Category III — Superstar — inside and out
E-governments who have incredible Web sites AND are doing an excellent job with technology throughout their organisation.Category IV — You can judge a book by its cover
Some e-governments have lousy Web sites, which happen to be a true reflection of their lack of technological savvy and a general lack of organisational interest in making good use of IT.Which type of e-government are you?
If you are a member of Category III, more power to you! But first I want to focus on Category II — those with lots of substance, but no 'shizzle'.The problem with being a Category II is that from an outsider's perspective you are hard to distinguish from Category IV. Why is that an issue? Because for many, perception is reality. It doesn't matter that your organisation is a well-oiled machine that employs technology to work smarter — for those who don't understand your behind-the-scenes expertise, your organisation may not be perceived as being technologically up to date. Why should this matter to you? Because when it comes time for a change in administration, it could mean big trouble for your IT department. I have seen an entire IT organisation dismantled as a result of a merger between governments where one side was a Category I and the other a Category II. Guess which organisation was decimated in favour of the practices of the other? You got it — to the elected officials, Category I organisations must know what they are doing — look at their Web site!
The reality is that if you are a Category II, your IT operations are focused on making the organisation better — not just looking better. And while you are not against e-government in the sense of providing Web services to the public, you have given priority to internal projects, like making the network more reliable, or installing a new financial system, or coming up with innovative ways of serving applications to users for less cost and with greater reliability. Or perhaps the kind of government work you do does not lend itself to public Web applications. In any case, your organisation is internally focused. And while all that work fits the "real" definition of e-government — you score low on the shizzle factor.
The solution is to provide more shizzle, of course! It doesn't have to be in the form of your Web site (although that medium plays a significant role); it can be done through press releases, newsletters, public speaking, involvement with community user groups or business groups — even through networking. Whatever method you use, you must get the word out about the good things that your IT department is accomplishing and the quality of service you are providing.
Talkback
MAKE RIGHT TO INFORMATION A REALITY
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Make 'Right to Information' a reality for the Government as well as citizens and improve e-Governance, by using 'e-Administration', a web enabled, platform neutral, paper-less
communication solution, developed using open source tools (J2EE, JBOSS, Postgre SQL as backend, all running on Linux Platform), for intra-office and inter-office communication, for anytime / anywhere access.
The tool is developed by Life Line to Business (LL2B. COM), a Chennai, Tamil Nadu basd ICT organization with vast hands-on experience in Administration and ICT.
The tool follows the Tottenham system of Administration, followed in Governments and has been implemented in Government organizations in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. It can be used by any organization for total tracking of all communications - tapals and files.
Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT), a Government of Tamil Nadu Undertaking, is using the tool for the last 18 months. Commissionerate of Treasuries and Accounts, Chennai is using the tool successfully for the last 3 months (more than 3,150 letters have been scanned and taken into the electronic system for file creation and about 1,750 files have been electronically created including past G.Os databank link and draft submitted for approval and returned directly to the dealing officer.
The tool is a transparency and accountability tool. Dept. of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Govt. of India has already recognised the implementation of 'e-Administration' by ELCOT, Chennai by giving an award in the 7th National e-Governance Conference held in Nov. 2003.
The Hindu, The Hindu Business Line, The New Indian Express, The Financial Express, The Economic Times, The Business Standard, The DQ Week, The Digit Magazine, India Together, etc. have brought out articles on the unique initiatives of LL2B. COM. The reviews can be seen at http://ll2b.blogspot.com and World bank's Development Gateway.
The tool has been recently adopted as an official tool by the International Transparency and Accountability Network (Tr-Ac Net) to introduce Transparency and Accountability in Governments, corporates, NGOs and in general in communities and society to create a level playing field.
For more details or for a presentation, contact:
Kris Dev (Krishnan V D G)
President & CEO
Life Line to Business
LL2B. COM Private Limited,
B4, Ashok Suparna,
27/12, III Main Road,
Kasturiba Nagar, Adyar,
Chennai-600020, Tamil Nadu.
(044) 5211 5995 / 5698.
krisdev_at_gmail.com
http://ll2b.blogspot.com.