Making e-government attractive

Abstract

E-government has now become a reality for the vast majority of developed countries and, as confirmed by recent EU studies, is also beginning to take root among the developing nations. The challenge that the majority of governments now must take up is not only to introduce a system of e-administration (the traditionally accepted definition of e-government), but also to work towards a system that will hail an era of e-governance or good government. For this to occur, public administrations must make a greater effort to implement e-government systems that allow fluid communication with the general public, thereby achieving a greater degree of participation; the key to success for e-government. This article looks at some of the major government portals to services for citizens in countries across five continents from the point of view of creativity. The analysis of how governments are using creativity to attract public attention to their sites is then compared to recent EU results on participation and depth of services. © Springer-Verlag 2009.