| Join Our List
|
|
|
|
Dear Sacha,
My
focus here is on online (e-)procurement or, more formally, e-government
procurement. While the reasons for that are obvious, it can lead
me to miss the forest for the trees. That's why I decided to look
into e-government in general, in this issue. I figured it would
be an advantage to have an overview of this topic, of which
e-procurement is such an important part.
|
| e-Government |
|
An overview
When
one thinks of e-government, it is natural to think of an Internet-based
government. The Internet remains one of the quickest and more
efficient ways to share complex or detailed information, especially if
it has to be updated often. It is undoubtedly one of the most
important advances for e-government, and the one with the greatest
potential.
However, strictly speaking, e-government has existed
for decades. Any systems which uses information sharing
technology can, and have, served for e-government purposes. Some
of these technologies are well established, though not commonly thought
of as e-government, such as television or radio. A government
controlled TV or radio channel is really no different from a government
website.
There are other long standing systems which we
encounter every day but do not register as being e-government.
Specifically, these are traffic lights and other traffic management
tools. and tracking systems are technically e-government
systems. More recent innovations such as SMS or Bluetooth are
also potential e-government technologies.
The Internet is main avenue of development because it has two
advantages over radio and television: the information is available at
any time. Radio and TV programs are available only at a specific time,
and if part or all of it is missed there is no way to make up for lost
time. Even in developing nations the Internet is the preferred avenue of implementing new e-government tools.
Why
is it beneficial to improve e-government? Its main purpose is to
improve citizen centric services. The goal is to engage, or
re-engage, the average person in the political process. We, the
citizens, are the building blocks of democracy. The better
informed we are, and the more involved we can be with the government,
the stronger our government becomes. In time e-government efforts
might even yield a viable e-democracy.
Naturally the economic
perspective can't be overlooked. On the one hand, maintaining
various resources on the Internet is considerly cheaper than sharing
such information over radio and television channels. More
importantly, the many advantages that e-government provides for
citizen services also apply to businesses.
Improved
communication between government and businesses can only lead to
improved business. Information is available at any time to
everyone, equally. It should be no surprise that this is what the
ElectronicTender System offers: quick and easy information exchange of the highest order.
e-Governance
aims make seamless communication and transparency the norm. With
it governance will improve, as well as the people's trust in that
governance. Ultimately, even governments will be lauded for being
efficient.
|
|
|
Resources |
|
 The British Government
If
you are interested in further information about e-government and would
like to see how other governments have and plan to implement it, you'll
be interested in reviewing the information for the UK government's e-Government Unit.
|
It's
fascinating to consider how far one could go with e-governance.
Is there even a limit? It's as difficult as always to predict the
future. Today we're taking the first steps towards this
goal. Once real attention is paid to e-governance and its
potential is seriously exploited, we'll go farther than we ever thought.
Consider where almost any technology was ten years ago and compare it to today. Where might we be ten years from now?
Sincerely,
Sacha Hartmann
YSER Inc.
|
|
|
