Vision and Valuation of a Citizen-Centric Shared Information Portal

The administrative burden the government puts on citizens is substantial, whereas, generally speaking, service levels are low and a ‘customer’ orientation is lacking. There is a growing understanding that e-government can play an important role in tackling these issues by better exchange of information and electronic availability. This paper reports on the development and evaluation of an e-government vision as part of a strategic planning trajectory for the social security sector and other government agencies in the Netherlands. The vision approaches governmental service delivery from the citizen viewpoint and helps governmental organisations to take service- and citizen orientation to a higher level. The concepts used in the vision were tested by boardroom sessions as well as a survey, and has become the guiding principles for a number of e-government developments

Harnessing Technology to Advance Citizen-Centric Land Administration in Rwanda

Rwanda is recognized as a global land governance leader due to the success of its Land Tenure Regularisation Program (LTRP), which resulted in the registration of over 11 million parcels and the issuance of 7 million certificates of title, and the establishment of the Land Administration Information System (LAIS). These notable achievements have contributed to land market viability, reductions in land disputes, and increased land-based revenue. However, some land administration challenges persist, including high costs and delays for buyers and sellers, as well as the double selling of land, identity fraud, and repudiation associated with land transfers.In recognition of the need for innovative solutions to these persistent challenges, Rwanda Land Management and Use Authority (RLMUA), Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA), and Medici Land Governance (MLG) developed Ubutaka App, a paperless, secure, and fully interoperable land administration system. The system uses emerging technology to simplify land transactions by voluntary sale and prevent double selling of land, identity fraud, and repudiation. Designed for use by Land Notaries and Registrars in Rwanda, and currently being piloted in Gasabo District, Ubutaka requires only one visit to a notary through the use of biodata, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), and blockchain. The web-based application integrates seamlessly with existing Rwandan systems, including Irembo, LAIS, and Rwanda National Identification Agency (NIDA) to securely transmit citizens’ information. Authorizations and approvals by users are completed using PKI. Finally, for added transparency and security, key components of the process are recorded on blockchain.The adoption of advanced land governance systems enhanced by emerging technologies, such as Public Key Infrastructure and blockchain, enables the Government of Rwanda to solve modern land sector problems and better protect the country’s land heritage. This paper demonstrates how technologies such as Ubutaka app provide opportunities for positive transformation in citizen-centric land administration

UniverCity Connections: Report From the Stakeholders

Outlines the development, vision, and community initiatives of UniverCity Connections, a collaboration between Colorado State University, Fort Collins, and others convened by the foundation. Describes the task groups' focus areas, goals, and strategies

Descriptive Analysis of Open Government Practices of Four Mid-Sized Cities in New York State

The conceptualization and implementation of open government practices have evolved over the years, encompassing numerous actions that increase transparency, participation, and collaboration. While states mandate some open government practices for municipal governments, they also often implement optional forms independently. This paper examines how four mid-sized cities implement two such optional forms: government boards and open government data. This study was conducted in three stages. In the first stage, the author used the Democracy Cube framework, a theoretical model developed by Fung (2006), that categorizes various approaches to public participation in government decision-making along three dimensions. This model served as the foundation for conducting an ideal-type analysis of city-established government boards. In the second stage, the author developed a hierarchical taxonomy to classify open government data that the cities published. The content of each dataset, irrespective of public sector domains, served as the basis of the taxonomy. In the final stage, the researcher performed a multi-case embedded case study analysis where the city served as the primary unit of analysis and the public sector domain was the embedded unit of analysis. How the four city governments use both government boards and open government data was examined, as was the relationship between these two open government tools. Overall, this study offers a detailed and nuanced analysis of open government practices, contributing significantly to the academic literature and practical understanding of these tools in local government contexts

Data-driven Economies in Central and Eastern Europe. Challenges and Perspectives

The recently published Communication on “Building a European Data Economy” (COM(2017)9) clearly highlights the increasing importance of data as a driver for growth, innovation and job creation. It is estimated that by year 2020, the value the EU data economy will increase to EUR 643 billion, representing over 3% of the EU GDP. At the same time there is no comparable and quantifiable evidence on the current state and the future perspectives of the data driven economy in the European Union neighbouring countries. It can however safely be assumed that the role of data will be following a similar pattern, and is therefore expected to be contribution to an increasing relative share of GDP. Furthermore, some European neighbouring countries, most notably those in Central and Eastern Europe, are a recognised destination for IT businesses that grow two to three times faster than in their economy of origin. Within this context, a workshop was co-organized by the World Bank, the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC). The workshop took place on 05 September as part of the annual INSPIRE Conference in 2017 (co-organised in Strasbourg and Kehl by France and Germany). The workshop explored the challenges and possibilities related with Data driven economy in Central and Eastern Europe. All the presentation of attendees are available online. The rapidly emerging spatial data infrastructures (SDI) were used as a use case to have a better insight into the data economy as they address a broad spectrum of topics that relate to the legal, technological and organisational challenges towards the use and reuse of data. Particular emphasis was put on good practices that if re-used and extended, can further foster innovation and intensify growth. This JRC technical report summarises the outcomes of the WB/UNECE/FAO/JRC workshop. It includes (i) overview of relevant processes on the global and European agenda, (ii) good practices from countries in the target region on the value-added from data that provide indications future policy directions and emerging opportunities.JRC.B.6-Digital Econom

Analysis Of E-Governance Status and Future Of E-Governance In Punjab

The e-Governance (digital government or online government) refers to government2019;s use of information technology to exchange information and services with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government. E-Governance is a process of reform in the way Governments work, share information, engage citizens and deliver services to external and internal clients for the benefit of both government and the clients that they serve. This paper studies the current status of e-governance and future of e-governance in Punjab

A Land Administration Data Exchange and Interoperability Framework for Kenya and Its Significance to the Sustainable Development Goals

Sharing land data from one department to the other is a continuous process. A solid structure and a set of guidelines on how to share them is to be put in place as a foundation for the development of a land administration data exchange and interoperability framework in support of data acquisition, land transactions and distribution of land data. In this research, the application of the ISO Framework for Enterprise Interoperability (FEI) as a standard is the starting point. Utilising the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) profile for Kenya as a base, an interoperability framework in support of land administration in Kenya is developed that addresses concerns, removes barriers and selects the approach for implementation. Due to the critical nature of land, it fits into the United Nations 2030 sustainability agenda. During the development of the Kenyan profile, four country-specific issues in the context of people-to-land relationships have been identified and modeled. The mapping of those issues relevant to the sustainable development goals supports the achievement of those goals so that all related targets and indicators can be attained. Using GIS tools, the implementing and testing of the new LADM profile for Kenya is not a difficult task. By using existing land data combined with newly collected data in the LADM-compliant database, a complete and accurate workflow is assured. Integration with external databases is useful for improving efficiency and eliminating duplication. Data collection with all stakeholders and validation through public inspection are recommended

E-government iImplementation and adoption: the case study of Botswana Government

ABSTRACT The advancements in the ICT and internet technologies challenge governments to engage in the electronic transformation of public services and information provision to citizens. The capability to reach citizens in the physical world via e-government platform and render a citizen-centric public sector has increasingly become vital. Thus, spending more resources to promote and ensure that all members of society are included in the entire spectrum of information society and more actively access government online is a critical aspect in establishing a successful e-government project. Every e-government programme requires a clear idea of the proposed benefits to citizens, the challenges to overcome and the level of institutional reform that has to take place for e- government to be a success in a given context. E-government strategy is fundamental to transforming and modernising the public sector through identification of key influential elements or strategy factors and ways of interacting with citizens. It is therefore apparent that governments must first understand variables that influence citizens’ adoption of e-government in order to take them into account when developing and delivering services online. Botswana has recently embarked on e-government implementation initiatives that started with the e-readiness assessment conducted in 2004, followed by enactment of the National ICT policy of 2007 and the approval of the e-government strategy approved in 2012 for dedicated implementation in the 2014 financial year. Significant developments have taken place around national and international connectivity including initiatives that offer connectivity to citizens such as the I- partnership, community run Nteletsa projects, post office run tele-centres and Sesigo projects that have been deployed on a wider Botswana. In spite of these remarkable initiatives there is no change management strategy in place and evidence to suggest that citizens cluster groups, government employees, key influential citizens’ stakeholders and other local government administrative governing structures at district levels have been appropriately informed, consulted, engaged and participated in the design, development and implementation initiatives. This position has contributed largely to low e-readiness indices for Botswana, low PC, Internet and broadband penetration levels, which do not commensurate with levels of connectivity initiatives already in place and operational. The strategy development, which is the viability business plan for the entire project has been initiated and concluded without the appropriate input of citizens, employees and local government structures at the districts. Considering that that e-government is new and narrowly researched in Botswana. There is non existing research on both the impact of strategy factors to e-government implementation success and citizens’ involvement and participation in the e-government design and implementation through to adoption and continual use. This study therefore explores and investigates empirically the key e-government strategy influential success elements and the how citizens’ involvement and participation in e-government development can be secured, supported and facilitated towards adoption and continual future use. This culminates in the proposal of both theoretically supported and empirically validated e-government strategy framework and citizen centric conceptual model. The study is crucial as it aims understand how can influences upon success in e-government project be better understood and citizens’ stakeholder adoption of e-government enhanced to facilitate successful development of e-government in Botswana and is also timely as it comes at the time when Botswana has not yet implemented her e-government strategy, hence factors identified are critical to both strategy re-alignment and design of the citizens’ involvement and participation change management strategy to support both implementation and citizens’ adoption of e-government in Botswana. The study utilises the mixed methods research, employing both qualitative and quantitative methods to address the research question and triangulated data collection approaches used to select survey sample for two questionnaire sets carried on opinion holders within government and non government structures and ordinary citizens, use of observations on operating tele-centres, interviews with key e-government strategic stakeholders and document analysis which included e-government policies and related documentations as well as extensive review of e-government published literature including applied implementation and citizens adoption experiences of developing and developed countries. In the analysis of data the multiple regression analysis has been utilised and multivariate analysis performed to ensure linearity, normality and collinearity. The linear regression has been used to test the hypothesis through the Analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique. Keywords E-government, strategy critical success factors, key influential elements, citizen centric conceptual model, strategy framework, Botswana.Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST)Botswana Embass