A Proximity Indicator for e-Government: The Smallest Number of Clicks

In order to develop an indicator measuring the proximity of e-Government and its different generic functions, we analysed a set of studies that were conducted in the United States and in Europe. We defined 21 elements of measure grouped in six dimensions of proximity and we surveyed the official Websites of the French-speaking Swiss Cantons in 2002 and 2003. We observed that more technical aspects such as navigability were well developed, whereas more “socio-political” aspects (data protection, access for handicapped) and organisational issues were still in early stages. To conclude this work we give some hints for the application of a methodology based on proximity measurement.e-Government; portals; evaluation; proximity; 3-clicks rule; usability

Why TaxMe Makes Taxpayers Happy?

TaxMe-Online is the online tax declaration system of the Canton of Bern in Switzerland, where each of the 26 Cantons has its own fiscal regime and taxation system. In 2008 it was used by almost 26 percent of the Canton of Bern taxpayers (42% used the TaxMe-CD or other software, and the last third chose the paper forms). The TaxMe portal furthermore gives taxpayer access to their fiscal data (taxation status, amounts paid, etc.) and allows them to send electronic vouchers. TaxMe-Online does not require any preliminary registration as the taxpayers receive their user ID at the same time as the tax declaration forms, and when they log in with their identification data, their identity data (name, address, etc.) are already available. Users do however have to sign a paper-based validation declaration: until they have done so, their online tax declaration is not considered as finalized. The tax administration does not have the right to access taxpayers' data until the receipt of this validation declaration. TaxMe-Online is built on open source components and solutions; data are coded before being sent electronically (Secure Socket Layer). 33% of the TaxMe-Online users say they are “very happy” with this way of filling in their tax declaration, but amongst citizens using a similar solution on CD-ROM or the paper-based declaration, only 18% say they are very happy. This paper tries to find out why the online solution scores much higher than other tax declaration systems. It comprises three main parts (i) the development of an assessment model; (ii) a description of the system and its functionalities; and (iii) an analysis of user acceptance. We investigated the point of view of the TaxMe-Online users on an empirical basis, most notably by analysing secondary sources such as surveys realized by the fiscal administration of the Canton of Bern and newspaper articles, and by conducting interviews with various stakeholders.Taxation; case study; usability; portal; data exchange; open source; user acceptance

A One-Stop Government Prototype Based on Use Cases and Scenarios

In this paper we show the methodology we used to build a prototype for One-stop Government. We started by defining ten simple use cases, and then we developed scenarios, business rules and sequence diagrams for each of them. This work was based on a conceptual model for One-stop Government we developed in a previous research. We also explain why the use cases and the scenarios proved very helpful for the conception and the development of the prototype. Last we show the software architecture, based on distributed components, and the operation of the prototype with a few examples.e-government; model; use case; scenario; architecture

A Framework to Analyze Data Governance of Swiss Population Registers

In June 2006 the Swiss Parliament adopted a new law on population registers' harmonization in order to simplify statistical data collection and data exchange from around 4'000 decentralized registers. Besides there are more than 2'000 administrative services delivered to Swiss citizens and businesses, of which hundreds could potentially use data from population registers. The law is rather vague about the implementation of this harmonization and even though many projects are currently being undertaken in this domain, most of them are quite technical. We believe there is a need for analysis tools and therefore in this paper we propose a conceptual framework to analyse data governance of these populations registers, with a strong focus on information requirements and identity management. In order to develop this framework we built on existing approaches to define its building blocks: data consumers, data sources, identity in a given context, requirements, and data sets.governance; data; identity; population registers; modelling; framework

Method and Instruments for Modeling Integrated Knowledge

MIMIK (Method and Instruments for Modeling Integrated Knowledge) is a set of tools used to formalize and represent knowledge within organizations. It furthermore supports knowledge creation and sharing within communities of interest or communities of practice. In this paper we show that MIMIK is based on a model theory approach and builds on other existing methods and techniques. We also explain how to use the method and its instruments in order to model strategic objectives, processes, knowledge, and roles found within an organization, as well as relations existing between these elements. Indeed MIMIK provides eight types of models in order to describe what is commonly called know-how, know-why and know-what; it uses matrices in order to formally and semantically link strategic objectives, knowledge and actors. We close this paper with a presentation of a prototype we built in order to demonstrate a technical architecture allowing for knowledge creation, formalization and sharing.knowledge modelling; process modelling; public administration; methodology; knowledge sharing; RSS

ISEL: An e-Taxation System for Employers

In 2008 the State of Geneva modified its regulation on taxation at source in order to collect electronic fiscal data from employers. Indeed the latter provide data on their employees directly to the tax administration (AFC) and furthermore pay taxes to the State on behalf of their employees. They subtract the corresponding amounts from employees' income and refund that money to the fiscal administration. The taxation at source system is applied to foreigners who work in Switzerland or who receive Swiss pensions, to people who live in Geneva but work in other Cantons, as well as to performers, artists or speakers who work occasionally in Geneva. More than 12'000 companies and 117'000 employees are concerned by the scheme, and large companies provide data on several thousand employees. In the past these files provided by employers were handled semi-automatically by the AFC (at best). The new system (called ISEL for Impôt à la Source En Ligne) offers employers two electronic channels to provide data on employees: file transfer (.XSD) and internet e-form. This case study describes the ISEL project and its context, and discusses the issues raised by the introduction of this e-taxation system. On the human side, our paper takes a qualitative approach, based on interviews of various stakeholders involved in the project. They were asked questions on ISEL's functionality, usability, performance, and so on. On the technical side, the paper presents the architecting principles of the e-government approach in Geneva (Legality, Responsibility, Transparency and Symmetry) and the workflow that was implemented on top of AFC's legacy system.private public partnership; tax collection; e-services; e-government; data exchange; architecture; usability

Technical Foundations to Cut Down Administrative Red Tape: The Case of the Canton of Vaud

In this paper, we describe an analysis framework we developed in order to analyze the implementation of a simplification strategy in a Swiss Canton. This strategy is based on a participatory analysis of services and on the development of eGovernment foundations through the use of open standards and open source software. This framework takes into account both the supply side of administrative services and the user uptake. We will furthermore present preliminary results of our survey.eGovernment; foundations; e-Services; users; standardization; case study

Method and Instruments for Modeling Integrated Knowledge

International audienceMIMIK (Method and Instruments for Modeling Integrated Knowledge) is a set of tools used to formalize and represent knowledge within organizations. It furthermore supports knowledge creation and sharing within communities of interest or communities of practice. In this paper we show that MIMIK is based on a model theory approach and builds on other existing methods and techniques. We also explain how to use the method and its instruments in order to model strategic objectives, processes, knowledge, and roles found within an organization, as well as relations existing between these elements. Indeed MIMIK provides eight types of models in order to describe what is commonly called know-how, know-why and know-what; it uses matrices in order to formally and semantically link strategic objectives, knowledge and actors. We close this paper with a presentation of a prototype we built in order to demonstrate a technical architecture allowing for knowledge creation, formalization and sharing

Gouvernance de l'information: définition, enjeux et perspectives en Ville de Genève

La gouvernance de l’information est de plus en plus implantée dans les entreprises du monde anglo-saxon, et progressivement dans certaines administrations publiques pour faire face aux défis croissants de la gestion de l’information. Les Archives de la Ville de Genève ont souhaité mener une réflexion sur la gouvernance de l’information au sein d’une organisation telle que la Ville de Genève, alors que le records management y est déjà en vigueur. A travers un état de l’art, nous définissons les concepts de gouvernance, d’information et de gouvernance de l’information, puis le positionnons face au records management. Notre démarche est exploratoire. Nous avons choisi de nous inspirer du modèle de maturité de gouvernance de l’information Generally Accepted Records Keeping de ARMA dont nous avons sélectionné quatre des huit principes préconisés : la responsabilité, la conformité, la conservation, la disposition. Nous avons élaboré des indicateurs, inspirés du modèle et tenté de les adapter à la réalité du terrain. Nous avons estimé que l’approche ne pouvait être que systémique, dans la mesure où nous n’envisagions pas d’effectuer d’étude comparative, ni de contrôler si les correspondante-s archives et records management accomplissaient la tâche qui leur incombe. Le souhait a été de comprendre à travers les mécanismes de gouvernance, si l’alignement entre les directives édictées et la réalité était possible et de mettre en lumière les écueils éventuels. Pour ce faire, nous commençons par étudier la structure organisationnelle et informationnelle de l’Administration municipale à travers la description des structures que nous considérons comme parties prenantes d’un programme de gouvernance de l’information. Nous avons choisi de nous concentrer sur un service avancé dans le programme de records management mis en place par les Archives de la Ville de Genève. Les entretiens menés d’une part avec la correspondante archives et records management du service Voirie-Ville Propre, et d’autre part avec la Directrice du Département de l’Environnement urbain et de la sécurité, ont permis de mettre en évidence certains risques. Enfin, nous proposons trois recommandations d’ordre stratégique (mise en place d’une politique de gouvernance, réflexion sur l’implantation d’une instance centrale de l’information, et dans l’intervalle, nomination d’un responsable de l’information au sein de la Direction du département), et une recommandation d’ordre opérationnel (outils de management), que nous résumons à travers une matrice RACI

Technical Foundations to Cut Down Administrative Red Tape: The Case of the Canton of Vaud

International audienceIn this paper, we describe an analysis framework we developed in order to analyze the implementation of a simplification strategy in a Swiss Canton. This strategy is based on a participatory analysis of services and on the development of eGovernment foundations through the use of open standards and open source software. This framework takes into account both the supply side of administrative services and the user uptake. We will furthermore present preliminary results of our survey