Transformational Government
Introduction
Transformational Government is a term which describes the use of computer-based information and communications technologies (ICT) to enable radical improvement to the delivery of public services. The term is commonly used to describe a government reform strategy which aims to avoid the limitations which have come to be seen as associated with a traditional e-Government strategy.
History
During the last two decades, governments around the world have invested in ICT with the aim of increasing the quality and decreasing the cost of public services. But over that time, as even the least developed countries have moved to websites, e-services and e-Government strategies, it has become increasingly clear that e-Government has not delivered all the benefits that were hoped for it.[1] One study found that 35% of e-government projects in developing countries resulted in total failures; and that 50% were partial failures.[2]
In reaction to these poor outcomes, there has been a shift of perspective to 'Transformational Government', aiming beyond purely technical aspects of better enabling e-government processes towards addressing the cultural and organisational barriers which have hindered public service benefits realisation. Researchers have defined the rationale for Transformational Government as “the exploitation of e-government such that benefits can be realized”.[3]
In 2010 OASIS published a report [4] which identified a wide range of common pitfalls which have hampered many governments in achieving significant impacts through their technology investments. However, OASIS also noted that:
- “… an increasing number [of governments] are now getting to grips with the much broader and complex set of cultural and organizational changes which are needed for ICT to deliver significant benefits to the public sector. This new approach is generally referred to as Transformational Government.”
Within the last decade, this new emphasis on a Transformational Government approach can be seen from a number of developed countries in the following extracts:
- “The PMC (President’s Management Council) will also focus on organizational and process changes across government agencies to facilitate citizen-centred transformation”
- In Canada, Report of the Auditor General of Canada: Chapter 1 Information Technology: Government On-Line 2003 [5]
- “One of the key principles of Government On-Line is that programs and services will be transformed to reflect the needs and expectations of clients and citizens. From the government’s perspective, the overall objective of the GOL initiative is full service transformation – to fundamentally change the way the government operates and to deliver better services to Canadians.”
- In the UK, Transformational Government: Enabled by Technology, 2005 [6]
- “The future of public services has to use technology to give citizens choice, with personalised services designed around their needs not the needs of the provider”
- In New Zealand, Enabling Transformation: A Strategy for e-Government, 2006 [7]
- “Agencies provide transformed service delivery through online services that are user-centred, convenient, integrated, proactive, inclusive, and efficient”
OASIS cites [8] the UK and Australia as two of the leaders in this area:
- “Transformational Government…. encompasses a new "virtual" business layer within government which allows an integrated, government-wide, citizen-focused service to be presented to citizens across all channels, but at no extra cost and without having to restructure government to do so. Two very good examples of this new approach are South Australia’s “Ask Just Once” portal and the UK Government’s DirectGov portal, and the approach is explained in very good detail in the CS Transform’s white paper entitled "Citizen Service Transformation – a manifesto for change in the delivery of public services”.
International initiatives
The early pioneering work by some governments is now being picked up and championed by a range of global organizations which offer support to governments in moving to a Transformational Government approach. For example:
- The World Bank has set up an eTransform Initiative (ETI) with support from global IT partners such as Gemalto, IBM, L-1 Identity Solutions, Microsoft and Pfizer. "The eTransform Initiative is about tapping information technology, expertise and experiences”, said Mohsen Khalil, Director of the World Bank Group’s Global Information and Communication Technologies Department. “Government transformation is about change management facilitated by technology. This initiative will facilitate the exchange of lessons and experiences among various governments and industry players, to maximize impact and lower risks of ICT-enabled government transformation.”
- A number of private sector organizations working in this area have published white papers which pull together global best practices on Government Transformation.[9][10][11][12]
- OASIS launched (September 2010) a new Technical Committee tasked with producing a new global best practice standard for a Transformational Government Framework. Included in this Framework will be:
- a Transformational Government Reference Model,
- definitions of a series of policy products necessary to implement the change,
- a value chain for citizen service transformation,
- a series of guiding principles,
- a business model for change,
- a best practice delivery roadmap,
- and a checklist of critical success factors.
Supporting this Framework will be a number of Use Cases and other guidance advice on its adoption.
See also
e-Government
Microsoft
OASIS
The World Bank
References
- ^ ‘The failure of e-government in developing countries: a literature review’. The Electronic Journal on Information System in Developing Countries. Dada, D. (2006)
- ^ ‘eGovernment as a Carrier of Context’. IGovernment Working Paper No.15, Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, Manchester, U.K. Higher Education Admission Center (HEAC) Heeks, R. (2004). Available at [1]
- ^ Electronic transformation of government in the UK: A research agenda. European Journal of Information Systems 16, 327-335 Irani, Z., Elliman, T. and Jackson, P. (2007)
- ^ OASIS : eGov Pitfalls Guidance (April 2010)
- ^ Canada - Report of the Auditor General of Canada, 2003
- ^ UK - Transformational Government: Enabled by Technology 2005
- ^ New Zealand - Enabling Transformation: A Strategy for eGovernment, 2006 :[2]
- ^ OASIS : eGov Pitfalls Guidance (April 2010)
- ^ Government Transformation: Microsoft’s Citizen Service Platform in the 2.0 world (September 2010) :[3]
- ^ Citizen Service Transformation: A manifesto for change in the delivery of public services (February 2010) :[4]
- ^ Beyond Interoperability: A new policy framework for e-Government (November 2009) :[5]
- ^ Sharing Front Office Services: The Journey to Citizen-Centric Delivery, Accenture 2009 : [6]
External links