The State of Egovernment

The levels of government that the average citizen interacts with on a daily basis are the state, county and city levels. Some of the greatest challenges to information sharing amongst the different levels are the stovepipes that exist within each layer. Each level has its own functional area, and in the age of E-government each must share that information freely in order to create a truly integrated and interactive government. All states use e-government to varying degrees. Comparatively, Washington State has established a presence on the web that is among the most advanced and interactive in the nation.

Discussion:

The drive towards e-government in the state of Washington is led by the Department of Information Services which was established in 1987. The role of the DIS is to provide state employees with the knowledge, tools, and foundation upon which they can build a truly interactive digital government. It has created a fiber-optically connected intranet which connects 1100 sites statewide and provides high speed voice, video and data communications amongst agencies. This intranet is anchored by two data centers and the entire network is scaleable. A Digital Government Applications Academy was created to train state government employees and bring agencies together to collaborate and transform state bureaucracy from an inward focus to being outwardly focused. Washington State�s official website is called Access Washington; its purpose is to bring online government to the citizens of the state. Among those services available are: Unclaimed Property and Money; Renew vehicle/boat license tabs and finally Unemployment Insurance.

Analysis:

There is a worldwide movement regarding E-Government initiatives. Many United States based companies are trying to capture the business of overseas companies. For example, Microsoft is creating mini-localized Windows for countries that do not have full localized Windows. The goal is to penetrate markets through contracts with the local governments. Microsoft�s intent is to leverage international expansion as a means to bolster its revenue growth.

Recommendations:

The United States should encourage International E-Government systems, and also better international relations, through agreements with the other countries to link security critical systems with the intent of enhancing both border security and regional security.

Links:

eEurope 2005         http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l24226.htm
eEurope Initiatives      http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/news_library/pdf_files/initiative_en.pdf
Europe 2003:          http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/egovconf/text_en.htm
Latin America:       http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2003/jul03/07-30oas.asp
United Arab Emirates http://www.dubai.ae http://www.ameinfo.com/news/Detailed/9.html

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