1. e-Government: Benchmarking Electronic Service Delivery Moira Atkinson - Office of the e-Envoy September 2001

2. Benchmarking Information Age Government
Carried out in support of recommendation 24.3 of the UK Online action plan
Builds upon the work carried out in 2000
Meets the on-going commitment to compare UK developments against the best in the world
Helps to identify best practices and shape UK e-government development

3. Benchmarking Information Age Government
The benchmarking report was published on 19th July 2001
It focuses on the latest e-government developments in 15 countries (G7, Australia, China/Hong Kong, Ireland, Finland, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden)

4. Benchmarking Information Age Government
It contains more than 30 case studies across key e-government topics:
Portals
Interoperability & data standards
Partnerships
Accessibility to IT & information
e-Democracy
Authentication Gateways / PKI
e-Skilling
Legislative change

5. Benchmarking Information Age Government
Highlights a number of key project and programme-specific learning lessons
The report is available at:

6. Methodology
Qualitative approach because it is difficult to compare like with like
Primary research - questionnaires to key country contacts
Benchmarking template - populated to form a picture of e-Government developments in each country
No league tables - these are very unhelpful

7. Template for benchmarking
Front office
Demand
(Consultation with citizens & businesses)
Supply
(Joined-up electronic services)
Change
(Commitment & drivers of change)
Capability
(Public Sector Infrastructure)
Back office
Route maps
Organisation
ESD targets
Monitoring
progress

8. Key findings
All countries are following a very similar e-government agenda
But they are at different stages of development
The study highlighted some good exemplars of e-Government which display key characteristics of joined-up, citizen-focused service delivery and serve as a source of inspiration to others

9. Key findings - exemplars of e-Government
Australia - Portals and advanced PKI developments
Canada - Government of Canada portal
France - Service-Public portal and the associated PKI capability
Hong Kong - ESD scheme which is fully transactional

10. Key findings - exemplars of e-Government
Ireland - e-broker service
Sweden - SHS e-link system which facilitates joined-up government
UK - ukonline portal and the Government authentication gateway
USA - Firstgov portal and the associated subportals

11. Key findings - some common lessons learned (1)
Government-wide architectural frameworks are key to ensuring integrated service delivery
A collaborative cross-government approach to customer-focused service delivery is a fundamental reform that will take time - but is essential

12. Key findings - some common lessons learned (2)
Clear e-business strategies are required and they should be reviewed frequently
Identify high priority services which have a high transaction volume and involve a large group of clients. Such services help create a critical mass, foster the interest of the public to get used to the new modes of service delivery

13. Key findings - some common lessons learned (3)
Sophisticated on-line service delivery requires a coherent investment strategy - innovative business models involving partnerships with private sector can shorten the timeframes for implementing services.
Developments elsewhere in the world and in the private sector are key sources of inspiration for those developing and implementing e-government services.

14. Key findings - some common lessons learned (4)
Understanding client needs is very important - we need to know what services clients want online and how they want them to be delivered
Change in the mindset of civil servants e-government is the transformation of government, not merely the implementation of technology

15. Key findings - some common lessons learned (5)
Effective communications and strategic alliances are imperative for achieving e-Government
Consider the need of different sectors of society - Government has a social function to maintain a fair and equitable society and to deliver the same level of service to all citizens

16. Lessons learned about the benchmarking process (1)
A study like this takes a considerable amount of time and resources to complete
Have a clear idea of what you want to achieve at the outset and develop your benchmarking model accordingly
Using a questionnaire-based approach means that you must have excellent contacts in other countries - you are dependant on their input and time

17. Lessons learned about the benchmarking process (2)
Questionnaires should be short and easy to complete
You must accept that it is very difficult to compare like with like - governments and services are often organised differently
Gathering quantitative data - this is unlikely to be readily available in each country and estimates may be unreliable

18. Lessons learned about the benchmarking process (3)
Avoid a ‘league table’ approach - it will undermine the value and validity of the results
Involve all participants in every stage of the review process - without their buy-in you may not be able to publish your results
Ensure that the final report is of value to all participants - it will help to ensure that they participate next time around