Special Report on Technology and Government

In the February 14 edition, the Economist printed a special report on how governments are using technology to better communicate with citizens. The report contained a number of fascinating examples of the creative uses of information technology, but highlights the fact that governments are light-years behind businesses in using communication technology to serve people more efficiently.

The report tosses around two key terms: “i-government” and “e-government” . The first refers to the basic process of using the internet to provide information to citizens, while the second refers to providing government services directly to people through the internet.

A second way of categorizing the way in which governments use the internet is used by the OECD, which sets out four stages: information, interaction, transaction and finally, transformation. Even the first, as pointed out by the Economist, has proved difficult for governments, whose departments have few incentives to make their websites more easily readable, navigable or searchable.

One of the more interesting success stories comes from India, where a new service called e-seva, a network of public internet offices where citizens can pay bills online. The system – which is run by the private sector operating on a commission basis – allows citizens to avoid the woeful government infrastructure and saves them from traveling to government offices, lining up for hours, or being extorted for a bribe by corrupt officials.

In another example closer to home, the government of Washington DC has revolutionized the way it works by embracing Google applications and iPhones in place of traditional – and costly – customized software and police radios. Hiring and procurement are also being streamlined to great effect.

Of course, the danger of all of this progress for personal privacy is obvious, and is highlighted by the British government’s loss of the personal tax records of half of its citizens last year. The report also notes the immense amount of money being spent by governments on these initiatives, often with little effect.

Canada’s practices are not mentioned, though it’s easy to illustrate the failures with our own examples: the gun registry database or the passport security breach. As an example of success, I could point to the Toronto Public Library system, which will do everything but actually deliver the book (or DVD or CD) you want right to your front door. And for one I recently looked at, but haven’t yet made up my mind whether it’s a success of failure, the electronic tax filing system, which allows me to file my tax return but for some reason has never permitted me to log on and check its status.