The UK Experience by Malcolm Morley *
Central Government in the UK has set a target for all Council services to be capable of being accessed electronically by 2005. Responding to this challenge and realising the true potential of e-government requires an understanding of the e-government hierarchy of development starting with the provision of information, leading to interaction, leading then to transaction and then to participation.
The provision of information by Councils to individuals and by individuals to Councils has been embraced by the vast majority of Councils in the UK by developing web sites and providing electronic forms. Many have developed further to provide the potential for interaction between the Council and its customers. This is more than the exchange of generic information, as interaction requires the ability to elicit a response tailored to a request for information.
Interaction for e-government is not exclusively Internet based and is not being seen as having to substitute for personal contact using the telephone. Email, however, is increasingly substituting for face to face and verbal interaction. Technology, providing the ability for multiple interactions, is being used to achieve increases in the efficiency/effectiveness of interactions between Councils and their customers.
Keys to these improvements are being seen to be focus, clear policies, the delegation of decision making authority and access to information at the point of customer contact.
The next step is transaction: the ability of the public and suppliers to conduct financial business with the Council using technology. Increasingly this is becoming possible as the ability to provide security and certainty of transaction is developed. As the number of individuals with digital television and computers increases, so too, slowly, is the ability of Council’s systems develop to enable the public to book tickets, pay bills and so forth, electronically and via the telephone.
The pinnacle of the e-government hierarchy is participation – the use of technology to engage with the communities served by Councils and to facilitate their participation in the local democratic process. Engaging in terms of mutual recognition and respect, and moving beyond a transaction based relationship.
Participation poses the biggest challenges for Councils: challenges for their organisational cultures, their power structures and the roles of elected members, managers and professionals. It also poses challenges in the form of converting public access into willingness to participate.
Generating that willingness requires a change in public perceptions and ensuring that participation provides real opportunities for the public to contribute to the future of their communities.
The maxim ‘information is power’ is being changed to ‘information is empowering’ Many Councils in the UK have made significant progress with e-government. Leading Councils are developing their e-government response towards becoming community information gateways. Some are linking e-government with Best Value. The real test of e-government and of Councils’ ability to evolve, however, is the move to participation.
* Malcolm Morley is a Strategic Director of South Oxfordshire District Council. This is one of a series of articles he is writing covering trends in the United Kingdom. He may be contacted by email at Malcolm.Morley @southoxon.gov.uk
The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of his employer.
