Crossing the boundary: why putting the e in government is the easy part
Taking a critical look at the state of the e-government across the globe, this paper shows that the main challenge for e-government lies in managerial and political domains. It argues that unless organisational factors like budget management, statues and regulations change and long term political support is given at the top level, much of ICT’s potential will be left unexplored.
Even when ICTs only strengthen the existing institutional and social arrangements and departmental silos persist due to the will of politicians, the technology still offers the possibility to improve collaboration and decision making. Hence, administrative and political leadership need to use their growing understanding of e-government to come up with strategies that will help crossing the boundary for better collaboration.
The paper presents certain suggestions for administrators to move forward with their cross-boundary collaboration issues. They include:
- communicate continuously, openly and set clear objectives
- choose an area of high-political exposure for an initial pilot to start off with a success story. The more success stories to tell, the more positive political support will be forthcoming
- thoroughly analyse the complete organisational process, responsibilities and structures
- ensure that all stakeholders take ownership. Nothing is more motivating than seeing one’s idea being part of a successful project.
