Publications

Electronic Governance for Sustainable Development (EGOV4SD) refers to the use of Information Technology (IT) to transform the working of government and its interaction with the public while advancing socio-economic development and protecting natural resources for future generations. Although significant efforts are dedicated to EGOV and SD individually, research at the intersection of both domains is scarce and a systematic EGOV4SD research framework is yet to emerge. In order to contribute to the development of such a framework and in particular to identify how EGOV initiatives contribute to the SD goals in the current government practice, this paper presents and analyzes ten case studies of existing EGOV initiatives with explicit SD objectives. Based on the EGOV4SD assessment framework, each case study is characterized by its context (who, where and when), problem (what), solution (how) and contribution – how the solution addresses the problem (why). The analysis identified the list of SD problems addressed by the case studies and the list of EGOV solutions applied to address such goals, and correlated both lists across the case studies to find out typical problem-solution patterns applied in the EGOV4SD practice today.      

 Electronic Governance (EGOV) research studies the use of Information and Communication Technologies to improve governance processes. Sustainable Development (SD) research studies possible development routes that satisfy the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. Despite substantial progress in advancing both domains independently, little research exists at their intersection – how to utilize EGOV in support of SD. We call this intersection Electronic Governance for Sustainable Development (EGOV4SD). This paper: 1) proposes a conceptual framework for EGOV4SD, 2) proposes EGOV4SD research assessment framework and 3) applies both frameworks to determine the state of EGOV4SD research. The main contribution of the paper is establishing a foundation for EGOV4SD research.

Modern societies face high demands for skilled professionals, able to successfully design, deploy and utilize complex Information Technology (IT) –enabled socio-technical systems at everincreasing levels of reliability and security. Contrary to traditional education practices, the high-level training required to fulfill this demand should rely on the principle that the learners are themselves responsible for their learning process, that they have control over this process, and that the process aims at developing cross-disciplinary and problem-driven competences, not only at acquiring content knowledge. However, such training requires the presence of a highly interactive, problem-oriented environment for technology-supported learning (or e-learning). This poster presents a doctoral research project, which aims at designing, validating and monitoring a collaborative e-learning environment based on the principles of Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS). In order to validate its outcomes, the project will rely on two real-life professional training programs: in Software Engineering for software managers and in e-Government for public managers. The poster presents the objectives, research methodology and expected results from this project.

Responding to the issues of complexity, relevance, cost and risk of Electronic Governance (EGOV), we witness a specialization of the roles responsible for EGOV development and operation, professionalization of the personnel playing such roles, and utilization of the EGOV services and information to fulfill citizen needs. In order to build competencies required by such (managerial, professional, technician and user) roles, education becomes a key success factor, and a growing variety of EGOV learning opportunities emerges. However, lacking conceptual underpinnings for EGOV education, the discovery, analysis and integration of such opportunities is difficult. To address this need, the paper develops a theoretical construct for EGOV education; applies six measures to this construct: who - learners, why - roles, what - competencies, how - programs, where - schools, and when - prerequisites; and validates it through a landscaping exercise focusing on EGOV university programs. 

Recognized as a critical factor for the whole-of-government capability, many governments have initiated Enterprise Architectures (EA) programs. However, while there is no shortage of EA frameworks, the understanding of what makes EA practice effective in a government enterprise is limited. This paper presents the results of empirical research aimed at determining the key factors for raising the maturity of the Government Enterprise Architecture (GEA) practice, part of an effort to guide policy-makers of a particular government on how to develop GEA capabilities in its agencies. By analyzing data from a survey involving 33 agencies, the relative importance of factors like top management commitment, participation of business units and effectiveness of project governance structures on the maturity of the GEA practice was determined. The results confirm that management commitment and participation of business units are critical factors, which in turn are influenced by the perceived usefulness of the GEA efforts.

A promising strategy to promote good governance is harnessing the opportunities provided by the use of mobile phones, widely accessible to most segments of the society, for delivering public information and services and for decision-making by government. This paper investigates the design and implementation of mobile governance (MGOV) strategies for development (MGOV4D). Specifically, it presents an MGOV4D strategy framework to
support mobile Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for development (MICT4D) projects in meeting their development objectives. The paper consists of four parts. First, it
presents a framework for determining the governance and related MGOV requirements for MICT4D initiatives. Second, it applies the framework to determine the MGOV4D requirements for a concrete case study of migrant head porters – local micro-logistic service providers from Ghana, involving the use of mobile phones to meet the porters’ livelihood needs. Third, based on the identified requirements, it presents a set of MICT4D initiatives that could be developed into MGOV4D programs to address the requirements. Fourth, it synthesizes the MGOV4D strategies that can support the inclusion objectives for the head porters and similar vulnerable groups. In the conclusions, the paper discusses how these results can support policy efforts for achieving the Millennium Development Goal 1 – Poverty Alleviation, and 3 –  Gender (specifically Women Empowerment). 

The 5th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance, ICEGOV2011, took place in Tallinn, Estonia from the 26th to the 28th of October 2011, under the patronage of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communication of the Republic of Estonia. The conference was co-organized by: e-Governance Academy in close partnership with Enterprise Estonia, Estonia; and Center for Technology in Government, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA. Part of the ICEGOV conference series, ICEGOV2011 was supported by the series coordinator – UNU-IIST (United Nations University – International Institute for Software Technology) Center for Electronic Governance, Macao SAR, China. The conference took place in the framework of the Nordic IT Week and various ICEGOV2011-collocated events were organized as part of this framework on the 29th of September 2011.

The success of the electronic governance (EGOV) benchmarking has been limited so far. Lacking a theory to integrate existing conceptualizations has made the acquisition and sharing of knowledge produced by different benchmarking exercises difficult. In order to address this problem, this paper: 1) explains the nature of the EGOV benchmarking activity though a well-established theoretical framework - Activity Theory, 2) applies the framework to carry out a mapping between a number of existing EGOV benchmarking conceptualizations, 3) develops an unified conceptualization based on these mappings and 4) validates the resulting model though a real-life national EGOV strategy development project. The use of the Activity Theory in the paper has enabled defining and relating initial dimensions of the EGOV benchmarking activity, and mapping the dimensions present in existing conceptualizations. This not only created a unifying theoretical basis for conceptualizing the EGOV benchmarking activity but allowed learning from and integrating existing conceptualizations. The work impacts on the EGOV benchmarking practice by enabling a logical design of the activity, and contextually correct understanding of existing EGOV benchmarking results with respect to their intended usage.

Effective Information Technology (IT) leadership is critical for achieving a good alignment between business needs and IT means of an organization. In the public sector, IT leadership is increasingly realized through the Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO) function, typically established by governments based on local circumstances and emerging needs. This makes peer-learning about the working of such systems and their transfer between different government contexts challenging. To address this concern, the authors introduced earlier a GCIO System - a set of inter-related activities to guide governments in gradually establishing, operating and sustaining the GCIO function. Based on a common conceptual model of the GCIO function, this paper defines a methodology for conducting the readiness assessment part of the GCIO System. The methodology comprises a set of assessment areas and a step-wise process to conduct assessment in these areas. The paper also shares the experience in applying this methodology in practice, and proposes how the assessment could inform the execution of other activities of the GCIO System.

This paper focuses on the challenge of sustaining Electronic Governance (EGOV) initiatives in developing countries to ensure their real impact on the society. While the challenge is well-recognized in the international development community, there is little evidence of research that discusses this challenge and how it could be addressed. This paper attempts to fill this gap by presenting a comprehensive approach which directly addresses the sustainability issues as part of the EGOV development lifecycle, and demonstrates how this approach was applied in a real-life project context in Afghanistan, aimed at addressing country-specific EGOV sustainability challenges. In view of this experience, the paper also discusses the adequacy of the approach to meet a range of sustainability challenges, with concluding remarks to guide developing countries in their endeavors to sustain EGOV programs.

The Whole of Government (WG) approach is increasingly seen as an imperative for delivering coherent and integrated policies, joined up and seamless services, and integrated program management in government. Although no generic WG framework currently exists, there are reported cases of WG initiatives by different governments. Grounded in existing theories, frameworks and cases related to interorganizational collaboration, collaborative Electronic Government (EGOV) and joined-up government, this article describes how to build a collaborative IT Strategy Management (ITSM) environment based on the WG approach. The article first develops a WG model to identify the enabling elements for the WG approach. Next, it identifies the necessary conditions for creating a collaborative ITSM environment in government, applies the WG model to synthesize a set of generic requirements for implementing the WG approach, and presents a WG ITSM toolset to support the implementation. Finally, the generic WGITSM requirements are used to analyze a case study involving the WGITSM development in a city government. Based on the case study, the validity of the WG model and generic WGITSM requirements as well as the usefulness of the toolset are discussed. The article closes with the recommendations for the WGITSM practice and for further development of the WG framework.

This document presents the mini-track on Development Methods for Electronic Government, organized for the third time under the Electronic Government Track at HICSS - Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. The document introduces the rationale and the papers presented as part of the mini-track.

Information sharing (IS) is a key capability required for one-stop and networked government, responding to a variety of intra-organizational, inter-organizational, or cross-national needs like sharing service-related information between parties involved in the delivery of seamless services, sharing information on available resources to enable whole-of-government response to emergencies, etc. Despite its importance, the IS capability is not common for governments due to various technical, organizational, cultural, and other barriers which are generally difficult to address by individual agencies. However, developing such capabilities is a challenging task which requires government-wide coordination, explicit policies and strategies, and concrete implementation frameworks. At the same time, reconciling existing theoretical frameworks with the IS practice can be difficult due to the differences in conceptions and abstraction levels. In order to address such difficulties, this chapter proposes a conceptual framework to guide the development of Government Information Sharing (GIS) policies, strategies, and implementations. By integrating theoretical frameworks and the GIS practice, the framework adopts a holistic view on the GIS problem, highlights the main areas for policy intervention, and provides policy makers and government managers with conceptual clarity on the GIS problem.

Better integration of Electronic Government (EGOV) and Public Administration Reform (PAR) strategies has been identified by global EGOV benchmark reports as one of the contemporary issues to address in improving the outcomes of EGOV programs. This chapter presents a technique for aligning EGOV and PAR strategies based on the Strategic Alignment Model (SAM) of Henderson and Venkatraman. By treating EGOV and PAR strategies as two different alignment domains, similar to organizational and technological domains respectively, we re-frame the original SAM to address our specific alignment needs. Our model provides a procedure and metrics for analyzing: (1) alignment between a pair of EGOV and PAR strategies and (2) the internal coherency of an EGOV strategy. We discuss our experience in applying this approach in Macao and conclude with how it may be used in aligning EGOV with other strategies such as those related to governance and development.

Information sharing is a key capability required for one-stop and networked government. The capability enables sharing service-related information between government agencies involved in the delivery of one-stop seamless services, sharing resource-related information to facilitate whole-of-government response to emergencies, etc. As this capability is not common in traditional public administration and management, information sharing initiatives must overcome a range of technical, organizational, cultural and other barriers, which are generally difficult to overcome by individual agencies. Instead, information sharing is best addressed through the whole-of-government approach, driven by explicit information sharing policies and strategies in government. However, defining such policies is challenging. While information sharing theories identify multiple dimensions of the problem - technical, intra- and inter-organizational and political, the practice of information sharing focuses on principles, barriers, enablers, information lifecycles, organizational roles and other elements of information sharing agreements between agencies, most of which cut across different dimensions of the problem. This paper proposes a conceptual model to describe government information sharing initiatives. By integrating theoretical frameworks (e.g. multiple dimensions) and the information sharing practice (e.g. cross-agency agreements), the model provides a holistic view on the problem and highlights the main areas for policy intervention.

The methodologies for agile software development are fundamentally based on the collaboration with software users during the entire development process, the simplicity to adapt the product to changes in requirements, and on the incremental product delivery. Based on the Agile Manifesto, they have been accepted and are successfully used in projects where the detailed requirements are unknown at first and are identified during the development process from the interactions with the users and the feedback thus obtained. In this paper, we propose an evaluation framework for the methodologies for agile software development. This framework is applied in detail to two of them - Scrum and eXtreme Programming (XP). The definition of this quantitative framework is innovative, especially because it allows the evaluation of how the agile methodologies satisfy the basic principles defined by the Agile Manifesto, thus it can be used when deciding which methodology to adopt in a particular project. 

Electronic Government (e-Government) provides a means to good and better government facilitating citizen engagement, effective service delivery and improved efficiency in government functions. E-Government’s potential for contributing to good government is dependent on strong e-Leadership that is formalized in executive IT leaders and Government Chief Information Officers (GCIOs). After presenting the motivation for e-Leadership and GCIOs, the paper introduces the evolving role of GCIOs and discusses main issues for defining a GCIO system, such as readiness assessment, legal and regulatory framework, institutions, and GCIO education and development. The experience of five countries in establishing a GCIO system is presented, analyzing the regulatory framework, capacity-building programs and organizational support defined as part of such systems. Based on country experiences and the importance of national mechanisms and policies to coordinate efforts of CIOs in government through cross agency institutions and programs, the paper proposes a framework for instituting a GCIO system. The main contribution of the paper is a step by step approach for developing a GCIO system in the public sector.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Distributed Computing and Internet Technology, ICDCIT 2010, held in Bhubaneswar, India, in February 2010. The 26 papers presented consists of 12 long papers, 9 short papers and 5 extended abstracts. They were carefully reviewed and selected from 91 submissions. In addition the volume contains 4 invited talks. The topics covered are networking, grid computing and Web services, internet technology and distributed computing, software engineering of secured systems, and societal applications.

A recent feature of Electronic Governance programs is the adoption of Whole-of-Government (WG) approach to planning, design, delivery and operation of Information Technology (IT) - related initiatives. The approach is characterized by the integrated and coordinated pursuit by government agencies of shared objectives concerning service delivery, citizen engagement, public policy development, and others. Adopting a WG approach requires a clear understanding of the coordination needs and the dominant organizational culture of the agencies involved.