Does E-Government Pay Off?

This is a report on the feasibility and cost-benefit of the implementation and integration of more information and communication technologies (ICTs) into government service delivery in Europe. The objective of the study was to determine whether or not it is worth investing in eGovernment initiatives, and to identify the required back-office changes. The study involved the collection and analysis of information on a number of "European exemplary public services - Eurexemps." This research was conducted in preparation of the chairmanship of the Netherlands for the European Union from July to December 2004.

The report is based on a qualitative study of eight case studies selected from a short-list of 25 successful e-government initiatives from European Union countries. The eight cases, taken from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain were selected on the basis of:

• Does the case present an innovative service using ICT?
• Does the case contribute to improvements for customers and organisations involved?
• Does the case involve multiple changes in the backoffice?
• Is there co-operation between organisations (sharing of information) involved in the case?

These cases were then evaluated through a process of desk research and qualitative interviews with staff and associated personnel. Many of the conclusions about specific returns and the required back-office changes are based on information provided by the interviewees.

Findings



The conclusion of the study was that eGovernment does pay off. The benefits can be grouped into seven broad and interconnected categories:

1. improved quality of information and information supply;
2. reduction of process time;
3. reduction of administrative burdens;
4. cost reduction;
5. improved service level;
6. increased efficiency;
7. increased customer satisfaction.

In the cases studied, however, it was revealed that public authorities themselves tended to profit more from eGovernment improvements in these areas than do citizens and businesses. The "Eurexemps" demonstrated a focus on efficiency with the objective of reducing administrative burdens for customers and generating increases in productivity, but most of the accruals from the cost reductions were to the organisations themselves. The authors note though, that greater efficiency within pubic services also generates greater value for taxpayers and thus citizens and businesses are in fact the final beneficiaries.

The determinant of how much citizens and businesses profit is the impact of the service being supplied and the level of uptake of the service. The larger the target group of customers for the services (e.g. tax payers), and the more frequently services are rendered (e.g. in the area of social benefits or student loans), the higher the potential returns were.

The study also revealed that some changes would be necessary in order for the maximum gains to be realised, but that it was possible for organisations to make substantial and important improvements in service delivery with relatively minor changes and short-term maximisation of returns.

Some of the most promising, short-term, rapid-return investments in eGovernance identified by the study were:

• inter-organisational co-operation (the re-use of data and processes);
• the use of pro-active services (e.g. pre-filling forms);
• the application of private sector solutions (e.g. transaction platforms and authentication methods);
• digitising processes (e.g. for risk analysis and management information);
• multi channelling (increasing the number of channels, including more advanced and technologies that have a widespread use among customers, such as SMS).

In order to achieve some of these returns and benefits, the study concludes with a series of recommendations that include:

1. An integrative and multi-staged approach which is geared to a combination of several public services and different target groups - along a two-track programme of short-term evolutionary steps, alongside a more revolutionary transformation of both backoffices and the use of ICT;
2. Generic information infrastructures that are agreed upon by all parties involved and that incorporate aspects such as the protection of privacy;
3. Facilitation of the uptake of electronic public services by various forms of stimulation (legislation, incentives, public relations and marketing);
4. Stimulation of measurement of costs and benefits in a broad sense (quantitative and qualitative), focus on set up, but also on innovation, actual uptake and societal (social, economic, judicial and democratic) impact.