70 per cent of e-government strategies that do not set clear objectives for constituency value may fail by 2005: Gartner

Gartner APAC VP Richard Harris had one piece of advice for those looking to reengineer the face of the government - organize the government around a citizen centric model. But this is pretty idealistic. Developing a contact center road map may still be a nirvana hope. Therefore, he suggested a change in user behavior by pushing for less costly channels and defining a target e-government architecture. By 2005, more than 70 percent of e-government strategies that do not set clear and measurable objectives for constituency value, operational proficiency and political return will fail, he cautioned.

Harris was speaking a session on `Reengineering the face of the Government' at the Gartner Summit India 2003 being held in
Mumbai.

Most government agencies have gone someway down the path of interacting and delivering services to constituents using e-government strategies. However, many e-government initiatives are too limited to really make a difference. Harris, therefore, felt it was important to review good examples of e-government as well as technologies that make them possible.

Even as China and Singapore have been leading adopters of e-governance, cost containment still continues to be a priority in most nations, he said. In most government models, separate government models have their own mechanisms. Each department has its own computer services, which is integrated with the main government portal. Harris was of the opinion that face-to-face interaction continued to remain the most expensive channel, followed by the telephone. The physical mail still continues to be a large part of interaction with the government, he said.

Email and web may be cheaper but are low in use. "It is basically an issue of digital divide between those constituents who have access to modern technology and those who don't. Although the government has been grappling with the investment focus on technology around web enabling service, this would have better been spent on the improving the services in the physical channel," he explained.

Harris said that governments as a response were taking to contact centers to provide access. Contact centers can reduce costs. "Reduce hand-offs. Doing things right is 90 percent less expensive than fixing them later," he said.

The ingredients for the next phase would include focusing on a core mission and core processes. Non-core processes are likely to be sourced to other parts of governments and the private sector. How do you change the work of the government? Harris called for increased efforts on back-office re-engineering, planning for reuse across agencies and tiers wherever possible. " Prepare to re-skill and reorganize internal IS staff to significantly increase business and IT management capabilities," he said.

Cyber News Service 

Mumbai