The
necessity of informatization of public administration has always been vitally
important issue in managerial activity. For example, article by M.J. Richter
"A guide to emerging Technologies"[1] provides an overview of the
possible directions of development of this process. Among them the author
mentioned videoconference, smart cards, voice recognition, artificial
intelligence, network technology. These tools improve both the performance of
the state apparatus and public awareness of its work. The latest trend in the
development of information security governance is realized in the form of
e-government.
There
are several definitions on eGovernment meaning almost the same but having a
slight different view on it.
The
main approach on eGovernment can be described as follows: With the internet,
eGovernment can be used to work on and to solve political and social issues
increasingly local: close to the point of origin. Therefore eGovernment creates
a more effective and a more citizen orientated government with less costs for
the administration.
EGovernment
is understood as the execution of administrative tasks and processes with the
help of technical tools and media.
One
definition on eGovernmentis covers everything that is related to administrative
and democratic processes. In this approach eGovernment splits up into
eAdministration and eDemocracy.
The
understanding of eAdministration is related to research on raising efficiency,
development, and reorganization of administrative processes. The meaning of
eDemocracy is related to research, development and deploying of possibilities
for citizens to participate in democratic processes.
In
Ukraine there are both prerequisites and essential problems of its implementation.
UN
publishes regular reports on the development of e-government in the most
developed countries of the world. All of them are ranked in the ranking based
on estimates of Internet services, the level of the development of information
and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure and human capital. In terms
of each of the three components the reports also reflect a variety of
parameters, including information services and web sites of public services and
their accessibility to citizens, the relative number of Internet users, the
number of users of fixed and mobile telephony, and other factors.
Unfortunately,
Ukraine is rapidly losing its position in this ranking. If in 2012 it took the
68th place in it, then in 2014 – the 87th place, between Brunei and El
Salvador. Ukraine downgraded also in the index of information and communication
technologies, which is defined by a specialized unit of the United Nations -
the International Telecommunication Union. From the 67th position in 2012, it
moved to the 73rd in 2014. In the ranking of the Network Readiness of the World
Economic Forum Ukraine dropped from the 75th to the 83rd place[2].
The
feasibility of the development of informatization of public administration in
Ukraine is also confirmed by the interest of the EU to support it in this
endeavor. So, in June 3, 2015,
Switzerland agreed to provide Ukraine 4.5 million dollars for the development
of e-government. In October 15, 2015 e-government system began to be
established in the Kharkiv region.
In
order to solve practical problems of development of the project
"Electronic Government" it is advisable to perform additional scientific
research. For example, to clarify the definition of many concepts. Analysis and
synthesis of the literature on this issue has shown that most of the
definitions contain three main components: improving the efficiency of
government, the provision of services to citizens, the improvement of the
democratic process through the use of new information and communication technologies
(ICT). Despite many options offered by international organizations, some of
them remain controversial.
The
main activities of the e-government are the following: e-democracy,
e-governance, e-services, e-commerce [3]. E-democracy is based on the use of
technology to help solve many problems of a procedural nature. First of all,
this is manifested in the planning, conducting of online consultations or
electronic ballot. Such attitudes and actions, in particular the virtual town
meetings, open meetings, polls and forums communities, increase the degree of
political participation of citizens. As for the e-governance it regards
internal information systems to support management and administrative functions
of public institutions, including the data and information management,
maintenance of electronic records and information flows. Electronic services
are focused on the provision of electronic government information: the programs
and activities of the government, the formation of strategies to address critical
social problems. These services are characterized by new forms of civic
participation and co-operation between the authorities and citizens. E-commerce
involves the exchange and purchase of goods via the Internet, including the
provision of fee-based information services. For example, citizens can pay
taxes or bills for housing and utilities, prolong registration of vehicles and so
on.
European
experts predict the following positive results of the implementation of
e-government: improving the quality of services for the provision of
information by public authorities; reducing the time of service of customers
(citizens and businesses); reduction of administrative barriers; reduction in
administrative costs; a wider range of public services; improvement of the
efficiency of government agencies and the quality of their services;
improvement in client satisfaction with services.
The
political benefits of information governance include: the openness and
transparency of government, increasing the degree of participation of citizens
and governments in the information society, the growth of citizen participation
in democratic processes, improving efficiency and effectiveness of the policy.
Advantages
and benefits of e-government implementation are the same for both developed and
developing countries. However, e-government applications have many benefits for
citizens, business and government entities. E-government applications allow
people, businesses, and government sectors to access to available government
information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which improves the quality of these
services. Implementation of e-government will reduce cost and levels of
organizational processes by streamlining and re- organizing operating
procedures. Moreover, the using of e-government systems will improve the
performance of government agencies and that it will deliver the public service
effectively and efficiently for all customers. In addition, e-government has
great benefits regarding economizing and improving of governments service
operations, including efficiency, reduced transactional costs, increase the
transparency and increased services for citizens. Furthermore, e-government
benefits are as follows:
•
reduction of customers’ and organisations’ time, effort and costs
•
improvement of service delivery and citizens’ satisfaction
•
increase of users’ ICT skills , internet knowledge and computer usage
•
creation of new business and work opportunities
Moreover,
e-government:
•
improves efficiency of government agencies in processing of data
•
improves services through better understanding of users’ requirements, thus
aiming for seamless online services
•
shares information and ideas between all government agencies and department to
build one mega data base.
•
assists a government’s economic policy objectives by promoting productivity
gains inherent in ICT and e-commerce
•
improves transparency, accuracy and facilitating information transforming
between government and customers.
•
helps in building trust between governments and citizens, an essential factor
in good governance by using internet-based strategies to involve citizens in
the policy process, illustrating government transparency and accountability. To
conclude, it is clear that implementation of e-government not only saves
resources, effort and money but it can also extensively increase service
quality levels and reducing time spent in government departments.
The
main disadvantage concerning e-government is the lack of equality in public
access to the Internet, reliability of information on the web, and hidden
agendas of government groups that could influence and bias public opinions.
The
most important and common challenges and barriers of e-government are provided
in the table 1.
TABLE
1.
E-GOVERNMENT
BARRIERS
|
Category |
Barriers |
|
Technical |
ICT Infrastructure Privacy Security |
|
Organizational |
Top management support Resistance to change to electronic ways
Collaboration Lack of Qualified Personnel and Training |
|
Social |
Digital Divide Culture |
|
Financial |
High Cost |
Potential
implications of implementing and designing e-government,
include disinter-mediation of the government and citizens, impacts on
economic, social and political factors, vulnerability to cyber attacks and
disturbance to the status quo in these areas.
Hyper-surveillance:
once the government begins to develop and become more sophisticated, the
citizens will be forced to interact electronically with the government on a
larger scale. E.g This could potentially lead to a lack of privacy for
civilians as their government obtains more and more information on them.
Cost:
although large amount of money is spent on the development and implementation
of e-government the outcomes and effects of trial internet-based
governments are often difficult to gauge or unsatisfactory.
Inaccessibility:
an e-government site that provides web based access and support often does
not offer the potential to reach many users including those who live in the
remote areas, have low literacy levels and exist on poverty line incomes.
As
for Ukraine, the main task of the e-government is to improve the efficiency of
the existing government. This means improving the controls of citizens in the
area of taxation, the fight against crime and etc.
As
the analysis of the publications of Ukrainian experts shows, the concept of
"e-Ukraine" first of all includes authorities. Whereas in Western
countries in the foreground we can observe strengthening the control of
citizens over the government (that is why public performance evaluation of the
latter is introduced). In Ukraine, these programs still don’t exist.
The
content of e-government should assure that updated and verified information about
the government was available to all citizens. Only the government can solve the
problem of creating new online
mechanisms to facilitate communication of the citizens with bureaucratic
institutions.
However,
it should be noted that the creation of a single information system itself
designed to optimize the performance of municipal services does not change the
relationship of the bureaucracy and citizens. It requires the freedom of heads
of departments, their willingness to use the opportunities offered by the
computerization of their functions, not only for their own purposes, but also
for the convenience of citizens.
The
development of e-government in Ukraine is hindered by such factors as limiting
the spread of the Internet, imperfect legislation, inadequate financing of the
informatization process, conservative and bureaucratism of officials. The
government still cannot distribute any information on their activities, nor
coordinate departments. The problems of legal regulation of the Internet and
the organization of special education also demand their solution.
Literature:
1. M.J. Richter “A guide to emerging Technjlogies”, 1994.
2. http://gtmarket.ru/ratings/
3. V.N. Lupanov. Information and communication technologies in the control
system "Electronic Government", 2004.