Article for IEC Annual Review of Communications Volume 57, 2004 1

A Roadmap to Performance Based eGovernment

As with many public programs, true universal access to eGovernment services suffers from lack
of funding and the slowing Internet adoption rate. The authors argue that there are alternatives to
“last mile” strategies that will allow eGovernment initiatives to be successful, self-sustaining and
economically viable.

Information Communication Technology (ICT) is the cornerstone to e-Governments, providing

an extraordinary opportunity to change how public services are delivered, to develop new ones
that will help constituents establish competitive advantages in the Information Age, to improve
the effectiveness of government, and to engage citizens more directly in this process1. The
Internet has fundamentally changed the way people will communicate forever. It continues to
affect social, political and economic landscapes around the world and alter our lives. But the
Internet has also created the "Digital Divide". This "digital divide" separating information
"haves" and "have-nots" can be a significant impediment to the initiatives of Government to
improve services to constituents and reduce the cost of government itself.

Although Internet access has experienced a rapid and high growth rate, the most recent studies
indicate that adoption and penetration are flattening. Moreover, Internet sales strategies are
driving churn, not growth. The Internet is more than just a massive infrastructure; it includes a
wide assortment of content and a broad base of end users. Indeed, the interplay among these
three components – infrastructure, content and users – has become so tight and pervasive that it’s
difficult to distinguish where one ends and the other begins.2 Yet, ubiquitous Internet access to
government programs requires readily available and affordable Internet access for everyone.

As a new and powerful concept, eGovernment promises many benefits to many sectors. It can
reduce costs of government operations; open new sources of revenue; attract business, tourist and
new residents to the area; make it easy for citizens to do business with the government; and
reinforce the relationship between the citizen and democratic government. As with any
government program, the value of eGovernment is in the benefits it delivers to the public and the
new avenues it opens to create value. But eGovernment can be costly and its value to the public
that supports it must be shown.3

The Challenges Faced

In order to achieve a complete solution, one that increases citizen participation and engagement
through effective use of IC technology, governments are faced with numerous challenges:

1. For the population at large they must provide an opportunity for equitable and affordable
access to high speed Internet services in order to address the socio-economic status issues
of ICT today, commonly referred to as the digital and technology divide.

2. In order to accelerate the acceptance and usage of eGovernment services, both today and
future services, they must find a provisioning method that is sustainable, scalable and
practical in terms of being economically viable.

1
Crossing Boundaries April 2003
2
How the Internet Works – in plain English, August 2002
3
High Payoff in Electronic Government – Office of Intergovernmental Solutions, May 2003
Article for IEC Annual Review of Communications Volume 57, 2004 2

3. They must create a business environment that will encourage private industry investment,
collaboration and alliances

4. They must create a marketing environment based upon a “Community-of-Interest”

approach that will generate revenue for re-investment so that services can expand and
evolve and the community will benefit in terms of economic, social and cultural
development.

5. They need to ensure that the solution is “performance-based” addressing the key
categories of financial; economic development; reduction of redundancy; fostering
democratic principle; improving service to citizens and other constituencies

6. Finally, they must find a solution that offers multiple agencies at all levels of government
an opportunity for convergence, consolidation, and collaboration.

As a baseline, the Government needs a channel to market for digital services that offers
constituents and consumers, with “one-stop shopping / single window access” to eGovernment
services as well as commercial services. It needs to do this in a fashion that provides security,
authentication and authorization management wrapped in a CRM bundle of personalized /
customized services. They require a public “desktop” for self-service access to self-service
solutions: a solution that provides every citizen with their own “personalized” services. This
centralized location may have a very small or an extended footprint, but will act as an;

§ eInformation Centre email, web browsing, internet access, airport services

§ eRetail Outlet
§ eLearning Centre
§ eFinancial Centre
§ eGovernment Centre
§ eHealthcare Centre
§ eEntertainment
§ eTourism
initiatives
research, catalogues, products, ordering/paying, fulfillment
distance learning, on-line education
on-line banking, access cash, loans, etc,
social services, fines, taxes, drivers licences, passports
research, health insurance information
sporting events, local attractions, community services
support to visitors, local promotion efforts and tourism

The Problem with Current Initiatives

A Technology Focus. Many governments have made a commitment to find solutions that will
connect individual citizens and business with direct access to a variety of government online
services. For example, there exist many initiatives to establish public Internet access points
(kiosks) in remote, rural and urban communities nationwide. But these programs tend to be
technology focused with no customer relationship program and are not meeting the need for
universal access; that is, providing all citizens with access to an extensive suite of high value
services and information?

Costly Last Mile Solutions. The experience with "last mile broadband" has proven to be
extremely complex, costly, impractical and more difficult than first thought. Internet services to
schools and libraries have natural limitations that prevent universal access or usage. And until
every home can afford access to information resources, private initiatives are needed to expand
affordable access to those resources. Government information alone will not establish the
business model or consumer value necessary to establish an ongoing digital relationship with
citizens. Smart community projects all tend to focus on connecting schools, libraries and
Article for IEC Annual Review of Communications Volume 57, 2004 3

businesses together for a virtual “city hall” concept, not connecting citizens for purposes of
universal equal access to one-stop shopping to the digital world.

Need for Practical Marketing Solutions. The complete and successful transformation to a total
digital eGovernment environment needs a practical marketing solution to overcome the Digital
Divide. The services and access to the digital services need to be ubiquitous. Similar to the early
days of voice / telephones, in order to ensure everyone had voice access; the public space was
served by the payphone. The data world is much more complex and not as intuitive as the phone.
The public sector, therefore, is in need of solutions that offer alternatives to last mile connectivity.

From a citizen and small business perspective, easy, convenient, affordable and equal access to
relevant information and services on-line, any time, anywhere is crucial. They require seamless
connection to multiple managed services for addressing relevant needs and discretionary valued
services. And whether they are currently connected through dial-up access or part of the
unconnected population (Digital Divide), they require the benefits of high-speed broadband in
order to avail themselves of all the services that the Government has to offer such as distant
learning, eHealthcare, eCommerce and so on.

Developing Economies

In less developed markets the digital divide is even greater due to lack of Telecommunications
Infrastructure as well as low computer and Internet penetration. At the same time, governments
do not have the funding to develop and implement the infrastructure and programs which are
required to bridge the digital divide. Most initiatives are not visible to the population at large.
Some even penalize the ‘have nots’ by requiring computer access

Serving the public market sector with widely available and highly visible channels to market for
digital services is crucial in order to bring communities on-line immediately with minimal
infrastructure cost and maximum citizen reach, participation and involvement. This approach
leverages the strengths of existing Information Communication Technologies, however limited,
offering governments an opportunity to achieve their stated eGovernment vision in a timelier
fashion and at considerably less cost.

The good news is that developing economies have a history of being able to ‘leap frog’
generations of older technology solutions in order to implement the most advanced facilities for
their constituents. With the digital distribution centre concept described in the next section less
developed economies will be able to take advantage of the next generation IP solutions that will
effectively:

§ Accelerate acceptance and use of eGovernment services

§ Expand the benefits of the knowledge and digital based economy
§ Establish an environment whereby everyone has equal and universal access
§ Do it in a fashion that makes business sense from an economic point of view

An Alternative to Last Mile Strategies for Both Developed and Developing Economies

It is time, then, to move beyond technology as the enabler and to develop a complete solution that
will deliver the benefits of the digital and knowledge-based economy to all who require them.
Managing the totality of the “distribution of information and network services” is critical to the
Article for IEC Annual Review of Communications Volume 57, 2004 4

overall success of the eGovernment initiatives. A small Canadian ICT Company has acquired the
intellectual property of a multinational built on years of research and investment in the public
communications field. Their solution, called a Digital Distribution Center, offers the following
benefits to governments and citizens.

§ Strengthens and connects communities by connecting regional industrial clusters to the

surrounding geographically rural and remote locations, then connecting hubs to each
other and then to the global stage thereby supporting local economic development and
broadening the reach of Internet access.

§ Blends “not-for-profit” government service with commercial interest in order to resolve

the fiscal constraints of government, delivering a self-sustaining and economically viable
solution that reduces the cost of operations, enhances revenue collection opportunities for
government and results in a positive business case that encourages Private Industry
investment, collaboration and alliances.

§ Provides full accessibility to Government programs, reaching out to segments that

heretofore have been unreachable thus fostering the democratic principles behind the
eGovernment initiative improving the effectiveness of government and engaging citizens
more directly in the process.

§ Solves “last mile” and bridges digital / technology divide providing all citizens with an
opportunity to interface with the government via electronic means, true universal access,
providing an opportunity for convergence, consolidation and commoditization of services
for multiple agencies at all levels of government.

§ Provides a network based “marketing” solution that will unify technologies, applications,
content and services and will redefine the customers experience with the digital economy.
It is the next generation “channel to market” for digital services in the public sector for
both horizontal and vertical market segments.

§ Is built upon the principles of retail marketing, as its core, leveraging the strengths of ICT
into a citizen-centric value proposition, utilizing the concept of CRM to establish a
relationship between the citizen and the network services, creating loyalty, cost benefits
and simple access control through the use of smart cards.

Marketing Solutions to Address the Needs of Late Adopters and the Disadvantaged

The power of the Internet is what it will do for the user. Technology hype drove the first wave of
the Internet and quickly saturated the innovator and early adopter market segments. Now we need
to bridge the chasm and address the different characteristics of early/late majority and laggards in
order to drive Internet adoption, penetration and utilization on a much broader scale. Solutions
will drive the next wave and marketing strategies will be required to bring people and content
together to deliver value. Managing customer relationships will be the key. The DDC, because it
is based on advanced and proven strategic business principles rather than technology, will drive
internet solutions through the adoption curve in developed markets and to the disadvantaged in
developing economies.
Article for IEC Annual Review of Communications Volume 57, 2004 5

Benefits of Centralized Digital Community Centres

A) Citizen

§ Access to the benefits of broadband services (eLearning, eHealth, eGovernment, Internet)

–good service at reasonable cost – equal, universal and affordable access.
§ Provides public desktop, training, education, current technology thereby eliminating need
for:
o last mile infrastructure
o computer in home
o continuous technology upgrades
§ Provides target, customized and relevant information and content, empowers the user
§ Convenient access, easy of use, secure, privacy
§ Cost effective communications, data and VoIP
§ Added value services such as managed account, web page development, hosted services
§ Elimination of socio-economic status barrier….has value to the connected and
unconnected

B) Business (SOHO, SME)

§ High-speed access to the digital and knowledge-based economy gaining the benefits of
hi-tech operations without the cost of infrastructure, system integration and last mile
connectivity
§ Leverage the strengths of the DDC ICT to be competitive in the business arena
§ Take advantage of hosted services, managed services, account services, content
management allowing business to be more efficient and control operational costs
§ Enhanced communication business services such as video conferencing, teleworking,
eBanking
§ Increase business opportunity and workforce skills within local community
§ Latest technology and high speed available services with capabilities to “stay-current”
§ Security, authentication and authorization management often not available on small
business systems
§ Revenue creation and new business opportunities

C) Community

§ Broaden ICT skills, knowledge, education , enriched lives, virtual upgraded workforce =
reduced skills shortage
§ Community reinvestment and awareness
§ Community Content Management – support to local economy
§ Self-determination
§ Collaborative networking – between communities, contiguous communities and the
global stage
Article for IEC Annual Review of Communications Volume 57, 2004 6

§ New revenue streams for the local economy

§ Attraction of and sustaining new business growth
§ Complementary to school, library and hospital programs expanding the options for
staying connected

D) Government (all levels)

§ Provide full accessibility to Government Programs, reaching out to segments that

heretofore have been unreachable
§ Affordable public access to the Internet for all citizens offering single window access to
eGov
§ Benefits of Marketing to drive adoption, penetration and utilization – broaden reach for
government programs
§ Offer opportunity for government interagency collaboration, consolidation and
convergence
§ Encourages the development of innovative content and applications.
§ Minimizes deployment cost
§ Responds to community needs
§ Builds community capacity and creates a broader base of Internet users – market for
future services and premium services and the benefits of economies of scale plus
economies of scope
§ Capabilities to ensure communities / citizens are able to stay current due to commercial
nature of program
§ Encourages development and diffusion of enabling technology, infrastructure and
backbone
§ Drives job creation, knowledge enhancement and workforce education
§ Stimulates SOHO and SME growth at the community level and beyond
§ Provides customer satisfaction
§ Moves government from Website development to “interactive relationships” with the
citizens
§ Overcomes the limitations to Internet adoption – the socio-economic status (Digital
Divide)
§ Position the government as an integrated enterprise
§ Efficient and effective information delivery
§ Broad based feedback mechanisms for government
§ A positive business case for service delivery which is sustainable, scalable and cost
effective and drives economic growth

The Authors: Douglas Matatall is President of iPhoenix Corporation, which develops digital
distribution solutions for eGovernment. Lana Phair-Sutherland is President of Phair-
Sutherland Consulting, which provides management consulting services to the technology
sector.
Contact Information:

Doug B Matatall Lana Phair-Sutherland

matatall@iphoenix.com lana@phair-sutherland.com
519-641-1818 519-472-2029