5 Questions To Ask About Digital Government

Today, we use Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in every aspect of our lives and in the future this use will only increase. Governments around the world are slowly but surely realizing this and are trying to take advantage of ICT. The use of ICT by governments to provide efficient and effective services at the Federal, State and Local levels is called Digital Government (or Electronic Government or e-gov). Broadly speaking, Digital Government revolves around improving interactions between Government-to-Government (G2G), Government-to-Business (G2B), Government-to-Citizen (G2C) and Government-to-Employee (G2E).

Interactions between Government-to-Government (G2G) can include but not limited to:

Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Federal Department(s)/Agencies
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with State Department(s)/Agencies
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Local Department(s)/Agencies
State Department(s)/Agencies with Local Department(s)/Agencies
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Federal Lawmakers
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with State Lawmakers
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Local Lawmakers
State Department(s)/Agencies with Local Lawmakers
Federal Lawmakers with Federal Lawmakers
Federal Lawmakers with State Lawmakers
Federal Lawmakers with Local Lawmakers
State Lawmakers with Local Lawmakers
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Federal Judiciary
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with State Judiciary
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Local Judiciary
Federal Judiciary with Federal Judiciary
Federal Judiciary with State Judiciary
Federal Judiciary with Local Judiciary
State Judiciary with Local Judiciary
Military with Military
Military with International Military
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Military
State Department(s)/Agencies with Military
Local Department(s)/Agencies with Military
Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies with Military
Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies with International Military
Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies with Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies
Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies with International Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies
State Department(s)/Agencies with Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies
Local Department(s)/Agecnies with Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies
Military with Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with International Organizations
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with International Governments

Interactions between Government-to-Business (G2B) can include but not limited to:

Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Government-Owned Organizations
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with For-Profit Organizations
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with International For-Profit Organizations
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Non-Profit Organizations
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with International Non-Profit Organizations
State Department(s)/Agencies with Government-Owned Organizations
State Department(s)/Agencies with For-Profit Organizations
State Department(s)/Agencies with International For-Profit Organizations
State Department(s)/Agencies with Non-Profit Organizations
State Department(s)/Agencies with International Non-Profit Organizations
Local Department(s)/Agencies with Government-Owned Organizations
Local Department(s)/Agencies with For-Profit Organizations
Local Department(s)/Agencies with International For-Profit Organizations
Local Department(s)/Agencies with Non-Profit Organizations
Local Department(s)/Agencies with International Non-Profit Organizations
Federal Lawmakers with Government-Owned Organizations
Federal Lawmakers with For-Profit Organizations
Federal Lawmakers with International For-Profit Organizations
Federal Lawmakers with Non-Profit Organizations
Federal Lawmakers with International Non-Profit Organizations
State Lawmakers with Government-Owned Organizations
State Lawmakers with For-Profit Organizations
State Lawmakers with International For-Profit Organizations
State Lawmakers with Non-Profit Organizations
State Lawmakers with International Non-Profit Organizations
Local Lawmakers with Government-Owned Organizations
Local Lawmakers with For-Profit Organizations
Local Lawmakers with International For-Profit Organizations
Local Lawmakers with Non-Profit Organizations
Local Lawmakers with International Non-Profit Organizations
Federal Judiciary with Government-Owned Organizations
Federal Judiciary with For-Profit Organizations
Federal Judiciary with International For-Profit Organizations
Federal Judiciary with Non-Profit Organizations
Federal Judiciary with International Non-Profit Organizations
State Judiciary with Government-Owned Organizations
State Judiciary with For-Profit Organizations
State Judiciary with International For-Profit Organizations
State Judiciary with Non-Profit Organizations
State Judiciary with International Non-Profit Organizations
Local Judiciary with Government-Owned Organizations
Local Judiciary with For-Profit Organizations
Local Judiciary with International For-Profit Organizations
Local Judiciary with Non-Profit Organizations
Local Judiciary with International Non-Profit Organizations

Interactions between Government-to-Citizens (G2C) can include but not limited to:

Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Citizens inside the Country
Federal Department(s)/Agencies with Citizens outside the Country
State Department(s)/Agencies with Citizens inside the Country
State Department(s)/Agencies with Citizens outside the Country
Local Department(s)/Agencies with Citizens inside the Country
Local Department(s)/Agencies with Citizens outside the Country
Federal Lawmakers with Citizens inside the Country
Federal Lawmakers with Citizens outside the Country
State Lawmakers with Citizens inside the Country
Local Lawmakers with Citizens inside the Country
Federal Judiciary with Citizens inside the Country
Federal Judiciary with Citizens outside the Country
State Judiciary with Citizens inside the Country
Local Judiciary with Citizens inside the Country
Military with Citizens inside the Country
Military with Citizens outside the Country
Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies with Citizens inside the Country
Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies with Citizens outside the Country

Interactions between Government-to-Employee (G2E) can include but not limited to:

Federal Department(s)/Agencies improving Business Processes to Empower Government Employees
State Department(s)/Agencies improving Business Processes to Empower Government Employees
Local Department(s)/Agencies improving Business Processes to Empower Government Employees
Federal Department(s)/Agencies improving IT Processes to Empower Government Employees
State Department(s)/Agencies improving IT Processes to Empower Government Employees
Local Department(s)/Agencies improving IT Processes to Empower Government Employees
Federal Lawmakers improving Business Processes to Empower Government Employees
State Lawmakers improving Business Processes to Empower Government Employees
Local Lawmakers improving Business Processes to Empower Government Employees
Federal Lawmakers improving IT Processes to Empower Government Employees
State Lawmakers improving IT Processes to Empower Government Employees
Local Lawmakers improving IT Processes to Empower Government Employees
Federal Judiciary improving Business Processes to Empower Government Employees
State Judiciary improving Business Processes to Empower Government Employees
Local Judiciary improving Business Processes to Empower Government Employees
Federal Judiciary improving IT Processes to Empower Government Employees
State Judiciary improving IT Processes to Empower Government Employees
Local Judiciary improving IT Processes to Empower Government Employees
Military improving Business Processes to Empower Military Employees
Military improving IT Processes to Empower Military Employees
Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies improving Business Processes to Empower Employees
Intelligence Department(s)/Agencies improving IT Processes to Empower Employees

From the above non-exhaustive list, we can see that governments need ICT more than ever to enhance communications and improve operations. This, in turn, means that becoming a Digital Government is not only a nice-to-have but a must-have. The importance of ICT to domestic government operations and international cooperation is such that in 2001 the United Nations (UN) started administering surveys about a country’s e-gov capabilities and then ranking each country through the United Nation’s E-Government Development Index (EGDI). The following chart shows the rankings of the top 20 countries from 2001 to 2018:

As we notice from the above chart, most of the top 20 countries that lead in the Digital Government are democracies in developed nations. Perhaps there are lessons to be learned here for developing and under-developed countries. We need to be cognizant that Digital Government:

Is about keeping the Citizen at the center to create delightful customer experiences
Is about continuous improvement mindset through ICT
Is not about a one-time activity/project
Is not about Citizens who are only online

Keeping all these in mind, in order to start and continue to create societies of the future, countries around the world need to ask the following questions:

Today	Tomorrow
Who is your direct and indirect customer?	Who should be your direct and indirect customer?
What government services are being provided that are digitized?	What government services should be digitized?
Where can citizens get government services? online vs. offline	Where should citizens get government services? online vs. offline
When are government services considered inefficient?	When should government services be considered inefficient?
Why Digital Government is important for your country?	Why Digital Government should be important for your country?

Author: Khan

Speaker | Advisor | Blogger View all posts by Khan

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Author: Khan