Putting citizens on-line not in line

Putting citizens on-line not in line

McKinsey Quarterly, 2001 nr 2

Policy relevance:

Getting governments online is one of the 10 action lines in the EU’s eEurope Action Plan (see EURACTIV’s

ELinksDossier on eEurope). In order to achieve this aim, it is necessary to have a good understanding of e-government’s potentials and hurdles.

Executive summary by EURACTIV:

The main findings concerning eGovernment mentioned in the article are:

• The real value of e-government lies not so much in placing public services online, but in the opportunity to rethink, reorganise and streamline its service delivery before going online;
• Just 15% of e-governments benefits stem from technology solutions, the rest from streamlining the delivery of services;
• E-government can spark the growth of the new economy because it needs a public infrastructure, the creation of a regulatory and legal framework (e.g. on privacy and intellectual property) and the promotion of Internet penetration (without any users e-government services don’t justify the investment);
• E-government benefits private Internet ventures by increasing the number of World Wide Web- savvy citizens;
• Commercial services can coexist with e-government services, albeit the challenge for policy makers here is to recognise that what is good for business is consistent with good government.

• To read the full article,sign infor McKinsey Quarterly’s new Premium membership
• If you have already registered:go directly to the full article;
• For further information, contact ;
• EURACTIVLinksDossier on eEurope;
• Recent story on e-government:EeGovernment in EU short of its potential(19 October 2001)