Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 1

E-Government

Goals Information Provision Transactions Citizen participation

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 2

What is E-Government?

Government services over the web» Information for citizens (regulations)» Transactions (taxes)» Voting, opinion gathering?

Also standard for large organisation» Eg, better purchasing» Won’t discuss here

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 3

Goals

Make government more efficient» Reducing costs (and hence taxes)» As with e-commerce

Make govt more effective from citizen’s perspective

Make govt fairer, more transparent, more inclusive

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 4

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 5

Stages of E-Govt

1. Publish info (eg, new policies)» Standard for most agencies» Relatively straightforward

2. Transactions (eg, tax forms)» Becoming more common» Issues: privacy, fairness

3. Portals, etc: not yet (ever)

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 6

Publishing Information

Aberdeen City Council» News, what’s on, council meetings» Info on schools, libraries, etc» Forms, procedures

– Eg, student council tax exemption

Lots of information!» Just one local council…

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 7

Good thing!

Empowers people» No longer at mercy of bureaucrats,

solicitors, etc for basic info Speeds things

» Get info in seconds, not weeks Reduces corruption (??) Examples from students?

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 8

Issues

Keeping info up-to-date, finding info» Issue for all large websites

Bureaucrats may not want to put some info on web» Means they lose control» Examples?

Relatively minor considering benefits

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 9

Publishing Information

Makes govt more effective» Citizens find it easier to get things done

Makes govt more transparent» Clearer what is going on

Makes govt a bit more efficient (?)» Fewer staff answering questions

Does it make govt fairer, more inclusive» Harder to see

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 10

Transactions

Taxes, library card, civil weddings, benefits, etc

Report problems Fill out forms See Aberdeen City Council website

» 10s of transactions, vs 100s (1000s?) of information web pages

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 11

Taxes

Fill out income tax forms online» “Self-assessment” in UK

Much better for tax people» Reduce errors in forms, no need to

transcribe written forms into computer Benefits for citizens

» Less work (online calculations)» Forms can be filed later

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 12

Issue: Security

Protecting confidential information» People’s income

Avoiding fraud» Insiders fiddling things so they get paid

huge tax rebates Similar issue for ecommerce

» More serious for govt?

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 13

Issue: Poorer Service for non-Web users

Govt agencies may provide poorer service for non-online transactions» Paper tax forms used to be due on 31 Jan» Now due on 31 Oct

Tax people want e-forms because this is easier for them, so they penalise people who don’t use e-forms» Is this acceptable? Opinions?

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 14

Issue: Fairness

Is this fair?» Many people can/will not use web

– Elderly, disabled, socially deprived, …– People at “bottom of heap”

Will e-govt mean poorer service for people at the bottom?» Can argue govt must be fair, especially to

people at bottom of society

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 15

E-Participation

Use web/net to encourage citizens to participate» Opinions, policy debates, voting» Goal: make govt more inclusive» Sensitive to citizens, not just lobbyists

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Consultations

Aberdeen city council has open consultations on web page» Often about transport or schools» Allows anyone to submit an opinion

Many topics not addressed» Service cuts

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 17

Consultations

UK govt has wider range of consultations» Not clear how effective

Web-consultations can get swamped by a few individuals» Use spam techniques

Poor/deprived/etc poorly represented

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 18

Media

Media may do this better» BBC “have your say”» Can be selective, filter out spam, do not

need to show everything

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 19

E-Voting: in voting booth

Vote using electronic voting machines?» Instead of paper or punched card» Avoid Florida 2000 “hanging chad” disaster

Issue: what if system crashes» Are people disenfranchised?

Issue: audit» Can we recount votes?» Maybe produce hard-copy records?

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 20

E-Voting: Internet

Should people be allowed to vote via the Internet?

Not common yet, freq discussed Pros: easy to vote, increase voting rate Cons: security, hard to audit, under-

represent people at bottom Discuss in tutorial

Dr. Ehud Reiter, Computing Science, University of Aberdeen 21

E-Participation

E-Consultation nice idea in theory, not very successful in practice» Not representative, vulnerable to spam

Internet E-voting is rare

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E-Govt in Developing Countries

Deploy on mobiles if at all possible» Much more common than PCs» More effective than post

Makes corruption more visible, harder to hide (?)

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Summary: E-Govt

Publishing info successful» Widely done, real benefit to citizens» Challenges similar to other websites for

large organisations Transactions growing

» Govt agencies like this, cheaper» Concerns about security, fairness

E-Participation less successful

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Summary: E-Govt Goals

Efficiency: transactions Effectiveness: publishing info Transparent: publishing info Inclusive: in theory via e-participation,

not achieved yet Fairness: e-govt less fair to socially

deprived (less likely to have net access)

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Summary: E-Govt Issues

Fairness, esp to people on bottom Robustness if things go wrong, audit