People are dependent on their governments in one aspect or another. By the abrupt size and number of activities, the government becomes a trustworthy source, as well as a mediator for the development and supply of genuine and relevant data. The customer gets the benefits of countless activities processed by the government through their huge database.
The beneficiaries of the government include the common people, private sectors, government servants, and other associated government agencies. To deal with the complexity of managing business with the increased beneficiaries of government,
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) becomes a core part of its proper functioning. Thus the digital or electronic way becomes certain.
E-governance and good governance almost target the same. Good governance can be termed as the execution of financial and political management related to national concerns by the administrative authority at multiple levels. In developed countries, people can engage with the government 24/7 through a single counter without any physical channel.
Advancement in government process - e-government
The e-government program enhances the internal functioning of the public sector, which includes:
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Processing cost management by limiting financial and time expenses, managing system resources like human resources, financial resources, etc.
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Management planning, tracking and connecting various government sectors and departments to create an effective way to implement the policy for the smooth running of the government processes.
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Innovative empowerment helps in the proper flow of power, authority, and resources from the present location to the other.
Connecting Citizens: e-Citizens and e-Services
It connects the government and the consumers who are the beneficiaries (voters, stakeholders, consumers) of public service.
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Addressing citizens: Information regarding public sector operations is provided to the residents, which may improve the responsibility of officials in their work.
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Listening to citizens: Collecting feedback from the residents will help strengthen the democratic structure.
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Upgrade public services: End users are provided with a better quality of service.
Building external interactions - e-society
This refers to a healthy relationship between public agencies and institutions like public entities, non-profit organizations, private sector corporations, and civic groups. The programs conducted with the corporation of citizens can fulfill a healthy change in the process.
Government business interactions can be strengthened by involving digital regulations of procurement forms and services to the business for improving efficiency, usability, and expense.
Developing a society: A society can be developed by improving the social-economical capabilities and resources of the local communities.
Building partnership: Partnership groups can be formed to acquire social and financial progress in society. The public sector will always be one of the partners, even if it acts as a facilitator for others occasionally.
Pillars of e-government
Four pillars of the basic e-government structure:
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Leadership or Vision: For the existence of a strong government, good leadership and a long-term vision are so important, and the legislative part of the government should be taken care of.
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Governance or Administration: The second level of bureaucracy and public service infrastructure should be responsible for precise planning. It should also design and implement clear policy statements like executing an ordinance for e-transaction. If necessary, a new public management system should be taken into consideration for reviewing the architecture of the government system.
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Interaction or Collaboration: In order to complete essential tasks more effectively and efficiently at reasonable costs, partnerships and collaborations may be encouraged through e-governance.
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Technology and Infrastructure: The beneficiaries can access information regarding government resources, services, and goods at any time from all over the world through the internet with the help of an e-governance system. The legislative and judicial branches of government should ensure the right infrastructure and implementation for IT security and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) for better results.
Benefits of e-government
The ultimate aim of the e-government is to provide cost-efficient and effective services to the public. E-government offers transparency in all aspects, which has to be its fundamental focus. It also helps the public to be informed about the ongoing government policies and those in the queue.
Online access to the government system makes it easier for the public to access different simple or complex needs like marital status or the modification of addresses rather than using offline channels.
Going online through e-government in the electoral campaigns may lead to the increased involvement of the public in the elections.
For the service providers, rather than using a great infrastructure, it becomes more simple, more efficient and more cost-effective as well. It may clearly benefit the public since they get the true information without wasting their time, energy, and resources to access the same through an offline channel.
Conclusion:
The revolution of the internet in the typical government system can bring a notable change in the historical way the government has been communicating for years. This could improve performance and cost minimization to a greater extent.