The e-Government Benefit Study, commissioned by the National Office for the Information Economy (NOIE) and conducted by DMR Consulting, gave a positive evaluation of the result of government IT policies, but noted more has to be done to integrate the Web based services of various government agencies and departments.
The report found that 80 percent of e-government users rate the improvement in service delivery as of significant or moderate social benefit to them, with 45 percent stating they had saved money by using e-government services. Sixty five percent of businesses using e-government services reported an improvement in the way they run their businesses.
However, the report found that the current practice of e-government as a provider of online information and online transactions should be regarded as a stepping-stone to a more inclusive and integrated government Web presence.
"People have indicated an improved usefulness of e-government as it moves from basic supply of information to online transactions and then to more complex multi-agency transactions and data integration," read the report. "People expect to interact with government in a way that makes agency boundaries transparent and integrated, with cross-agency data more readily available."
The report said the agencies surveyed were aware of their audiences and tried to target services appropriately, but the majority of services were "relatively simple" and were focussed on agency-oriented views rather than citizen-centric views.
"In the past, provision of e-government services has been based on the government's online strategy, rather than business or customer service," read the report.
"Maximum value can be attained from citizen-centric e-government systems that follow life events, rather than being limited by agency boundaries. For citizen-centric e-government, multi-agency cooperation must extend across all tiers of government, as well as some private partners."
"The transition from agency-oriented to citizen-centric e-government may be difficult and time consuming and will require leadership and coordination as agencies work towards a common and agreed architecture," read the report. It said that while Alston's e-government strategy Better Services, Better Government has already identified some whole-of-government requirements, there needs to be some level of oversight and scrutiny.
