E-government strengthens citizen s role: the Dutch model

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1 EurAsia-ICT 2002, Shiraz-Iran, Oct. E-government strengthens citizen s role: the Dutch model drs.ir. J.P. van Wamelen Management consultant Ordina Consulting johan.van.wamelen@ordina.nl Abstract Large public organisations mainly used IT as a means to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their operations. IT can also be applied to step up the effectiveness and efficiency of any other process in an organisation. This relates to two organisational processes: policy development and public services. But not only the processes are involved. It is also necessary to develop fresh policies. Concrete policy measures will need to be taken. 1. Ambition In the Netherlands several important committees are making studies in the way IT can help to improve government. But not only studies are being made. In her New Year's speech the Secretary- General at the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment indicated that the ministry would have to make an IT leap forward in the year This ambition can be regarded as an example, but also as a metaphor of the necessity of a new government and the speed at which this change should take place. An other good example concerns the research program Internet and Government. The research program gives a good view on the meaning of internet for the public sector. 1 Within the research program, government, private organisations and universities are working together. 1 Zourides, S., Frissen, P., Kroon, N., Mul, J.de, Wamelen, J. van, Internet en Openbaar bestuur, Den Haag, IT from facility to the motor of innovations Up to now large public organisations mainly used IT as a means to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their operations. However, due to developments in IT, it can also be applied to step up the effectiveness and efficiency of any other process in an organisation. As far as public organisations are concerned, this relates to two organisational processes, namely: policy development and public services. The importance of further developments in IT does not stop at the borders of a public organisation itself, as they also influence its environment. The further development of IT is so far-reaching, that it may be regarded as a major factor influencing the changing societal, political and managerial requirements on public organisations. These changes in the environment of an organisation lead to necessary adaptations and/or innovations in public organisations, which in their turn, influence the operational processes as well as the mission of any such organisation. In other words, the ability to improved management has developed into the motor of innovated missions and operational processes. The way in which IT applications are steered in a public organisation has as yet been directed at its original function in organisations, namely: supporting their operations. This becomes clear from the fact that this function is often designed as part of an operational function or even of a (full- )service organisation, resulting in a big distance to strategic functions within these organisations. That is why the innovative power of IT can only be used Page 225

2 to a limited extend. Also, it is problematic to successfully anticipate its results for their mission and operational processes. This means that the way in which the supply of information is managed within public organisations, will have to be set up differently. 3. The rise of the network society The need for innovation of public organisations is the result of changing societal, political and managerial requirements required from public organisations. One could think of requirements relating to public management based on demand, the necessity of an integral approach and coproduction of policy development against the background of influential factors such as: emancipation, globalisation, and in particular technological innovation. Demand-based public management results from civilians having developed into emancipated customers who want to be treated in a customerfriendly manner and public servants having to account for the quality of the products and services, including the quality of the service-providing process itself. Whereas the provided public service used to be specifically supply-oriented, now the civilians' inquiries and requirements must constitute the central issue. Public servants must increasingly reason from the individual customer's perspective. The individual customer's autonomy is expanding while the target group approach is declining. Also, the dividing lines between various categories of civilians are fading more and more. A similar change can be seen in Great Britain. I refer to the actions that are taking place as part of the New Public Management programme. 2 It is a large program called: Modernising government for you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The integral approach required is the most visible in positions where there is a direct contact with society, namely: those positions in which policies are executed and enforced. When meeting its requirements, the government tries to integrate governmental policy implementation and 2 Blaire,T., Modernising governement, London, maart 1999 monitoring. However, fragmentation in policy developments largely result in fragmented services and inspection. Social problems will not be curbed by the straitjacket of the set up of public organisations. Social problems must be integrally dealt with before integrated solutions can be looked for. It is probably the lack of integration that underlies people's increasing doubt about the use of a government, for instance: where safety and mobility are concerned. Co-production requirements have arisen because policy development has become a complex matter due to various developments in society. Civilians have become more emancipated and demand an important say in policy-making, whether or not by means of interest groups. The administration no longer has the opportunities and means to steer society. In present-day's society the government is no longer the all-determining focal point, but only one of the players in it. In the past decades, knowledge about policy matters, related skills and means have strongly increased outside the public authorities, thus no longer validating the authorities' centralised steering. Therefore, multi-actor and multi-level governance are terms used more often nowadays. However, this can clash with the primacy of politics: the administrators of the country nowadays are expected to fulfil a different role in policy-making from that in the past. Linear production will make place more and more often for network production. Increasingly, administrators will be mutually accountable for policy-developments through co-productions. In that light, the roles of the separate actors must be reviewed, for instance: the role of NGOs and private organisations. The changed societal, political and managerial requirements do not only lead to necessarily different steering by the government, but also result in different policies. As regards the development of fields of policy, one can distinguish between possible developments, probable developments, and desirable developments. This distinction is necessary because technological innovations such as IT developments facilitate a great many developments. Because of the influence of socialeconomic factors, for instance, not all the available options will be used. Moreover, all probable Page 226

3 developments are not always desirable ones. This holds true especially for policy areas about which politicians have a pronounced opinion. However, despite the influence of other societal factors and the need for political steering, technological innovations such as developments in IT will lead to a different organisation and functioning of society. Knowledge on this is essential for a public organisation to keep on functioning meaningfully. A number of recent studies show the possible influence of IT developments on various fields of policy in the Netherlands, for instance: the state, cities, spatial planning, agriculture, mobility as well as culture and the arts. In particular I want to mention a study of several years ago by the Technical University of Delft, called The networkcity VROM 3. In this study you can read about the influence of time and space on spatial planning and urban development. Against this background, an image develops of a new society, the so-called network society. Public organisations in this society will have to adapt in the way they provide services and implement policies, and their contents. As regards the immense importance of technological innovation in general and the potential of the IT for these developments in particular, extra attention will have to be paid to its influence. If you want to read more about this I can strongly recommend the works of Manuel Castells 4 4. Towards an electronic government Due to the rise of the network society as a result of the innovative power of IT, work relations will gradually change from physical to virtual networks. This means that all organisations, including public ones, will have to transform themselves into organisations properly utilising IT. The public ones will have to develop into a digital or electronic government (e-government). This 3 Drewe, P., De netwerkstad VROM, Delft Castells, M., The information age: economy, society and culture, Oxford, 1997 transformation cannot take place overnight. Any of these organisations will have to pass through a number of stages to do so. The administrator of a public organisation will have to steer this transformation into the proper direction. The innovative power of IT can be expressed in the IT potential with respect to: the significance or influence and value of IT 5. Its significance or influence here refers to: time, the loss of the meaning of time: according to Castells: timeless time space, the more important meaning of flows: according to Castells: space of flows significance, for instance: its relation and inter-dependence on actors within an organisation and its value becomes visible through the following options: suitability, for instance: improved efficiency effectiveness, for instance: improved effectiveness innovation, for instance: the generation and implementation of fresh ideas. The transformation can be steered by means of a number of coherent strategies, namely: the market strategy: answering the question in what way, with what products and services, what markets are served, the functional strategy: a description of the targets and means related to individual functions within an organisation, such as finances, purchasing, and automation the governance strategy: the embedding of the different (market and functional) strategies in an organisation, and the designing of structures and responsibilities related to these strategies. As far as public organisations are concerned, and taking into account societal, political and managerial requirements, attention must be paid to five fields of application, namely: policy content, the way in which policies are made, service, management and steering. These fields of 5 Linden, D., Noordam, P., Wamelen, J.van, ICT trends en de electronische overheid, Den Haag Page 227

4 application and the various strategies presented above are interrelated, namely: market strategy - policy contents functional strategy - the way in which policies are made (with the constituents) - services (to the consumers) - management governance strategy - steering Transformation of a field of application may take place by making use of IT potentials. This means that an electronic government differs from the old, automated government. The electronic government is a new government, one which deserves its civilians' respect. 5. The need for fresh policies (Egovernance) A network society and an electronic government do not simply emerge by themselves. Concrete policy measures will need to be taken. The necessary policy measures can be subdivided into two fields of attention, namely: the care for the rise of both a network society and electronic government. As indicated above, technological innovation will lead to the rise of a network society. One should carefully consider what policy measures must be taken to steer this development in a direction and speed that is desirable in both a societal, political and managerial context. This may result in the abolition of obsolete legislation, rules and regulations, the creation of favourable conditions for desired developments to come about or measures to be taken to halt undesirable developments. It may also result in the search for interventions which help meet the desired rate. One could think of measures for the prevention of digital divide, policies aiming at the development of a technological infrastructure, the stimulation of public debates, the development of educational programmes, but also research into the importance of IT for concrete fields of policy such as spatialeconomic developments. A good example of fresh policies is given in the paper: A ministry of space and time 6. Public organisations, as an actor in the network society, will also have to be transformed. This is essential for the government to be able to function properly and to be a leading role model for other groups in society. The government' leading the way may be regarded as one of the interventions mentioned earlier. To facilitate this, government rules and regulations hindering an electronic government shall have to be done away with and stimulation measures for public organisations formulated. For this one could think of a programme to improve, among other things, government services to its civilians, the use of GDR for policy development, the application of discussion platforms, the further development of the electronic signature, the improvement of personal identification, improved provision of information documents, the introduction of individual addresses. As mentioned earlier several policy documents are made in de last years on this topic. First I want to point out at the National Action Plan. As part of this plan every Dutch town must have a virtual desk for improving the service to the public. Second I want mention a document that is written several month ago 7. In this document 16 recommendations are written down to create a government that is in constant innovation. Third I must mention the results of the program Infodrome 8. As part of the program several building blocks are developed for discussion and decision making by a new cabinet in the Netherlands. This new policy field must be developed and steered in a new way. This means that when carrying out activities, the organisation must try and find work forms that are in keeping with the various developments. In other words, the activities in themselves must also function as examples. This 6 Bullinga, M., Een ministerie van Ruimte en Tijd, naar een duurzame netwerksamenleving, Den Haag Docters van Leeuwen, A.W.H., Burger en overheid in de informatiesamenleving, Den Haag Ploeg, R. van der, Controle geven of nemen, Amsterdam 2001 Page 228

5 means: integral steering based on demand (so, no segregated entities), as a co-production and making use of modern technology. 6. Closing remarks The rise of the network society, the growth of e- government and the necessity of e-governance can be viewed as a global development. Yet constitutional, cultural and normative values are of great influence. The consequence of this is that the global development must be applied complete or partly different according to local, regional and national conditions. This means that when you want to make a start with the development of e-government and e- governance you must analyse to what extent the local, regional or national conditions influence the significance and value of the innovative power of IT. The constitutional situation, cultural and normative factors, the way public administration is build and first and foremost the desirable political and managerial need to change defined in direction, speed and available resources must be taking in account. Page 229