In the last century, humanity has witnessed a period of extensive technological innovation that has forced us to change the way we produce, the way we consume, the way we move around the world and how we interact with each other. It has also revolutionized the way we interact with our authorities and how they interact with us.
With the digital revolution of the last few decades, governments all over the world have tried to cope with the changes it brought. They have, in varied forms, tried to implement regulations as to their uses, but also taken on projects looking to use the new communication technologies to their advantage. In recent years, the OECD has divided these different projects into two distinct categories that help us more clearly evaluate the state and characteristics of governing tools across the world; e-government and digital government.
E-Government
According to the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, e-government is
According to the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, e-government is
the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), and particularly the Internet, to achieve better government.
It was in the mid to late nineties that several governments started to incorporate computing and information technology services in their day to day processes on a major scale. For many countries, these tools promised a new solution to old problems, the added transparency habilitated by access to government information helps combat corruption on international, national and local levels. Furthermore, emerging communication systems facilitated coordination between the central government and decentralized dependencies.
The set of technologies needed to implement even a marginal level of e-government are very varied and in many cases require not only the acquisition of expensive technologies but also the training or importation of skilled technicians and developers to ensure its proper and efficient use. Traditionally, these costs are absorbed by the central governments of each country, though some cases are delegated to local administrations or subcontracted to private firms. Apart from the operative and transparency related benefits of e-government, we should also consider the optics side. A country with robust e-government systems tends to garner favorable impressions from the international community, as well as make it more attractive for foreign investments and multinational firms, since more information is readily available for relevant decision making.
Although it promises great benefits, there are severe limitations inherent in the first national projects to implement an e-government scheme. Those limits reside principally in the fact that it focuses almost exclusively on making information available via the internet or other electronic means, while leaving the governmental processes it seeks to improve fundamentally unchanged. In several latin american countries, notably
Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina, three of the most technologically advanced in the region, the efforts were mainly coordinated by a central apparatus, however, they mostly involved the digitization of government paperwork and the creation of some government sites to facilitate communication with the population. At the beginning of the twentieth century, most government procedures and services could not be taken care of digitally and required physical presence, though in some cases the information as to how to conduct the procedure could be found online.
Digital government
In clear contrast with e-government, digital government seeks to digitalice as many governmental and administrative processes as posible and does not limit itself towards making information and particular documents available remotely. It is a particularly disruptive technology in that it seeks to fundamentally change the way a citizen interacts with the government, making technology not just a middle man between the individual and bureaucrats and politicians, but an intrinsic part of the governing craft. Digital government projects seek not only to take advantage of already existing technologies but to also form a fundamental part of the innovation process. As such, these schemes require either solid collaboration with other governments and private firms all over the world or a robust R&D program that can readily adapt to a specific local government’s technological needs.
One important challenge to the implementation of digital government systems in national and local governments is both the reach and popularity of the technologies as services available. Although long strides have been made in providing access to internet, cable and telephone services to rural communities all over the world, there are still several cases where the percentage of households with access to these services is rather low. In situations such as these, digital government schemes must be accompanied with comprehensive infrastructure programs, or risk having a limited impact, mostly restricted to already privileged individuals, which would increase national inequalities.
There is also the issue with the quality of the programs and the education needed to take advantage of them. According to the OECD, around 75% of all government transactions can be completed digitally, however, only around 10% of the mexican population report having completed their last transaction digitally. As well in Mexico, the design and execution of the official government website, gob.mx, was plagued with problems and was considered incredibly difficult to navigate, causing problems with transparency and access to information. Although several of the initial problems with the page have already been fixed and whole sections have been completely revamped, these issues caused a deep mistrust with the government efforts of digitalization. This is a clear example that shows that the delicate nature of public policy, is oriented towards the construction of a digital government.
By Santiago Molina Torres Arpi
Santiago Molina Torres Arpi, 23, is currently studying International Relations at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He is a research assistant at the Observatory of the US-Mexico Binational Relationship. His areas of interest include public policies for economic development, innovation and new technologies, problems and promises of automation, and internet governance. In addition, he has written a wide variety of articles about the US electoral policy.
Contact: santiago@losmolina.org
The set of technologies needed to implement even a marginal level of e-government are very varied and in many cases require not only the acquisition of expensive technologies but also the training or importation of skilled technicians and developers to ensure its proper and efficient use. Traditionally, these costs are absorbed by the central governments of each country, though some cases are delegated to local administrations or subcontracted to private firms. Apart from the operative and transparency related benefits of e-government, we should also consider the optics side. A country with robust e-government systems tends to garner favorable impressions from the international community, as well as make it more attractive for foreign investments and multinational firms, since more information is readily available for relevant decision making.
Although it promises great benefits, there are severe limitations inherent in the first national projects to implement an e-government scheme. Those limits reside principally in the fact that it focuses almost exclusively on making information available via the internet or other electronic means, while leaving the governmental processes it seeks to improve fundamentally unchanged. In several latin american countries, notably
Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina, three of the most technologically advanced in the region, the efforts were mainly coordinated by a central apparatus, however, they mostly involved the digitization of government paperwork and the creation of some government sites to facilitate communication with the population. At the beginning of the twentieth century, most government procedures and services could not be taken care of digitally and required physical presence, though in some cases the information as to how to conduct the procedure could be found online.
Digital government
In clear contrast with e-government, digital government seeks to digitalice as many governmental and administrative processes as posible and does not limit itself towards making information and particular documents available remotely. It is a particularly disruptive technology in that it seeks to fundamentally change the way a citizen interacts with the government, making technology not just a middle man between the individual and bureaucrats and politicians, but an intrinsic part of the governing craft. Digital government projects seek not only to take advantage of already existing technologies but to also form a fundamental part of the innovation process. As such, these schemes require either solid collaboration with other governments and private firms all over the world or a robust R&D program that can readily adapt to a specific local government’s technological needs.
One important challenge to the implementation of digital government systems in national and local governments is both the reach and popularity of the technologies as services available. Although long strides have been made in providing access to internet, cable and telephone services to rural communities all over the world, there are still several cases where the percentage of households with access to these services is rather low. In situations such as these, digital government schemes must be accompanied with comprehensive infrastructure programs, or risk having a limited impact, mostly restricted to already privileged individuals, which would increase national inequalities.
There is also the issue with the quality of the programs and the education needed to take advantage of them. According to the OECD, around 75% of all government transactions can be completed digitally, however, only around 10% of the mexican population report having completed their last transaction digitally. As well in Mexico, the design and execution of the official government website, gob.mx, was plagued with problems and was considered incredibly difficult to navigate, causing problems with transparency and access to information. Although several of the initial problems with the page have already been fixed and whole sections have been completely revamped, these issues caused a deep mistrust with the government efforts of digitalization. This is a clear example that shows that the delicate nature of public policy, is oriented towards the construction of a digital government.
By Santiago Molina Torres ArpiSantiago Molina Torres Arpi, 23, is currently studying International Relations at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He is a research assistant at the Observatory of the US-Mexico Binational Relationship. His areas of interest include public policies for economic development, innovation and new technologies, problems and promises of automation, and internet governance. In addition, he has written a wide variety of articles about the US electoral policy.
Contact: santiago@losmolina.org
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