Step2 Leadership and Vision of the Mayor

OpenCityPortal

Delta Nigeria, November 2008

Contents1. What is Vision from the Top?

1.3. The e-government plan1.4. The goals of the vision

2.4. Universal access

2.5. Participatory approach

1.1. The importance of leadership1.2. The message to the citizens

2. Creating the Vision Statement in OCP2.1. Broad goals2.2. Benefit to citizens2.3. Initial priorities

3. Remarks about the Vision

Contents1. What is Vision from the Top?

1.3. The e-government plan1.4. The goals of the vision

2.4. Universal access

2.5. Participatory approach

1.1. The importance of leadership1.2. The message to the citizens

2. Creating the Vision Statement in OCP2.1. Broad goals2.2. Benefit to citizens2.3. Initial priorities

3. Remarks about the Vision

1. What is “Vision from the Top”?Creating a City Portal requires a political decision at the top level.

The mayor or the top official of the municipality should announce a short strategic vision explaining to citizens why the municipality needs a Portal and setting out the long-term goals.

The vision should include the principle that the Portal will be developed in a participatory and inclusive manner.

We will call this document the “Vision Statement”

1.1. The importance of leadership

All significant social/economic changes ,as e-government is, require strong leadership to successful transformation

Leadership made the decisions balancing the interests of both, the Public Administration and the Citizens and solves the arisen disputes.

The leader accompanied by his/her staff, must develop and apply the new and integrated processes and procedures using modern technology tools.

e-Government means modernizing the Public Administration structure

Main objective of the e-Government initiative: Providing an excellent customer service

The cost savings comes as well when achieving this primary goal.

Methodology to achieve its objective: Government becoming service-oriented instead of process-oriented

Integrating services and establishing and maintaining high service-level quality

The requirement of a leader to perform the methodology and achieving the goal

Why is leadership important for the success of e-government:

1.1. The importance of leadershipLeadership from top management is one of the critical success factors for e-government initiatives. Therefore, commitment to the development of e-Government must begin with the top management team of the government.

1.1. The importance of leadership

Properly training and equipment for the staff is critical. People working on the modernized administration must count with the necessary experience and knowledge to achieve the highest service delivery quality and productivity gains.

Investment in people is as important as in technology.

A strong leadership and a well-trained staff assures the success of the e-government project.

Not only the leader, but also his or her equipment

1.2. The message to CitizensThe vision should clarify the role of the City Portal in relation with higher objectives stated in the basic city development strategies:

– the city's long-term goals of economic and social development – the necessity and means of attracting and generating business opportunities

in the city

The vision should also include information and communication strategies: the pursuit of open and transparent city information policies the creation of efficient information management systems the involvement of the citizens in the policy-making processes

1.2. The message to the Citizense-Gov plan follows the strategic principle: ”Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast”

Think Big

- Before any single and concrete e-Government initiative is implemented, an overall picture of e-Gov should be sketched outIncluding: short- and long- term objectives, plans for funding and all connected issues- "Think Big" does not mean a very large-scale e-Government plan

Start Small

- The portion selected must be: simple, easy to carry and achieve, with limited investment required and the least risk- Purpose: ensure the success of the first stepsThe project team will be given credit, gain substantive experience, learn lessons and win support from users and top management.

Scale Fast

- Anything achieved should be applied to the entire government agencies promptly, so as to enlarge the 'victory' and obtain as much economic and social benefit as possible-By starting on a small scale, all the problems, resistances and obstacles will be exposed and this will benefit the entire e-Gov plan- This also means keep pace with advancing technologies

1.3. The e-government plan1. A vision and insight of the potential of e- Government will be formulated by the

top government teams2. The short- and long-term objectives and goals of e-Government development

will be clearly defined 3. The priority areas for e-Government development will be identified and a

development plan worked out 4. The funds for the planned e-Government projects will be in place at the right

time5. All the issues connected to the e-initiative will be given proper consideration;

issues such as legitimacy, regulations, norms and standards and organization and management.

1.4. The Goals of the VisionEmphasize direct benefits of e-gov to the daily life of citizens

Explain easily how the City Portal will benefit the "daily life" of the citizens: providing better access to information on schools and hospitals, shortening transaction times, increasing the efficiency of the government, etc.

Identify initial priorities and time lines

- Some initial priorities to achieve in one or two years- Simple but useful promises for example giving all the contact information and office hours, will be on the portal within a certain time

Explain how all the people can gain access to the Portal

People with no personal computers or internet connections can access the Portal, for example, through public information centers located in the city offices, schools, libraries and post offices.

Invite and encourage citizens to contribute contents to the Portal

Include all citizens not only in accessing information but also in sending it. Benefits and importance of this should be explained as well.

Contents1. What is Vision from the Top?

1.3. The e-government plan1.4. The goals of the vision

2.4. Universal access

2.5. Participatory approach

1.1. The importance of leadership1.2. The message to the citizens

2. Creating the Vision Statement in OCP2.1. Broad goals2.2. Benefit to citizens2.3. Initial priorities

3. Remarks about the Vision

2. Creating the Vision Statement in OCPWhen creating the OCP platform for your municipality,

you will be requested to write the vision of it

1. Broad goals and long-term strategyhow IT systems will be used to achieve the goals established

2. Direct benefits to citizenstranslated in improvements in their daily lives

3. Initial priorities that will be address in the first one or two years

4. Universal access for people not having their own computer or Internet access

5. Participatory approachinvolving citizens in taking part in the development of the platform

This vision statement will be published in the City Portal’s “Goals” page

VISION STATEMENT Items

2.1. Broad GoalsLong-term goals of the project of the creation of the Open City Portal:

OCP enables all citizens to control and monitor local policies Need ot the Government to be trustworthy

Information Technology need efficient Information Management IM benefits for citizens and businesses alike

Transparent policies + efficient Information Management system generates business opportunities for local entrepreneurs.

This makes the region richer, which attracts even more businesses

ICT initiatives not well understood by citizens with no ICT/Internet knowledge

The Vision should explain in a plain language how the City Portal will benefit the daily life of the citizens:

• better access to information• shortening transaction time • increased government efficiency• …

2.2. Benefit to Citizens

Area Impact on

Financial Current/anticipated income, asset values, liabilities, entitlements…

Citizens profit from the increased regional wealth, as well as better services due to new businesses opening in the area

Political Personal or corporate influence on government policy, political affairs and political parties or prospects

Citizens have better information on the local policy-making and know more

Social Family or community relationships, social mobility, status, and identity

OCP creates opportunities for new social ties and relationships

Strategic Economic or political advantage or opportunities, goals, resources for innovation or planning

Favorable climate encourage valuable individuals to remain in the community and improve it

Ideological Alignment of government actions or policies or social outcomes with beliefs, moral or ethical positions

Citizens monitor government’s activities and judge them in the light of their moral convictions

Stewardship Public’s view of government officials as faithful guardians of the value of the government itself in terms of public trust, integrity, and legitimacy

Citizens develop more trust on their government’s integrity

2.3. Initial Priorities

• Uploading the office hours and contact information for the different city services to the Portal

• Uploading information about the different local government officials

• Establishing a schedule of the project for the citizens to consult, so they can follow the progress of the initiative and see their contributions

2.4. Universal AccessCitizens with no access to personal computers or Internet connections must be involved in the project as well.

So, the vision should mention how these people can access the Portal, for example, through the public information centers located in the city offices, libraries and post offices

E-government plan must be carried out together with a infraestructure development strategy to provide citizens with access to e-gov tools

2.5. Participatory Approach

Seek the inclusion of all citizens not only in accessing information but also sending information or developing content to the Portal

Contents1. What is Vision from the Top?

1.3. The e-government plan1.4. The goals of the vision

2.4. Universal access

2.5. Participatory approach

1.1. The importance of leadership1.2. The message to the citizens

2. Creating the Vision Statement in OCP2.1. Broad goals2.2. Benefit to citizens2.3. Initial priorities

3. Remarks about the Vision

3. Remarks about the VisionWhen finally writing the Vision of your OCP Proyect,

Keep in mind the following tips

To see a video about how to include the Vision in your OCP Platform,Click Here

The Vision says what your objectives are, and what you want to achieve with this project.

The target are the citizens. Therefore, it should be written shortly and easily to be understood by all.