E-Government Overview

The conceptual framework of the United Nations e-government program is embedded in the paradigm of human and social development. E-government in this context encompasses the capacity and the willingness of the public sector to deploy ICT for improving knowledge and information in the service of the citizen. Capacity espouses financial, infrastructural, human capital, regulatory, administrative and systemic capability of the state. The willingness, on part of the government, to provide information and knowledge for the empowerment of the citizen is a testament to the government’s commitment.

The UN Global E-government Survey framework encompasses the economic and social development context of a country. As the UN Global E-government Survey 2003 stated, any survey of e-government development assessment has to be placed in the context of the overall pattern and the level of development of a country. In a survey which ranks countries, it is vital that the assessment of websites does not provide a distorted picture of the progress made and challenges faced by the countries.

E-Government Development is a function of not only a country’s state of readiness but also its technological and telecommunication infrastructure and the level of its human resource development, among other factors, and at a minimum should be based on the level of all three. E-government initiatives, however, sophisticated are unlikely to contribute significantly to development if they reach only the privileged few.

We invite you to explore the United Nations e-government program conceptual framework that provides the foundation for the e-Government Development Database by selecting the links within this section.