Building Blocks for Politically-Relevant

1
Vikas Nath Founder DigitalGovernance.org KnowNet.o
rg Initiative DevNetJobs.org

• Building Blocks for Politically-Relevant
  Citizen-Centred E-Governance Learnings from
  Developing Countries

_at_ WSIS Initiative, UNDP and Smithsonian Institute
World Summit on Information Society, Geneva 11
December 2003
2
E-governance A 2-Dimensional Mechanism
Politically Relevant
Citizen Centric
3
Lessons from ICT Penetration in Developing
Countries
Pre-ICT Society
Post-ICT Society
ICT has led to greater inter-linkages, increase
in interactions, and greater opportunity to
broadcast content, BUT . . . Has it altered the
Geometry of Information Flow?
4
So E-Governance should have a development angle

• Bringing New Constituencies / Target groups
  under the Governance sphere
• Making available relevant E-Governance content
  to communities newly brought under the Governance
  sphere

5

Identify Citizens and their
Specific Governance Needs
Small Medium Enterpreneurs Tax excise subsidies, Government loans, Credit availability
Farmers Pest control, Market and minimum support prices, Government schemes and subsidies
Unemployed Government employment and roster, medical benefits
Rural people Local government offices, health education facilities
Fishermen Weather pattern, rehabilitation plans
Do NOT forget the role of E-Governance for
Development Purpose
6
Citizen-Centred E-Governance 3 Building
Blocks (More ?)

• Create geographically rooted e-governance models
• Brazil Prefeitura.Sao Paulo www.prefeitura.sp.gov
  .br
• South Africa Cape Town Gateway
  www.capegateway.gov.za
• 2. Understand user groups and present services
  accordingly
• Eg Farmers need to know about subsidies from all
  govt. depts., SMEs need to know about all
  applicable benefits
• Nepal Bharatpur- Municipal services online
  www.bharatpurmun.org.np
• India Bhoomi Project www.revdept-01.kar.nic.in
• 3. Intermediary Creation Ensure participation in
  governance sphere is smooth and not
  time-consuming
• India Maharashtra- Integrated Citizen
  Facilitation Centres setu.maharashtra.gov.in

7
Why Politically Relevant?
E-Governance has to viewed as a Governance
Reform Process. Electronic governance is
therefore a political process Governance reform
is a slow process- requiring engaging with
governance institutions and bringing about both
attitudinal and constitutional changes.   Where
political will exists, electronic governance can
significantly catalyze the reform process towards
good governance.
8
Politically Relevant E-Governance 4
Building Blocks (More ?)

• Political Will and E-Champions (Top-Down
  Guidance)
• Information Sharing Culture (with Government as
  Role Model). And Governments also need to
  connect and communicate from within (State with
  Central, One Sector Ministry with Other)
• Steps towards E-Bureaucratization accountable
  MIS, Legislative and Regulatory Framework (Eg.
  Digital Signatures, Electronic files)
• Periodic Auditing of Information Provided on
  Websites

9
Action Plan Analyse Where Are We?
Politically Relevant Not Politically Relevant
Citizen Centred PERFECT Need Strong Citizens Movement
Not Citizen Centred Good start. Need to develop intermediaries Will not make significant difference
10
CAUTION
Do not view E-Governance as a revolutionary
process. Instead view it is as a reform process
and changes will not happen overnight Corruption,
scams, resignations are given greater visibility
in E-governance case-studies, Efficiency gains,
user benefits get less easily noticed. This
will make political will and relevance difficult
to capture, EVENTHOUGH .
11
E-Governance Works Both Ways
Political Benefits
Citizen Benefits
Lower transaction costs in revenue collection
Knowledge about opinion of people Feedback on
government schemes and peoples participation in
their design
Ease in Payment of Water Charges, Taxes, Bills
etc Information about Government Enhanced
access to government schemes
12
For more information

• Vikas Nath
• founder
• www.DigitalGovernance.org
• A network of over 2500 individuals
• With National Networks in India, Nigeria, Guyana
  and South Africa
• KnowNet_at_Knowetweaver.org or
• v.nath-alumni_at_lse.ac.uk