E-GOVERNMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT

E-GOVERNMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT.(excerpted from EADSURLS 11/FY 2004)

E-GOVERNMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT.

United Nations Online Network in Public Administration and Finance. November 2003.



This report compares and contrasts the concepts of “e-government”, “e-governance”, and “e-democracy”, which are interrelated but not synonymous. Using the whole array of information and communication technology (ICT) available, the authors maintain that “e-government” can be defined as “the sum of internal processes and external relationships that public authorities maintain with citizens, business, or foreign public entities.”

Among the potential benefits of e-government, the report cites:

* simplification of the process of dealing with public bureaucracy;

* increasing efficiency, transparency and accountability in the use of public resources;

* increasing society’s knowledge of the issues handled by the public administration;

* reduction of administrative costs.