Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 14th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview VI. Working Group on E-government Author(s) Kris Snijkers Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Leuven Belgium Title Managing intergovernmental e-government projects File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Abstract Intergovernmental relations are a crucial factor in the development of e-government. An important issue in e-government is the innovation of public administration processes. The literature on business process reengineering often sees the innovation of processes as a purely rational exercise. By determining the outcome of a process and applying a set of clear principles (e.g. single collection of information, removal of intermediary functions), a process can be radically redesigned. Yet, these processes often run through the boundaries of different levels of government. In the provision of information or services, several administrations of different levels of government are involved. These different administrations often have different views or interests at stake. So, the assumption that an intergovernmental process innovation is just a mere rational exercise seems to be too naïve. In this paper we will present a framework to analyze the issues that are at stake in an intergovernmental e-government project. This framework consists of the following items: · Interdependency: if administrations are independent, they will be hesitant to give up this independence. Such independence can be based on resources (e.g. databases or front-office contact with citizens). Administrations will give up this independence if they see that collaboration will bring them certain advantages (e.g. more internal efficiency), if they gain access to new resources or if they are forced to do so. · Goal congruence: the innovation of processes always starts from the intended goals or outcome of a process. But do all the participating administrations in a process have the same goals? The less goal congruence, the more difficult the intergovernmental e-government project will be. · Trust: the different administrations have to trust each other. A stronger interdependency is linked with a larger vulnerability. Administrations will only be prepared to accept this increased vulnerability if they trust the other administrations involved in the project. After elaborating the framework, we will apply the framework to a Belgian intergovernmental e-government project in the social security sector: the informatization of the minimum income procedure. In this procedure two levels of government are involved: the federal government and the local welfare agencies. The project started in 1997. Although there was a clear view on the necessary technology and the reengineering of processes, it is still not fully operational. The aim of this paper is to indicate the pitfalls and difficulties of intergovernmental e-government projects. Based on the framework and the case study, we want to draw some lessons and present guidelines that can be of use in the management of intergovernmental e-government projects.
