E Government For Good Governance In Developing Countries

Drawing lessons from the eFez Project in Morocco, this volume offers practical supporting material to decision makers in developing countries on information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D), specifically e-government implementation. The book documents the eFez Project experience in all of its aspects, presenting the project’s findings and the practical methods developed by the authors (a roadmap, impact assessment framework, design issues, lessons learned and best practices) in their systematic quest to turn eFez’s indigenous experimentations and findings into a formal framework for academics, practitioners and decision makers. The volume also reviews, analyzes and synthesizes the findings of other projects to offer a comparative study of the eFez framework and a number of other e-government frameworks from the growing literature.

The establishment of good governance is a major challenge for the developing world, along with the need to sustain the progress resulting from developmental efforts. Although there are numerous studies on the development and governance of emerging nations, few volumes make a serious effort to bring together these two critical concepts. International Development Governance combines the two concepts - development and governance - by examining the issues and problems faced by nations in their attempts to establish sustainable governance. This textbook also initiates discussions on the concept of development governance in an international context. The book fills the gap in existing literature by drawing upon the experience and expertise of scholars from a broad spectrum of knowledge. Their views explain the issues and problems with reference to a number of tools that could establish "development governance" and sustain it. The text offers in-depth examinations of developmental sectors, resulting in a textbook that will inspire future public officials, policy makers, and consultants to contribute to the betterment of life for citizens of developing countries.

Integrating information and communication technologies (ICTs) into governance processes can greatly enhance the delivery of public services to all citizens. ICT integration will not only improve the performance of governance systems, it will also transform relationships amongst stakeholders, thereby influencing policymaking processes and regulatory frameworks. In the developing world, however, the potential of ICTs for effective governance remains largely unexplored and unexploited. This book presents the context, theory, and current thinking on the interaction between ICTs and local governance, particularly in Africa. It discusses the shift from OC governmentOCO to OC e-governance, OCO describes the role of local-level authorities, and presents the benefits and limitations of introducing ICTs in government operations. Case studies from Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda describe local governance/ICTs projects executed by civil society organizations, academic institutions, and government authorities. Drawing from the findings in these case studies and from the introductory research and original conceptual framework, the book presents a series of conclusions and recommendation on the future of effective ICTs use for better governance and improved economic development at the local level. This book will be of interest to professionals, practitioners, and policy advisors at local and national government levels in developing countries (particularly in Africa); international organizations staff, bilateral aid agencies, international financial institutions, civil society organizations, and private sector; researchers, academics, students, and professors of public administration and governance in Africa and throughout the world."

Inhaltsangabe:Abstract: The emergence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has launched a global debate (digital or technological revolution) about a paradigm shift from an industrialised towards an Information Society. In the front of this debate lies the assertion that the application of ICT is the impelling factor of transformation which will result in far reaching changes within all parts of the economy, the society and the State. The State plays therefore an important role for this transformation. First, the creation of a "New Economy" which stands for a branch of industry that develops and produces hardware, software and communication equipment and its penetration and application into the whole economy. The emergence of e-buzzwords such as e-commerce or e-business are related to the application of ICT within the economy. Second, after a laissez-faire policy implementation through the State, it has to care for social aspects such as to connect the society to the internet and create a digital literate society. This "second stage" of the Information Society has its expression in the common used catchword "digital divide". Finally, the State itself comes under pressure to apply ICT within government institutions, expressed by the latest catchwords of e-government and e-governance. Their hype (chiefly technologically determined) can be equated with the emergence of the "New Economy" within the global debate about the Information Society. Emerged from developed countries, e-government and e-governance experience an increasing use in developing countries. Their advocates (i. e. international development organisations) stress the catchwords for the purpose of poverty alleviation, improved living standards and economic growth, in developed and particularly in developing countries. Furthermore, both subjects of the thesis have started up a new tractive force within the debate of public administration reforms. Both can be summarised as ICT-led public administration reform. They are deemed to be an impelling factor of organisational change and transformation of governmental institutions. Moreover, the literature concerning both catchwords, is full of positive expectations (i.e. enhance participation, accountability, transparency and overall democracy) and thus, they are seen as a medium to implement and support their theoretical concepts New Public Management (NPM) and Good Governance. Fairly few observations in developed countries [...]

​Despite the large amounts of human and financial resources invested to foster democratic governance in developing countries, statistics show that the majority of these countries have not yet achieved significant improvements in living standards. While some regions make strides towards improving the living conditions of their citizens, Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, is still trapped in poverty with more than 40% of its 600 million people living below the internationally recognized absolute poverty line of one US dollar per day. Poor governance and corruption should be highlighted as the most important systemic factors contributing to poverty in developing countries. As a result the institutional foundations of these countries are weakened, public funds are misappropriated, and policies and programs aimed at reducing poverty and fostering sustainable economic growth are undermined. It is therefore not surprising that a 2008 Transparency International report found a direct link between corruption and the failure of the societal institutions designed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in the majority of developing countries. This book investigates the problems of democratic governance, particularly as they relate to corruption, and also whether democracy should be based on universal principles or local context and historical factors. It also analyses the rule of law, in promoting democratic governance and curbing corruption and if governmental, non-governmental organizations, and civil societies are effective in promoting democratic governance and curbing corruption. This book will go beyond identifying the challenges and offer plausible solutions that could be adapted to various developing countries. It is premised on the importance of bridging theory and practice, which has been lacking in most local and international development publications, making of interest to scholars and policy-makers alike concerned with public administration in developing countries.​

This book assesses the extent to which good governance may contribute to enhancing economic performance and social welfare in developing countries, globally. Governance has been pointed out as one of the major weaknesses of developing economies and may largely be attributed to weak governance practices at both the macro- and micro-level. This book highlights the channels through which governance may act on various economic sectors and different key economic variables. In doing so, it enables policymakers to identify and implement policies and procedures to promote good governance. This book provides a transnational perspective on good governance in considering developing countries in Asia, Africa and beyond, presenting respective case studies in single country settings, enabling a comparative perspective between and across all chapters. Covering topics that include the intersection between governance and gender, inequality, poverty, education and health, the book provides diverse theoretical and empirical evidence on important issues facing policymakers, investors and other stakeholders and is relevant to graduate students and researchers interest in policy issues in the developing world.

Despite global economic disparities, recent years have seen rapid technological changes in developing countries, as it is now common to see people across all levels of society with smartphones in their hands and computers in their homes. However, does access to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) actually improve the day-to-day lives of low-income citizens? This book argues that access to the internet can help alleviate poverty, improve development outcomes, and is now vital for realizing many human rights. This book posits that good governance is essential to the realization of inclusive pro-poor development goals, and puts forward policy recommendations that aim to mitigate the complex digital divide by employing governance as the primary actor. In making his argument, the author provides a quantitative analysis of developing countries, conjoined with a targeted in-depth study of Mexico. This mixed method approach provides an intriguing case for how improvements in the quality of governance impacts both ICT penetration, and poverty alleviation. Overall, the book challenges the neoliberal deterministic perspective that the open market will "solve" technology diffusion, and argues instead that good governance is the lynchpin that creates conducive conditions for ICTs to make an impact on poverty alleviation. In fact, the digital divide should not be considered binary, rather it is a multifaceted problem where income, education, and language all need to be considered to address it effectively. This book will be useful for researchers/students of development, communication technologies, and comparative politics as well as for development practitioners and policy makers with an interest in how modern technology is impacting the poor in the developing world.

As noted in a related paper, information and communication technologies have a valuable potential to help meet good governance goals in developing countries. Yet that potential remains largely untapped to date. Why? Because of poor human, organisational and technological infrastructure and because of the inappropriate approaches taken by donors, vendors and governments.This paper hopes to point the way forward by describing the contents of a National e-Governance Initiative (NeGI) for developing countries that would address the problems of the past and would grasp the opportunities provided for governance by the new connectivity.Over a short- to medium-term timeframe, an NeGI aims to help deliver the following outcomes:• Awareness and commitment to e-governance at a high level.• A set of key e-governance institutions that can strategically plan and facilitate e-governance projects.• New laws and regulations that enable e-governance.• A national e-Governance Strategy.• The operational capacities to implement e-governance pilot projects.• A set of e-governance pilot projects focused on 'networked government'.The paper places a particular emphasis on the potential contribution of donor agencies to such an Initiative. Principles, impacts, risks, priorities and other issues relating to e-governance initiatives are also described.