  The first legislation that required Federal agencies to provide an option for electronic document submission occurred in 1998 as part of the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA). In December of 2002, President G. W. Bush signed the E-Government Act aiming to �enhance the management and promotion of Electronic Government services and processes by� establishing a broad framework of measures that require using Internet-based information technology to enhance citizen access to Government information and services, and for other purposes�.

April 17, 2003 marked a major milestone in the E-Government initiative with the creation of the �Office of Electronic Government.�  This new office is to centralize the management of all E-Government projects and improve visibility of the initiatives.

Analysis: 

Federal, state, and local governments are implementing a variety of services online. This is a concept clearly embraced by citizens.  A Forrester Research study. indicated that the general public thinks digital government is �faster�, not limited by office hours, more informative and accessible. Lack of government bureaucracy was also cited as an advantage. Businesses are welcoming E-Government as they try to streamline document submission and other routine processes.

There are four distinct categories of the E-Government initiative: Government to Citizen (G2C), Government to Business (G2B), Government to Government (G2G), and Internal Efficiency and Effectiveness. Each one of the categories has a portfolio of projects in different stages. Some of the projects, such as IRS e-file, GeoSpatial One-Stop, and Business Gateway have already proven to be very popular and useful among different segments of the population.

The Government is already experienced in implementing a large IT project across its whole infrastructure.  The �Y2K Bug�, which affected many branches of Government, served as an excellent exercise in planning and executing a large-scale IT project. However, unlike Y2K, the E-Government initiative does not have a clear deadline and lacks leadership and funding.  Finally, the initiative itself is relatively unknown to the general population due to lack of marketing.

Recommendation: 

The first and most important recommendation is to increase citizen awareness of the initiative.  Furthermore, the initiative must secure sufficient funding. To achieve this objective, Congress should dedicate additional funds via the Office of Management and Budget. The Government must realize the ROI of E-Government initiatives is usually high due to the cost-saving nature of the projects. Therefore, the projects must become a funding priority. Finally, a more commercial model of planning for the initiative is recommended.

Links:

About E-Gov: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/egov/about_leg.htm
Sizing US E-Government: http://www.forrester.com