User Centric Services Under the Web 2.0 Era. Coproduction, Execution and Efficiency of Public Services

Abstract

Public agencies are being pressured for innovation, driving service delivery towards a more personalized, outcome-driven, participative, efficient and collaborative model. This paper captures the perception of policymakers responsible of strategies for e-government in local governments about the influence of Web 2.0 technologies on: (a) the design and coproduction of public services; (b) the easy access to services and the problem solving in the execution of public services; and (c) the evaluation of public services and the improvement of efficiency and accountability. To answer these research questions, an e-survey was sent to policymakers responsible of strategies for e-government in large Spanish local governments. Findings indicate that Web 2.0 technologies are seen as simple adaptations of offline behaviour in public services, which fail to generate meaningful interaction with citizens. It responds to the “representation” strategy, which is focused on the “push” tactic in which no interactions are allowed and a means of “crowdsourced democracy” is produced.