Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Mygov in the United Kingdom, which marked the end of the one-size-fits-all and
implemented the need for a more interactive and personalized service. In addi-
tion, “connected government” initiatives, in terms of cross-agency e-services, are
promoted in this stage (United Nations, 2012). In fact, two-way financial and
nonfinancial transactional services and advanced technical features such as mobile
apps are present in this stage of development (citizen-to-government interactions).
It includes options for paying taxes and applying for ID cards, birth certificates/
passports, license renewals, and other similar citizen-to-government interactions by
allowing citizens to submit these online 24/7.
Nonetheless, e-government initiatives over the past decade have been based
mainly on first-generation web-based resources: HTML, a relatively primitive,
static page mark-up technology that simply outlines what a page should look like
onscreen. Finally, from 2005 to the present time, a shift in strategic emphasis has
occurred whereby the separate designation and practice of e-government have been
removed largely in favor of a whole of government approach, carrying the title
“transformational government.” In this stage, the government encourages partici-
patory deliberative decision making and is willing and able to involve the society
in a two-way, open dialogue. An initiative performed under this stage of develop-
ment is the so-called Open Government Initiative, which prioritizes transparency,
participation, and collaboration and promotes interactive features such as the web
comment form and innovative online consultation mechanisms to actively solicit
citizens' views on public policy, law making, and democratic participatory decision
making (Commonwealth Network of Information Technology for Development
Foundation, 2002; Peedu, 2011).
In this regard, under this third stage, governments must strengthen their capac-
ity to assess the needs of users (both private and commercial) and involve user
groups through the use of second-generation web technologies (Web 2.0) to listen,
to engage users in the design of services and in the production of policies, and to
forge collective initiatives and interaction (Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development, 2010). Indeed, the implementation of Web 2.0 technologies has
favored reforms and modernization within public administrations, changing the
nature of political and public dialogue (Osimo, 2008) and encouraging participa-
tion by citizens, allowing them greater involvement in public affairs and enabling
public managers to create more affordable, participatory, and transparent models of
public sector management (McMillan, Medd, & Hughes, 2008).
Various popular Web 2.0 technologies facilitate interactive information shar-
ing, interoperability, and collaboration (United Nations, 2010) and can promote
open, user-driven governance (Bertot, Jaeger, & Hansen, 2010a, 2010b; Bertot,
Jaeger, Munson, & Glaisyer, 2010; Millard, 2009). Social-media-related tools/
applications include collaborative projects (such as wikis), blogs, content commu-
nities, social networking sites (such as Facebook and Twitter), virtual game worlds,
and virtual social worlds (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Social media, particularly
Internet social networking, has profound effects on all facets of social life and has
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