E For Better Governance

Can

you imagine getting day-to-day things done without having to stand in long

queues? Think of getting the status on your passport application, renewing

driving licenses, tracking insurance claims, filing tax returns or even making

payments for your electricity, water and telephone bills–all instantaneously–through

the internet, from a PC at home or an e-kiosk! Lives of ordinary citizens can

become a lot different, simple and convenient, if administrators understand and

internalize principles of delivering e-governance.

Societies today

are multi-cultural and multi-racial, more conscious of age, religion and gender

than ever before. Social issues are complex and citizens are demanding a greater

diversity of public services. And they are not interested in which public

official is responsible for what public service. They will rather have

everything available from one integrated source.

What holds for citizens

Local and

regional authorities are finding themselves caught between a plethora of public

and private organizations. This makes it increasingly difficult to provide an

effective public administration system structured into a hierarchy of tiers.

More so because people’s real needs cut across all these structures. In

future, therefore, we should see multi-level, multi-nodal and multi-national

networked governance–this seemingly complex terminology is likely to embrace

important aspects of our lives.

Citizens are

increasingly expecting fast responses, simple procedures, instant status reports

and people-independent cost-effective systems from the government. The question

is whether the government is prepared to meet their expectations? How can a

potent combination of citizens’ expectations and the available technology

transform governance?

It will never be

easy for nations and governments to abandon traditional models of governance and

start looking at a business model that is radically different from everything

they have been doing so far. But alternative governance with IT is nevertheless

an inevitable reality.

_{Transparency strengthens democracy}

The technological

revolution will be accompanied with cultural changes. Transparency, which

characterizes democracy, will become more real than symbolic. Citizens are more

likely to question public service and demand explanations as to why it acts the

way it does. However, transparency will also bring a closer understanding

between the authorities and citizens.

The emerging new economy is both

global and inter-linked–its lifeblood is ideas, information and their

inter-relationships. To adapt themselves to these changing needs and trends,

governments at both the central and state levels need to devise and implement

coherent strategies. They should incorporate public consultation to create a

user-friendly infrastructure for the information society. In particular,

frameworks for inter-departmental cooperation to simplify and improve access to

public services need to be drawn out.

Governments need to consider

factors like: Can one find all relevant information about a citizen? Do

ministers or secretaries have quick access to the information they need? Can

everyone respond to a crisis with the desired urgency? Or, does the system

support public or private initiatives and integration?

The approach that can be

With demands from

citizens as well as companies for comprehensive services at lower costs, the

public sector will be looking for efficient and effective solutions. A new

approach to information, as part of a holistic administration and services

network, can be the deployment of a digital nervous system (DNS). Such a system

is designed to make government relationships with citizens and companies more

effective than ever before. With clearly defined tools like a personal computer

connected to the internet with powerful integrated applications and server

components, a DNS facilitates access to information and does away with costly,

paper-based processes through digitization.

An effective implementation of

DNS can help governments curb public frustration over, say, standing in long

queues only to learn that the desired information is available at some other

window. In the process, a state can improve its own knowledge management and

information flow. This can reduce the time the staff needs to deal with papers,

improve team performance, save space and remove mundane aspects of jobs, thus

freeing employees to be re-deployed for other productive activities.

A strong and effective knowledge

management system can help governments transform information into insight for

effective governance. Governments can improve their deliverables by utilizing

collective intelligence through data collection and analyses. Key areas like

administration, health, revenues and legal systems–once integrated through

knowledge management system–will help automate logistics thereby reducing

overall communication costs.

Internet catalyzes business

With the internet

as a catalyst, business is likely to change more in the next ten years than it

has in the last fifty years. The internet connects everything and everyone.

Beyond providing an inexpensive, standard way to link computing systems

together, it also puts vast amounts of valuable information within easy reach.

By allowing anyone to instantly interact with the administration, the internet

can help flatten an organizational structure and remove traditional hierarchical

barriers.

Electronic governance can build

stronger relationships between public administrations and citizens by providing

personalized services, transactional and information services like voting,

registration of births, processing of passports and permits, and payment of

taxes.

A new world order

What results is

the concept of a ‘digital town’ wherein a citizen can use the internet and

access government services anytime, anywhere through a single window, at his own

convenience. This is truly the reverse of what’s happening today in all

developing countries, where the citizen and the government are at an extremely

asymmetric relationship.

Think of the digital town as an

electronic mirror of the real community.

The information society will

allow full expression of creativity, diversity and commerce for people. With

governments both at the center and the state moving in the right direction and

the internet culture slowly yet surely catching up within the Indian society,

this may soon become a reality!

Rajiv

Nair President Microsoft Corp,

India