Ebook: New Technologies in Public Administration

Cette publication est le résultat d'une part, des recherches menées par le Groupe de Travail de l'IISA « Nouvelles Technologies et Administration publique » (2001–2004) dirigé par le Professeur Giorgio Petroni et dont la dernière session s'est tenue lors du 26ème Congrès international des Sciences administratives de Séoul ; d'autre part, elle regroupe les communications présentées lors du panel « Bridging the Public Administration Digital Divide » dirigé par notre rapporteur le Professeur Gordon Draper (†) et par le Professeur Dalchoong Kim, représentant l'IPSA (Association internationale de Sciences politiques). L'Institut souhaite remercier l'IPSA pour avoir accepté de s'associer à ce projet. Ce panel et cette publication ont reçu le soutien du CISS grâce au support octroyé dans le cadre du projet 045-04/SRP. L'IISA remercie vivement le CISS pour son précieux apport. La présente publication a été coordonnée par le Professeur Giorgio Petroni et par le Professeur Fanie Cloete.

This book is the result on the one hand, of the research undertaken by the IIAS Working Group “New Technology and Public Administration” (2001–2004) chaired by Professor Giorgio Petroni. The last session took place during the 26th International Congress of Administrative Sciences in Seoul; in addition, it gathers the presentations submitted at the panel “Bridging the Public Administration Digital Divide” chaired by our Rapporteur Professor Gordon Draper (†) and by Professor Dalchoong Kim, representing the IPSA (International Association of Political Sciences). The Institute wishes to thank the IPSA to have agreed to join this project. This panel and this publication received the support of the ISSC under the project 045-04/SRP. The IISA would also like to acknowledge this important contribution. This publication was coordinated by Prof. Giorgio Petroni and Prof. Fanie Cloete.

This paper analyzes the Spanish electronic administration policy. First of all, it is studied the policy formulation and the contents of the government action plans concerning the IS in the 1990s. Secondly, it is analyzed the present situation of the Spanish electronic administration. The governmental eGovernment programs have not managed to promote a coordinated strategy of electronic administration services. The different Ministerial departments have placed their electronic services, designed to solve very specific problems without having a general coordination model. Even so, there are very successful experiences as the State Agency of Tax Administration, or the Internet Social Security. Finally the paper examines the local and regional governments' IS policies, paying special attention to the electronic Administration initiatives. In this case, the variety of the initiatives and the degree of success is very different. The paper focuses on the multilevel nature of these public action strategies.

The paper focuses on both the positive and negative implications of e-government for sustainable development. It identifies strategies to maximise the contribution of e-government in achieving durable developmental goals. The paper starts by conceptualising and contextualising the concepts of development, the digital divide, e-development and e-government.

The so-called digital divide is conceptualised as a skills and resource access gap between digitally literate and digitally illiterate classes in society. It is argued that this divide is not new. Just the digital element is new. The digital divide is in many respects the great equaliser between developing and developed nations. It aggravates traditional functional illiteracy, but technology as the basis of the digital divide can also facilitate the achievement of functional literacy if it is used optimally. It is further argued that technology is just another tool like other policy instruments that can be employed constructively or abused by government in trying to achieve its goals. It can be both an obstructive and a facilitative factor in development, and its application must therefore be done in circumspect ways in order to maximise success with developmental efforts.

Traditional methods of service delivery in developing countries have frequently proved to be ineffective in achieving developmental objectives. Governments in developing countries are increasingly realising that, whether they want to do so or not, they may have no other choice but to attempt the difficult policy route of migrating to electronic means of service delivery (e-government) if they are serious in their attempts to achieve sustainable developmental outcomes (ie migrating to e-development). Different case studies are used to illustrate the viability and sustainability of the emerging e-development paradigm, and also the technological determinism driving this global phenomenon.

The paper concludes that the new paradigms of e-government and e-development are currently still taking shape, evolving and consolidating into different patterns that will probably become clearer in future. It also concludes that no government will be able to avoid migrating soon to the new global technological application standards that are rapidly emerging, if they want to participate in mainstream international activities.

This chapter makes a preliminary evaluation of the efforts of a third world country that strives to strengthen its public administration through the introduction of electronic governance. By focusing on the Tanzanian case, the chapter reviews major policy steps that this country has taken so far to create the required framework within which effective e-governance could be pursued as well as the constraints that it wrestles with in pursuing that endeavor. It is argued that e-governance presents immense potential benefits in terms of improved government performance as well as expanded citizen participation in governmental decision making processes. It is recommended that leaders ought to be in the forefront in championing the introduction and strengthening of e-governance through sufficient budgetary allocation as well as empowering the citizens to espouse e-governance through, for example, education and training as well as preferentially reduced prices of computer and related ancillaries.