1. E-GOVERNMENT
UNIT 24

2. I Answer the following questions:
1. What is e-government?
2. According to you, how can it contribute to the reform of public administration?
3. Which principles can it contribute to?

3. The Role of Information and Communication Technologies
The encounter with information communication technology (ICT) - a significant and an increasing part of everyday experience.
Computers - used to store, process, and communicate large amounts of dana; this technology - well suited to delivering many government services.
Computer technology - changing the ways in which services are delivered, e.g. websites allowing direct access to many services.

4. The Role of Information and Communication Technologies
The government gateway allows many public services to be available online.
Introduction of such technology might result in fully integrated online government, which would require radical modification of the structure and culture of administration.
The citizen would not be interacting with individual government departments any longer, but with ‘Government’ as a single entity.

5. Terms and definitions
E-government - known by different terms such as Electronic Government, Electronic Governance, Digital Government, Online Government, e-Gov etc.
e-government may be defined as a way for governments to use the most innovative information and communication technologies, particularly web-based Internet applications, to provide citizens and businesses with more convenient access to government information and services, to improve the quality of the services and to provide greater opportunities to participate in democratic institutions and processes.

6. Internet access
A practical issue which is crucial to the general application of ICT concerns the extent of Internet access.
Before government bodies can depend upon the Internet, universal access to computers is needed and a general capacity for citizens to connect online.
The challenge is to overcome the difficulty of extending Internet usage without introducing a form of social exclusion affecting disadvantaged groups (the poor, the elderly, individuals with limited literacy) who may well be particularly reliant on government and local government services.

7. Advantages and disadvantages
The Internet has impacted on public engagement with political protest and debate through weblogs.
It presents the possibility of flash mobilisation of opinion, but equally this technology is capable of being subverted by organised crime, extremist parties, and terrorist organisations.
Although in the UK the handling of personal data is controlled under the Data Protection Act 1998, the Internet itself is largely self-regulated.
Internet regulation consists mainly of a series of regimes of self- regulation, developed to apply to different technical layers of delivery.

8. Provide the terms matching the following definitions
a device used to connect two different networks, especially a connection to the Internet
Gateway
a website on which one person or group puts new information regularly, often every day
Weblog; blog

9. II Read the text and supply the missing verbs:
1. Computers are used universally to ___________________________ large amounts of data.
2. Computer technology is changing the ways in which services are _______________________.
3. E-government is also known as ______________________________________.
4. Before government bodies can _______________ upon the Internet, universal access to computers is needed and a general capacity for citizens to ________________ online.
5. The Internet has ________________ on public engagement with political protest and debate through weblogs.
6. Internet regulation _________________ mainly of a series of regimes of self-regulation, which have been developed to ________________ to the different technical layers of delivery.

10. III Match the adjectives in the left column with the nouns in the rights column:
1. political
a. organisations
2. limited
b. protest
3. organised
c. parties
4. terrorist
d. crime
5. extremist
e. literacy

11. IV Complete the paragraph with the adjectives: universal, local, public, government, social, general
The government gateway already allows many _________________ services to be available online. Before _______________ bodies at central and local level can depend upon the Internet, _______________ access to computers is needed and a _____________ capacity for citizens to connect online. The challenge is to overcome the difficulty of extending Internet usage without introducing a form of _____________ exclusion affecting disadvantaged groups (the poor, the elderly, individuals with limited literacy) who may well be particularly reliant on government and _______________ government services.

12. V Match the verbs in the left column with the nouns in the rights column. Multiple matches are possible:
1. construct
a. services
2. allow
b. the difficulty
3. apply
c. data
4. process
d. access
5. store
e. ICT
6. overcome
f. access
7. deliver
g. websites

13. Translate the following paragraph into Croatian:
E-government may be defined as a way for governments to use the most innovative information and communication technologies, particularly web-based Internet applications, to provide citizens and businesses with more convenient access to government information and services, to improve the quality of the services and to provide greater opportunities to participate in democratic institutions and processes.

14. From the EU E-Government Action Plan 2016-2020
I Discuss the following questions:
How can digital public services improve the lives of citizens?
What do you know about the e-citizen project? Have you made use of any of its benefits?
What are the major obstances to realizing e-government goals?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of e-government implementation?

15. COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS: EU eGovernment Action Plan Accelerating the digital transformation of government
eGovernment supports administrative processes, improves the quality of the services and increases internal public sector efficiency.
Digital public services reduce administrative burden on businesses and citizens by making their interactions with public administrations faster and efficient, more convenient and transparent, and less costly.
In addition, using digital technologies as an integrated part of governments’ modernisation strategies can unlock further economic and social benefits for society as a whole.
The digital transformation of government is a key element to the success of the Single Market.

16. EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 Accelerating the digital transformation of government
The eGovernment Action Plans have been political instruments to advance the modernisation of public administrations across the European Union.
They have been supporting coordination and collaboration between Member States and the Commission and led to joint actions on eGovernment.

17. 2.Vision and underlying principles
Member States' governments have long aspired to being open, flexible and collaborative in their relations with citizens and businesses, using eGovernment to increase their efficiency and effectiveness and constantly improving public services.

18. 2.Vision and underlying principles
By 2020, public administrations and public institutions in the European Union should be open, efficient and inclusive, providing borderless, personalised, user-friendly, end-to-end digital public services to all citizens and businesses in the EU.
Innovative approaches are used to design and deliver better services in line with the needs and demands of citizens and businesses.
Public administrations use the opportunities offered by the new digital environment to facilitate their interactions with stakeholders and with each other.

19. 2.Vision and underlying principles
Opening the data and services between public administrations within and across borders will increase their efficiency and facilitate the free movement of businesses and citizens.
Citizens' lives have become increasingly digital, leading to higher expectations of public administration performance. Users wish to understand how the service works and they expect greater transparency. 

20. 2.Vision and underlying principles
By opening up to and engaging with stakeholders in decision- making, public administrations will become more trustworthy and more accountable.
In addition, opening public sector data and services to third parties, in full compliance with the legal framework for the protection of personal data and for privacy, can contribute to growth and competitiveness.

21. Initiatives to be launched as part of this Action Plan
Digital by Default: public administrations should deliver services digitally (including machine readable information) as the preferred option (while still keeping other channels open for those who are disconnected by choice or necessity).
In addition, public services should be delivered through a single contact point or a one-stop-shop and via different channels.

22. Initiatives to be launched as part of this Action Plan
Once only principle: public administrations should ensure that citizens and businesses supply the same information only once to a public administration.
Public administration offices take action if permitted to internally re-use this data, in due respect of data protection rules, so that no additional burden falls on citizens and businesses.

23. Initiatives to be launched as part of this Action Plan
Inclusiveness and accessibility: public administrations should design digital public services that are inclusive by default and cater for different needs such as those of the elderly and people with disabilities.

24. Initiatives to be launched as part of this Action Plan
Openness & transparency: public administrations should share information and data between themselves and enable citizens and businesses to access control and correct their own data; enable users to monitor administrative processes that involve them; engage with and open up to stakeholders (such as businesses, researchers and non-profit organisations) in the design and delivery of services.

25. Initiatives to be launched as part of this Action Plan
Cross-border by default: public administrations should make relevant digital public services available across borders and prevent further fragmentation to arise, thereby facilitating mobility within the Single Market. 
Interoperability by default: public services should be designed to work seamlessly across the Single Market and across organisational silos, relying on the free movement of data and digital services in the European Union.

26. Initiatives to be launched as part of this Action Plan
Trustworthiness & Security: All initiatives should go beyond the mere compliance with the legal framework on personal data protection and privacy, and IT security, by integrating those elements in the design phase. These are important pre-conditions for increasing trust in and take-up of digital services.

27. Initiatives to be launched as part of this Action Plan
Administrations, public bodies, businesses and users know themselves best what they need.
The choice of systems and technologies, of distributed or centralised designs should be entirely according to their choice and needs but need to fully respect agreed interoperability requirements.

28. Provide the terms matching the following definitions:
a person with an interest or concern in something, especially a business
Stakeholder
in the absence of opposition or a better alternative
By default

29. II Make questions to which underlined words, phrases or paragraphs are the answers:
eGovernment supports administrative processes, improves the quality of the services and increases internal public sector efficiency. Digital public services reduce administrative burden on businesses and citizens by making their interactions with public administrations faster and efficient, more convenient and transparent, and less costly. In addition, using digital technologies as an integrated part of governments’ modernisation strategies can unlock further economic and social benefits for society as a whole. The digital transformation of government is a key element to the success of the Single Market.

30. III Match the words with their synonyms:
1.borderless
a.smooth
2.user-friendly
b.reliable
3.trustworthy
c.open
4.fragmentation
d.unlimited
5.seamless
e.convenient
6.unlock
f.discontinuity

31. IV Supply the missing prepositions
to reduce administrative burden ____ citizens
economic and social benefits ____ society
in full compliance ____ the legal framework
a key element ____ the success of the Single Market
to be guided ____ a vision
free movement ___ businesses and citizens
to deliver better services ___ line with the needs and demands of citizens
the opportunities offered ____ new digital environment

32. V Match the verbs in the left column with the nouns in the right column. Multiple matches may be possible:
legal
processes
administrative
benefits
digital
actions
economic
environment
joint
technologies
political
burden
social
instruments
additional
framework

33. Translate the following paragraph into Croatian:
Citizens' lives have become increasingly digital, leading to higher expectations of public administration performance. Users wish to understand how the service works and they expect greater transparency. Furthermore, by opening up to and engaging with stakeholders in decision-making, public administrations will become more trustworthy and more accountable.