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New
Study Identifies Successful Strategies for Implementing Local E-Government
SAP AG announced the publication of a new study, titled “Local
E-Government Now: A Worldwide View,” which examines municipalities
in fourteen countries around the world engaged in the establishment
of best practices in efficient and effective e-governance. The study,
partially funded by a grant from SAP, is the first to focus on local
e-governments, where the majority of citizen-government transactions
take place.
The report, led by two non-profit organizations in the UK, the
Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and Society of IT Management
(Socitm), was conducted to help municipalities meet the deadlines
countries have set to introduce e-government on the local level.
It offers case studies and identifies best practices on customer
service, internal efficiency, and citizen engagement, focusing on
a variety of e-government initiatives that include secure e-services
in Spain, e-democracy in Norway, and research on efforts to drive
down costs of government services in the United States and Canada.
“The study shows authorities are wrestling with common problems
and similar objectives around the globe,” said Martin Ferguson,
e-government advisor, IDeA. “Because the various agendas around
the world are very similar and differ only in flavor, local authorities
can learn immensely from other governments that have already faced
the challenge of introducing e-government.”
The study identified that, when introducing new services, successful
e-governments examine and follow best practices from other local
authorities, central governments, and independent training organizations
to learn from their implementations.
In addition, the study reports that countries that use technology
to collaborate across organizations noticeably improve information
management and are able to transform the quality and efficiency
of online services (e-services) by connecting public administrations
with citizens, suppliers, and other organizations via the Internet.
“The study shows an encouraging trend that rather than implementing
e-government in a piecemeal fashion, local authorities are working
together to entirely transform local government services to the
benefit of their citizens,” said Tom Shirk, senior vice president,
Public Services, SAP AG. “By sharing information and using
collaborative technology, they are delivering value-added services
to their citizens.”
The study was based on case studies from fourteen countries: Australia,
Brazil, Canada, Germany, the Republic of Ireland, Finland, Italy,
the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United
Kingdom, and the United States. Case studies from these countries
were supplemented by information about progress in Singapore, Hong
Kong, and Japan, to provide complete coverage of five continents.
“This report will help further develop idea exchanges,”
said Jim Haslem, president of Socitm. “As a professional association
representing IT managers who are implementing the e-government agenda,
we have found the exchange of information and experience with our
counterparts in other countries to be extremely useful to our members.”
Sharing Best Practices
A number of local municipalities in the study implemented e-government
solutions by following best practice from SAP. These governments
include Hampshire County Council, a large local authority in the
south of the United Kingdom, serving a population of 1.25 million
people, and Cape Breton Reg. Municipality (CBRM), a smaller local
authority in Canada serving 120,000 residents with a municipal staff
of 850.
Hampshire County Council constructed efficient business processes,
improved council services, and developed new communities of interest
with other organizations through the implementation of mySAP Public
Sector.
CBRM, with very limited resources, transformed its entire organization
with SAP solutions and the solutions’ ability to provide timely
and accurate financial information with activity-based accounting
and cost comparisons between public and private service delivery.
The template created in these SAP projects has been made available
to other municipalities, and several have already collaborated with
CBRM and other SAP public sector customers to implement useful solutions.
SAP provides mySAP Public Sector to hundreds of central and local
governments around the world to electronically connect public administrations
with citizens, suppliers, and other organizations via the Internet
and to enhance communications, streamline services, and cut costs
in government organizations.
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