Can e-Government applications contribute to performance improvement in public administration?

Electronic Government applications have been the focus of hundreds of local and national government administrations all over the world during the past decade. The emphasis of most of these applications lies in their effort to improve the experience of the user in interacting with public administration services and to minimise waiting times in completing transactions public services and citizens. Early applications were relying mainly on the speed and simplicity of submitting a request by the user while most of the work beyond the web based interaction was carried out as in the era before the introduction of the web based applications. The benefits from such endeavours have been short lived as citizens are looking for real enhancements in the way public administration serves their needs and responds to their requests. The authors argue that for e-government applications to succeed, considerable changes in the way public administration organizes itself and how it utilizes information management systems to respond to user / citizen requirements including and addressing the goals of all stakeholders involved are required. Currently the number of successful applications to that end is quite low when compared to the projects implemented and the resources invested in such systems so far. The authors propose steps that would maintain the focus of future implementations in doing so. They also identify the next steps for research in addressing this complex and ever evolving issue

E-voting versus e-trust: A case for e-democracy in Palestine

The world at present is facing a number of real challenges in the face of persistent economic crisis, local conflicts and huge waves of refugees. All of the above are affecting secure access to and completion of peoples voting rights. The relevant technological solutions appear to have matured and have successfully responded to rigorous testing. The need for digital access to election events is probably higher than ever in digital age. The question that remains to be answered is whether all this enough to inspire people to trust the systems and participate amass in e-voting particularly in areas where the political climate might be volatile. Palestinian have been scattered across the world since the late 1940s. This forced diaspora creates particular challenges as the Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to gain international recognition as an emerging state. The PA is experiencing a huge difficulty in enabling its citizens to elect their representative. According to PA officials many countries who are hosting Palestinians as refugees don’t accept the facilitation of elections for representatives to the PA government. Using e-voting systems could offer a solution to overcoming this problem and the PA has been evaluating such systems since 2011. The inspiration for this paper is taken from the results of an extensive survey conducted by the authors to evaluate the response amongst Palestinians around the world to the Palestinian Authority’s decision to fully embrace e-Voting

E-voting vs. e-trust: A test bed for e-democracy in a world in crisis?

The world is currently experiencing a number of real challenges in the face of persistent economic crisis, local conflicts and huge waves of refugees. All of the above are affecting secure access to, completion of peoples’voting rights and participation in Democratic processes in their homeland.The relevant technological solutions appear to have matured and have successfully responded to rigorous testing. The need for digital access to election events is today higher than ever in the digital age. The question that remains to be answered is whether all this is enough to inspire people to trust the systems and participate in e-voting; particularly in areas where the political climate might be volatile and Trust is a rare commodity. The authors present the outcome of a survey among the Palestinian diaspora to gauge their trust and willingness to use e-voting systems in the Palestinian Authority’s elections. This work does not consider political implications or even the willingness of a specific government to embrace e-voting for conducting election

Reengenharia de processos e desmaterialização nos municipios portugueses: estudo de caso - procedimentos de obras de edificação

O presente estudo tem como objeto a reengenharia de processos, desmaterialização e integração de procedimentos na área de licenciamento das obras de edificação, sendo dado enfoque empírico a três municípios portugueses. Analisaram-se, nos municípios em estudo, os impactos da desmaterialização de processos no funcionamento interno e na relação com os utilizadores, os investimentos em tecnologia, a importância do empenho e formação dos trabalhadores, a readaptação das estruturas organizacionais e fluxos de informação, bem como reduções dos custos da burocracia e tempo para os cidadãos. O tema foi abordado no contexto da gestão integrada das aplicações internas de cada município. Foram evidenciados os principais aspetos da interoperabilidade com outras entidades externas, como sejam as plataformas da Administração Central. A investigação foi ancorada na revisão de literatura e na componente normativa vigente, tentando contribuir para o aumento do conhecimento científico da reengenharia de processos nas autarquias portuguesas e estratégias de implementação deste tipo de projetos. Em termos metodológicos, considerou-se que a abordagem mista seria a mais adequada. Neste sentido, a análise empírica foi baseada em dados recolhidos através de entrevistas a eleitos, técnicos e atendimentos municipais e de questionários aos representantes legais dos cidadãos requerentes. Avaliaram-se ainda parâmetros quantitativos, junto dos arquitetos enquanto representantes dos cidadãos requerentes, e parâmetros qualitativos na perspetiva dos serviços autárquicos. Perspetiva-se ainda identificar os elementos facilitadores e os que dificultam a implementação de reengenharia de processos e desmaterialização de procedimentos, o papel da interoperabilidade com entidades exteriores e o contributo da integração de aplicações informáticas para a eficácia dos projetos de reengenharia nos municípios e para a eficiência da resposta aos cidadãos utilizadores dos serviços de obras de edificação; Abstract: Process reengineering and dematerialization in Portuguese Municipalities: case study - building works procedures The present study has as object the reengineering of processes, dematerialization and integration of procedures in the area of licensing of building works, with an empirical focus being given to three Portuguese municipalities. In the municipalities under study, the impacts on the internal functioning and on the relationship with users, on the dematerialization of processes, investments in technology, the importance of the commitment and training of workers, the readjustment of organizational structures and information flows were analysed as well as reductions in bureaucracy costs and time for citizens. The theme was addressed in the context of the integrated management of the internal applications of each municipality. The main aspects of interoperability with other external entities were highlighted, such as central administration platforms. The investigation was anchored in the literature review and the current normative component, trying to contribute to the increase of scientific knowledge of process reengineering in Portuguese municipalities and strategies for the implementation of this type of projects. In methodological terms, it was considered that the mixed approach would be the most appropriate. In this sense, the empirical analysis was based on data collected through interviews with elected officials, technicians and municipal services and questionnaires to the legal representatives of the requesting citizens. Quantitative parameters were also evaluated, together with architects as representatives of the requesting citizens, and qualitative parameters from the perspective of municipal services. It is also expected to identify the facilitating elements and those that hinder the implementation of process reengineering and dematerialization of procedures, the role of interoperability with external entities and the contribution of the integration of computer applications to the effectiveness of the reengineering projects in the municipalities and to the efficiency of response to citizens using building works services