Walter Castelnovo
groups and on whether that initiative determined positive impacts also for stakeholder group( s) not directly targeted by it.
This approach to evaluation can be exemplified by considering the evaluation of an initiative for reducing the administrative burdens on enterprises through the simplification of the administrative procedures and the implementation of one stop shop for enterprises( which is a typical e‐Government service). Such an initiative is directly targeted toward citizens as entrepreneurs; indeed, if successful, it creates an obvious value for the citizens playing that role( this can also include the reduction of the direct and indirect costs enterprises incur for their relationships with Public Administration). However, this value is a private value for those citizens. In order to verify whether that initiative succeeds in creating a public value, it should be considered whether it can determine positive benefits for citizens also as they play stakeholder roles different from that of entrepreneur.
Table 3 reports some stakeholder roles( and some possible benefits that can be associated with them) that could be impacted by an initiative like the one in the example, even without being directly targeted by it.
Table 3: Benefits that can be associated with some stakeholder roles
Stakeholder roles Citizen as policy maker( person playing the role of policy maker within public administration)
Citizen as civil servant( person working for public administration)
Citizen as participant( person participating in democratic processes) Citizen as tax payer( person who, through taxation,“ funds” public administration) Citizen as such( any person having the right of citizenship)
Examples of benefits deriving from e‐Government initiatives increase of the transparency, openness, accountability and trustworthiness of government as a whole; cooperation and integration among different agencies and different levels of government increase of the human capital in government organizations; empowerment of the employees that could determine better working conditions for them and better services for citizens and enterprises increase of the transparency and openness of government as a whole; empowerment of citizens that could contribute to a better democracy increase of the global efficiency and effectiveness of government, which could mean costs reduction and, consequently, a possible lowering of the level of taxation increase of the quality of life and the well‐being of both the citizens and the communities they live in
Depending on how it has been designed and implemented, an e‐Government initiative for the reduction of the administrative burdens on enterprises and the implementation of one stop shop for enterprises could determine further benefits in terms of:
• Increased transparency in the procedures for starting, transforming or closing a business; this can create a value both for citizens as policy makers, in terms of government stewardship, and for citizens as participants, in terms of the possibility of exerting more controls on government actions and decisions.
• Increased inter‐agency cooperation( as required by the one stop shop model); this can create a value for citizens as policy makers, in terms of the integration among different agencies and different levels of government, and for citizens as civil servants, in terms of empowerment of the employees through the development of interpersonal skills.
• Increased efficiency in the delivery of services to enterprises; this can create a value for citizens as tax payers, in terms of a better spending of public resources.
• Increased ease of doing business and competitiveness; this can create a value for citizens as such, in terms of the country’ s better economic conditions that in the long term can contribute to increase the citizens’ well‐being and quality of life.
An e‐Government initiative that, despite being specifically targeted to citizens as entrepreneurs, would nevertheless determine benefits like those listed above creates a public value. Actually, it not only simultaneously addresses the interests of different stakeholder groups, but it also determines outcomes( in terms of efficiency, transparency and quality of government and contribution to a wealthy society) that obviously respond to collective and societal interests.
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