7 - 13 September 2000

Deloitte study on e-government

Emergence of e-government fuelled by customer demands

Citizens demand for better service is fuelling the global growth of e-government as government leaders focus on matching the new standards of service set by private sector advances in technology, according to a global study by Deloitte Research. The study concludes that successful e-governments will focus on the citizen as customer and leverage technology to build long-term relationships with citizens.

At the beginning of the 21st century, governments at all levels find themselves armed with more tools to serve their citizens than at any other time in history. The explosive entry of technology into every facet of life has changed how people live, how they work, how companies do business - and how governments serve their constituents. The result is the emergence of e-government. What is e-government? Simply stated, it is the use of technology to enhance the access to and delivery of government services to benefit citizens, business partners and employees. Dr Austin Gatt, Minister for Justice and Local Government and David Spiteri Gingell, CEO at MITTS Ltd, will be outlining the administration's plans for e-government at a one-day conference being organised by the professional services firm, Deloitte & Touche. The conference entitled: "Technology - Avoid IT, Embrace IT or Manage IT?" will be held at the Hilton Malta on 27 September. The study, entitled "At the dawn of e-government: the citizen as customer", sets forth definitive stages that public sector entities will go through to achieve true e-government, and a checklist of recommendations to guide public sector entities through their e-government planning.

"Public sector organisations are at the nascent first or second stages of their development into e-government entities," said Steve Cachia, leader of the firm's ERS & e-Commerce Practice. "With a clear strategic vision, traditional governments can evolve into true e-government entities, offering a level of service to citizens never before seen."

At the core of this transition is the revolution in how governments serve their citizens through the Internet. The Deloitte Research study, which polled 261 senior managers of global government agencies, reveals that by 2002, nearly 34 per cent of citizens will use the Internet as the primary access point to government services - a 191 per cent increase from the current level of approximately 12 per cent. The ability of public sector managers to effectively prepare their organisations and staff for this shift toward a "customer-centric" approach is an essential element of successful e-government initiatives.

"The study revealed that customer-centric governments achieve nearly 50 per cent more success in providing easier customer access, increasing service volume, getting better information on operations, reducing employee

complaints, reducing employee time spent on non-customer activities and improving their own image," Cachia said. "The Internet is the best way for governments worldwide to meet and exceed the demands of customers, but the evolution to e-government is not simple," added Steve Cachia. "Government leaders must understand that e-government impacts every aspect of their business, from work flow to technology to staffing. How well governments manage the integration of all these components will determine the success of their e-government initiatives and the satisfaction of their customers." The study reveals government use of technology today tends to focus on information sharing, a fundamental element in the evolution of e-government. The report charts the following six stages government organisations must go through to evolve into integrated e-government organisations:

1. Information publishing/dissemination - Government agencies utilise technology to provide increased access to information to their customers.

2. Official two-way transactions - Agencies begin utilising two-way transactions through such technologies as digital signatures and secure web sites. For example, citizens in Lewisham, UK, can claim income support and housing benefits using an electronic form provided by their local government's web site.

3. Multi-purpose portals - Agencies launch Web portals for customers and businesses to obtain services and transact business across multiple departments from a single point of entry.

4. Portal personalisation - Government puts even more power into the customers' hands by enabling them to customise portals with their desired features.

5. Clustering of common services - Real transformation of government structure is now taking shape. As customers now view once disparate services as a unified package through the portal, their perception of departments as distinct agencies will begin to blur. Governments will now cluster services along common lines to accelerate the delivery of shared

6. Full integration and enterprise transformation - What started as a digital encyclopedia is now a full service centre, personalised to each customer's needs and preferences. Old walls defining silos of services have been torn down and technology is integrated across a new enterprise to bridge the shortened gap between the front and back office. In some cases, new departments will have formed from the remains of predecessors. Others will have the same names, but their make-up will look nothing like they did before e-government.

The report also identifies eight recommendations for e-government planning to guide public sector entities as they progress through the e-government evolution: