E-governments for a governable and transparent city (2/3)

Having explained the digitalization process of the traditional bureaucratic model, which I recommend to review before reading this post, this week we will learn about the e-government model. Let's start!

The e-government model

The proposed model uses ICT by local governments to improve their internal management, services and interaction with citizens, public and private organizations (Serna Salvador, 2002, p. 2). To achieve this goal it is necessary to develop a Metropolitan Area Network (from now on MAN) based on fiber optic cables that interconnect all public buildings with each other along with the Internet in a large information database (Anthopoulos and Manos, 2005, p.4) through the concept of the Internet of Things [1].

Figure 1. MAN Operation

Source: Own elaboration from Anthopoulos y Manos, 2005, p. 5

In addition, the MAN described is just one of the digital city [2] operational layers that corresponds to the administrative (back-office). The digital city model works in 4 levels that will be described below:

1. Administrative (back office): Public authorities and companies that produce and provide information to end users or execute services.
2. Infraestructure: Hardware and software components necessary to make the digital city operational such as fiber optic cables, public broadband wireless network, local area networks, servers, operating systems, databases, etc.
3. Application or services (front office): Applications and public services that react to the citizens' needs, their life events or business situations. Example: A citizen wants to travel by bus from point A to B; this event is translated as "Journey from A to B" and includes in its specifications the information of a service regarding a departure and arrival time of the bus that covers this route. This particular electronic service would be offered via the "Intelligent transport system" and offered to the citizen through a web portal or a digital poster installed at the bus station.
4. Users (end users): individual or organized citizens (Example: students, municipal employees, etc.), authorities and companies (public authorities, companies and municipal services) that are served by the digital city and have a unique role in it (Anthopoulos y Manos, 2005, pp. 2-3).

Figure 2. Levels of the digital city model

Source: Own elaboration from Anthopoulos y Manos, 2005, p. 3 

Municipalities must transparently monitor the research of needs and the services to build trust in the local population during the process of transition from the traditional to the digital model. Although this is an internal control role, the true role of the municipality is to motivate external urban actors to take part in this transition; the public entity must become an element of trust for all participating members (Anthopoulos y Manos, 2005, pp. 5-6). Based on this proposed model, it can be defined that e-governments work in four dimensions:

1. Internal dimension: It refers to the use of ICT to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the administrative management, internal functions and governmental processes interrelating the different departments and, in this way, achieving a faster and easier flow of information.
2. External dimension: Use ICT as an instrument to be a transparent and open government [3] providing services, offering information and facilitating interaction (web pages, portals, emails, chats, etc.) of the local administration with external agents (citizens and companies).
3. Relational dimension: Adopt ICT to integrate services vertically and horizontally enabling the integration of information and services carried out facilitating relationships between local public administrations and other public or private entities.
4. Promotion dimension: Development of the necessary ideological culture and the infrastructures to consolidate the model. In the first place, culture refers to the new paradigms and challenges posed by the adoption of ICTs by the government and society; while the infrastructures correspond to the hardware that support the network's extension. (Ndou, 2004, Rodríguez, 2011, Serna Salvador, 2002).

Figure 3. E-governments dimensions

Source: Own elaboration

[1] Concept that proposes the interconnection of all electronic devices, from cell phones to appliances, with the Internet to produce a database of feedback information. The IoT is basically a large network of interconnected "things" (including people) where relationships are between person-person, person-things and things-things (Morgan, 2014, parr. 4).
[2] Urban area where a number of ICT-based applications are installed with emphasis on the specific needs of that area. These applications are aimed at improving daily processes such as simplifying public transactions, reducing telecommunications costs and offering new services related to the local lifestyle (Anthopoulos y Manos, 2005, p. 2).
[3] (Open government) Concept that proposes "that access to government information by citizens is an essential right that strengthens democratic exercise. [...] (Establishes) that information becomes more valuable if it is shared, this not only benefits the end user that is civil society, but also makes the use of public resources more efficient" (Concha y Naser , 2011, pp. 13-14).

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At this point we have defined a government model that counts with necessary processes to provide services to citizens and collaborate with companies. So, how do we apply these processes? These interactions and application are called e-governance and will be the next entry in this blog.

See you!

Flavio 😋

Sources:

• Anthopoulos, L., & Manos, A. (2005). e-Government beyond e-Administration. The Evolution of Municipal Area Environments Could Establish a Digital Framework of Confidence for Citizens. ECEG, 7-16. Obtenido de https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Leonidas_Anthopoulos/publication/221522289_e-Government_beyond_e-Administration_The_Evolution_of_Municipal_Area_Environments_Could_Establish_a_Digital_Framework_of_Confidence_for_Citizens/links/00b7d53c0f187b870c000000
• Concha, G., & Naser, A. (2011). El gobierno electrónico en la gestión pública. Santiago de Chile: Cepal.
• Morgan, J. (13 de mayo de 2014). A Simple Explanation Of 'The Internet Of Things. Obtenido de Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/05/13/simple-explanation-internet-things-that-anyone-can-understand/#57c054781d09
• Ndou, V. (2004). E–Government for developing countries: opportunities and challenges. The electronic journal of information systems in developing countries, 18(1), 1-24.
• Rodríguez, G. (2011). Gobierno Electrónico: Hacia la modernización y transferencia de la gestión pública. Revista de Derecho, 21(21), 1-23.
• Serna Salvador, M. (2002). Gobierno electrónico y gobiernos locales: transformaciones integrales y nuevos modelos de relación más allá de las modas. Barcelona: Universitat Pompeu Fabra.