Pin‐yu Chu and Yueh‐yun Sun
UN has been conducting a series of“ E‐Government survey” to investigate e‐Government environments and capacity to sustain online development of its member states since 2001. E‐Government Development Index( EGDI) and E‐Participation Index( EPI) are currently used performance indices. EGDI measures the willingness and capacity of nation administrations to use ICT to deliver public services by three sub‐indices ‐‐ the online services index, telecommunication infrastructure index, and the human capital index. EPI, including e‐information, e‐consultation, and e‐decision making, offers insights into how governments create an environment in which citizens can be more active and supportive of their governments( UN 2010, 2012). In addition to the worldwide comparison, UN also investigates digital governance in large municipalities by evaluating their websites in terms of privacy, usability, content, services, and citizen participation, and ranks them on a global scale( Holzer et al., 2009). Waseda University, in charge of APEC e‐Government research center, has published the world rankings on e‐Government all over the world since 2005. Seven indicators with Asian perspective are network preparedness, management optimization, required interface‐functioning applications, national portal, CIO in government, e‐Government promotion, and e‐participation. Future trends of e‐Government identified in its latest report are cloud computing, social media, big data, digital inclusion, business continuity plan for disaster management, cyber security, mobile government, and ICT applications for aging society( Obi, 2012).
WEF attempts to highlight the prospects for growth in countries that have proven themselves ready to take up new technologies throughout in depth analysis since 2001. Networked Readiness Index, which measures degree to which economies across the world leverage ICT for enhanced competitiveness, consist of four sub‐indices: environment, readiness, usage, and impact( WEF, 2012). WEF also points out that future trends of ICT are cloud computing, network neutrality, smart services, and mobile broadband. EIU releases IT industry competitiveness index to explore how companies and governments are addressing major trends affecting the industry. The index is composed of six dimensions: overall business environment, IT infrastructure, human capital, legal environment, R & D environment, and support for IT industry development( EIU, 2011). Besides, EIU uses“ digital economy rankings” to reflect the increasing influence of ICT in economic and social progress. The rankings assess each economy on six factors: connectivity and technology infrastructure index, business environment, social and cultural environment, legal environment, government policy and vision, consumer and business adoption( EIU, 2010). ITU utilizes ICT Development Index( IDI) and ICT Price Basket( IPB) to monitor information society developments worldwide. While IDI captures the level of advancement of ICTs, which is divided into ICT access, ICT use, and ICT skills, IPB takes into account the cost and affordability of ICT services based on the price for fixed‐telephony, mobile‐cellular telephony and fixed‐broadband Internet services( ITU, 2011).
Discussion of future e‐governance research topics cannot be completed without including the work of OECD and APEC. OECD( 2009) emphasizes the importance of front and back office reform and user‐centric e‐Government services. APEC Telecommunications and information working group( APEC TEL) addresses“ Strategic Plan for 2010‐2015” with focus on five priorities: develop ICT to promote new growth, enhance socio‐economic activities through the use of ICT, promote a safe and trusted ICT environment, promote regional economic integration, and strengthen cooperation in the ICT sector( APEC TEL, 2011). The ongoing efforts toward universal and affordable broadband, decreasing digital divide, and the needs of unserved or underserved communities using ICT in a sustainable manner are all related to e‐governance.
We compare the contents of the above ICT development and e‐Government indices and categorize them into eight emphases: ICT and telecommunication infrastructure, policy and regulation, human capital, administrative organization and management, types and functions of online services, e‐participation, economic and social impacts of ICTs / e‐Government, cost and affordability of ICTs / e‐Government( see Table 1).
2.2 Research domains of global prestigious e‐governance research centers
By studying research topics that prestigious e‐governance research centers engage in, we can illustrate present global e‐governance features, and identify its forward‐looking trend. Six e‐governance research centers in the United State and Asia we analyze are:( 1) Center for technology in government( CTG), Albany University,( 2) Center for the digital future( CDF), University of Southern California,( 3) the national center for digital government( NCDG), University of Massachusetts at Amherst,( 4) United Nations University International Institute for Software Technology( UNU‐IIST center for e‐Government),( 5) Waseda e‐Government research
128