Discussion Paper
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
1
Introduction
This discussion paper provides a snapshot of the use of modern information and
communication technology (ICT) by the public sector to enhance service delivery. The paper
draws on the experiences of governments around the world to present an overview of the
development of e-government. The paper then examines the Queensland e-government
experience from a whole-of-government perspective1 and the main challenges for Queensland
in realising the benefits of e-government. The overall purpose of the paper is to provide
background on the role of ICT in delivering integrated and accessible service delivery.
1.1
Public Sector Reform, Service Delivery and ICT
Around the world, governments are undertaking ambitious reforms to further revitalise or
transform their public sectors. The drivers for reform include:

on the demand side – the increasing expectations by citizens for efficient and effective
services and for a voice in their design and delivery, and

on the supply side – the increasing pressures on government budgets, more severe
since the global financial crisis, requiring that they do more with considerably less.
The objectives of current reform programs include achieving: higher levels of performance,
greater transparency and accountability of government decision-making and greater
responsiveness to and inclusion of citizens in such processes, and more responsive and
effective services to citizens. While greater performance and accountability have been
perennial objectives, contemporary reform programs are explicitly outcome oriented and
citizen focused, encouraging citizens to participate in shaping policy objectives, design and
implementation.
Today, service delivery outcomes and citizen engagement feature
prominently in most government reform agendas.
To accomplish this revitalisation, governments are introducing innovations in their
organisational structures and practices, and in the ways in which they mobilise, deploy and
utilise human, financial and ICT resources (United Nations 2008). The use of ICT in the public
sector, or e-government as it is known, is playing a critical role in governments’ efforts to
revitalise their public sectors. Modern ICT is a significant strategic tool for lifting public sector
performance, offering benefits of greater efficiencies and effectiveness in government
operations and service delivery, improved communication and coordination across
organisational boundaries and levels of government, and greater transparency and
accountability in government functions. Consequently, over the past 10 to 15 years,
governments around the world have utilised information and communication technologies,
particularly digital technology (OECD 2009) which has significantly changed the ways in which
1
The experiences of individual departments with innovative ICT for improving service delivery are outside
the scope of this paper. Following the September 2010 reporting by agencies on their achievements in
structural and service delivery reform, the PSC should be better positioned to report at a departmental level.
governments do business with citizens. The potential for further change continues with recent
advancements in ICT and with changing societal expectations.
2
Development of e-Government
The e-government experiences of public sectors around the world reveal some common
approaches and issues (see for example, OECD 2009, 2005; United Nations 2008).
2.1
First Generation e-Government
During the 1990s, governments looked to utilise ICT principally to improve public sector
efficiency and effectiveness. Adopting an essentially government centric approach, they
focused on creating the necessary ICT infrastructure both within the public sector and across
society at large, including reliable and affordable internet connectivity for citizens and
businesses. Using the first generation of ICT tools and applications, governments automated a
broad range of internal functions, processes and systems helping them improve business
processes in order to more cost-effectively deliver services.
E-government during this period consisted mainly of the online provision of information and
services allowing clients and customers to transact their business with government
electronically, such as renewing a driver’s license, applying for a fishing permit or obtaining
approval for a commercial development. The extent of services transacted online has steadily
increased with surveys documenting that citizens prefer this mode of transaction to those
conducted by telephone or over-the-counter. Government agency websites are now
commonplace enabling many citizens to easily and effectively conduct their business with
government online.
It bears emphasis that the infrastructure for early e-government typically featured service
delivery platforms that remained separate and parallel across government agencies. Egovernment was largely based around individual agency functions, structures, information,
systems and capabilities (UN 2009: 2). Consequently, citizens and businesses in large
measure interacted with the websites of individual public service departments to obtain
information or services and to conduct transactions.
First generation e-government was based principally on a generation of the internet now
referred to as Web 1.0 which consisted mainly of websites (permitting the website producer to
broadcast to users) and email (providing an electronic analogue of communications). Web 1.0
enables broadcasts, point to point, and hub and spoke activity through websites providing for
the electronic dissemination and communication of information and for electronic transactions.
Figure 1 below depicts the evolution of modern communication channels. The ways in which
citizens can connect with government have expanded markedly from face-to-face over the
counter to the latest digital technologies. These technologies have been distinguished by both
the rapid speed of development and the variety of channels by which content can be used and
sent seamlessly from one channel to another.
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
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Figure 1
Development of Communication Channels
2.2
Second Generation e-Government
During the mid to late 2000s, a second generation of ICT tools and applications emerged
associated with the collaborative web, such as the social networking sites of Facebook,
Myspace and Linkedin; information sharing sites such as Blogs, YouTube and Twitter; and
content creation and collaboration sites such as Wikis. These new social media tools
constitute what’s referred to as Web 2.0, a new generation of digital technology that allows
individuals with common interests to come together in a myriad of ways to share information
and ideas and to collaborate, often on their own terms rather than those of officialdom.
In Australia, there has been considerable growth in the uptake of broadband, wireless and
other digital technology over the past several years. Recent figures indicate that there are
now more mobile phones than population and that Australians sent more than 10 billion text
messages in 2009 (SSQ 2009). A more digitally connected citizenry combined with increasing
levels of education means a more highly informed citizenry well placed to engage more
collaboratively with government.
The objectives of first generation e-government – greater public sector efficiency and
effectiveness – are still present but more recently governments have looked to ICT to enhance
user and client satisfaction, service quality and transparency (OECD 2009). Shifting from a
government centric to a citizen centric approach, governments are focusing on using modern
ICT to deliver services that better meet the needs, demands and satisfaction of users and to
enable citizens to participate more fully in the development and delivery of services.
This new approach focuses on the user (or client) as the unit of analysis rather than the ICT
itself. In particular, it attempts to understand – or map – the delivery of services from the
perspective of the client. It bears emphasis that governments see synergy in the achievement
of both internal and external ICT objectives. The expectation is that optimising e-government
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
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development for users will lead to better and more responsive services to citizens and more
efficient use of public sector resources in general (OECD 2009: 15).
3
Key Issues
Two key issues – integration and transformation – are evident in second generation egovernment (United Nations 2008).
These issues are significantly influenced by
advancements in ICT and capture the focus and activity of governments. As such, they
sharpen our understanding of the role that ICT can play in enhancing service delivery and
citizen engagement.
3.1
Integrating ICT Systems Across Organisations
While governments continue to modernise ICT infrastructure, they are also working to
leverage the infrastructure within the public sector in order to better share information,
internally and externally, and to deliver integrated services. Responding to complex policy
problems requires collaboration across organisational boundaries as these problems cut
across portfolios that have traditionally been compartmentalised.
Clients also want
responsive, integrated services; they do not want to deal with multiple providers. ICT for
service delivery (e-government initiatives) is being revisited to enable more effective interorganisational linkages and consolidation of government systems to support the necessary
collaboration (UN 2008:3) so as to better deliver services to clients.
The trend is towards e-government as a whole concept which focuses on the provision of
services at the front-end, supported by integration, consolidation and innovation in back-end
processes and systems to achieve integrated, client focused service delivery and greater
efficiencies (United Nations 2008). Achieving this, however, requires common ICT
infrastructures, data, and business processes. Governments are attempting to bundle,
integrate and deliver services through more efficient and citizen-centric models encompassing
multiple delivery channels.
E-government as a whole is delivered via one-stop shops or single government web portals,
rather than department specific portals. Modern ICT enables streamlining and integrating
services across organisational boundaries and organising e-government services holistically in
a straightforward and transparent way with, for example, ‘one door entry’ to the public sector.
Selected examples from overseas and Australia illustrate how governments are using modern
ICT to achieve integrated, citizen centric service delivery:

In Canada in 2005, following a decade of research and planning, Service Canada was created to
improve the delivery of government programs and services, by making access to them faster, easier
and more convenient. Since its creation Service Canada has been working through the process of
integrating services from across organisational boundaries and departments to form a single service
delivery network. Service Canada now offers a single-window access, in effect a one-stop-shop, to
a wide range of federal government programs and services for citizens through more than 600 points
of service http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca. Some of the features of the Service Canada national
portal include one-click access to 90% of the most requested government services and programs,
text-to-speech audio and an interactive Q&A tool for discovering benefits and programs.

The United Kingdom Cabinet Office has been promoting the benefits of shared services across
agency boundaries with common approaches to the delivery of corporate services involving human
resource management, ICT procurement and finance services. This model is expected to evolve into
the sharing of IT infrastructures, buildings, call centres and staff.
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
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3.2

In New Zealand, the government’s http://www.i.govt.nz website enables citizens to prove their
identity to government service providers only once. The igovt logon service allows use of the same
logon details to access all participating government service providers’ online services.2

Denmark launched its online site http://www.borger.dk in 2007 as the main port of entry for citizens
to access the public sector and e-government services. Analogous to the internet portal are ‘local
service centres’ which, irrespective of which public authority or level of administration has final
authority, provide the physical front door to state, regional and municipal services.

In the Netherlands, the Government has set up some cross organisational units to support egovernment initiatives using common registers, electronic identification and standardised data. Their
implementation of a whole-of-government approach supported by an effective e-government back
office has significantly reduced the administrative burden which in turn has become a major driver of
e-government development.

In South Australia, the Government’s 2007 Just Ask Once strategy is designed to ensure citizens
and businesses need only ask once to get what they need from government by streamlining and
integrating government services through a single entry point (one portal) facility.
Transforming Citizen – Government Relationships
A second key issue that has emerged is achieving greater citizen engagement in public policy
processes through the latest Web 2.0 tools. E-government is no longer viewed only as the
provision of information or services via the internet but as a way of transforming how citizens
interact with government and how government interacts with itself (Rose and Grant 2009).
The new social media tools have the potential to transform public policy processes by making
government far more responsive and participatory.
Web 2.0 offers unprecedented
opportunities to open government decision making to the community allowing citizens to
engage more directly and collaboratively with public servants (Government 2.0 Taskforce
2009, Bourgon 2007).
This new generation of e-government, labelled Government 2.0, due to its foundations in Web
2.0, supports a shift from traditional community consultation to deeper engagement and
collaboration, a more equal two-way dialogue between the state and citizens, with citizens
contributing at all stages of the policy process, what is now referred to as e-democracy
(Noveck 2009). As the United Nations’ latest report on e-government observed, the real
benefit of e-government lies not in the use of the technology per se, but in its application to the
processes of transformation; the potential to transform the political, economic and social
relationship that citizens and government can have with one another (2008: xii).
The U.S., U.K. and New Zealand are leading the transition towards Government 2.0 through
the use of the collaborative web. According to the Government 2.0 Taskforce, Australia has
made encouraging moves towards citizen-centric e-government, but these moves have been
driven by individual agencies rather than in a coordinated way (2009). The Taskforce calls for
significantly greater use of Web 2.0 to achieve more open, accountable, responsive
government based on genuine collaboration between citizens and the state. Selected
examples below illustrate how governments are using modern ICT and Web 2.0 tools to
enable greater citizen engagement, particularly greater collaboration with citizens.
2
The Australian Minister for Finance and Deregulation announced in late December 2009 a similar initiative;
the new policy on authentication services is designed to make it simpler for citizens and businesses to
interact with government online by reducing the number of authentication services – tool used to verify an
individual’s identity – used by government departments.
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
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
In the US, the federal government’s 2009 Open Government Directive, which aims to increase
transparency, credibility and openness in government, has driven take-up of numerous egovernment initiatives. The data.gov site gives citizens access to high value machine readable
datasets generated by the executive branch and invites the public to suggest additional datasets and
site enhancements for streamlining access and use of federal data.

In the US at the local level, the New York City Data Mine http://nyc.gov/html/datamine catalogues
and makes available – in a variety of machine-readable formats – many sets of public data produced
by city agencies. Similarly, the city and county of San Francisco makes many of its data sets
available to users who are able to search for, comment on and rate data sets, as well as suggest
additional sets http://datasf.org. Everyblock offers a news feed for every city block in 15 major cities
http://www.everyblock.com addressing the question, ‘What is happening in my neighbourhood?’ by
collecting local news, events and civic information.

In the UK, the Cabinet Office recently opened its http://www.data.gov.uk site whereby public sector
information and data has been made widely available to the public for use and re-use. The initiative
recognises that there are people outside of government with the skills and abilities to ‘make
wonderful things’ out of public data. The site is promoted as one of the Government’s early
commitments to building a collaborative relationship with citizens.

Also in the UK, the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 authorises
electronic petitions from citizens to their local authorities; e-petitions at a national level are also being
examined by committees in the House of Commons.

In New Zealand, the In Development blog, launched in early 2008, is written by State Services
Commission (SSC) employees and aims to capture and build on best practice developments and
leadership initiatives from the SSC’s programs, as well as demonstrate how to effectively manage
social media as part of public sector communications.

The New Zealand Families Commission hosts The Couch http://www.thecouch.org.nz which
provides an easy way for citizens to tell the Commission what they think about issues relating to
family life; this assists the Commission in advocating for improved policies and services for families.

Also in New Zealand, the NZ Companies Office has launched a blog to provide a platform for clients
to share information, advice and contribute to the development of new services. The Companies
Office also offers training podcasts, e.g. for annual returns it offers podcasts covering filing
requirements, processes and frequently asked questions. The Office also makes services available
on Twitter.

In Australia, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has introduced Creative Commons Licencing
for the bulk of the content on its website; by changing the copyright from ‘all rights reserved’ to ‘some
rights reserved’, in effect ABS asks only that it be acknowledged as the source of the data. People
are now free to re-use, build upon and distribute ABS data, even commercially.

Also in Australia, Geoscience Australia (GA) officially adopted a creative commons licence as the
default licence for its website thereby making nearly 20,000 geological and spatial datasets and
other products efficiently available through its website for free. Almost 3700 datasets are free to be
reused, repurposed and remixed, including for commercial purposes - as long as Geoscience
Australia is acknowledged as the data’s original source.
Alongside these kinds of public sector e-government initiatives, there has also been a trend for
Web 2.0 projects to be developed from outside government. In some cases, these initiatives
create information assets as public goods from which numerous individuals may benefit. In the
UK, the not-for-profit organisation MySociety.org has established websites that simplify the
interface between citizens and government, such as TheyWorkForYou.com. According to
MySociety.org, 200,000 individuals have written to their MPs for the first time (via
WriteToThem.com) and over 10 million signatures have been left on petitions to the Prime
Minister (via Number10.gov.uk) and nearly 19,000 street repairs have been made (via
FixMyStreet.Com) – all driven by the interest and initiative of volunteers.
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
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4
Queensland e-Government Snapshot
The Queensland Government, in keeping with international trends, has adopted a number of
major whole-of-government ICT initiatives to achieve integrated service delivery and greater
citizen engagement in the development and delivery of services. Overall leadership of ICT for
the Queensland Government is provided by the Queensland Government Enterprise
Architecture (QGEA). The QGEA Framework 2.0 drives unification of strategy, architecture
and information policy across business, information, application and technology dimensions of
the Queensland Government.
Organisationally, the Queensland Government Chief
Information Office (QGCIO) in the Department of Public Works (DPW) provides overall
leadership, management and advice on whole-of-government policy for ICT and Smart
Services Queensland (SSQ), also part of DPW, serves as the ICT front door to the
Queensland Government.
SSQ had its origins in 1999 in Access Queensland, a concept rather than an operational
entity, to make it easier for the public to access government information and services. Its
vision then was – the public can expect access to government products and services
anywhere and anytime through a variety of channels. In 2002, SSQ was established when
government agencies agreed to establish a shared operational entity to manage service
provision on their behalf through a fee-for-service structure. SSQ focused on the provision of
‘generic’ services. At this time, SSQ’s responsibilities included the management and provision
of services through the www.qld.gov.au whole-of-government website, the Integrated Contact
Centre, and selected government agency customer service centres. The following year SSQ
was also given responsibility for the Queensland Government Agent Program (QGAP).3 A
fundamental principle of SSQ is that it only coordinates the presentation of information to
customers; departments retain control of their policy, business processes, business systems
and revenue.
At the time SSQ was established there was no over-arching public sector reform that
underpinned the initiative at a whole-of-government level, and consequently, SSQ faced a
number of obstacles:
4.1

lack of readiness by departments to make the required cultural shift from silo-based
service delivery to integrated/cross agency service delivery,

ineffective change management strategies to support the required shift in public service
culture and agency relationship building,

fear of the unknown, a new area of government activity with uncertainty about
outcomes, and

no government mandate to support the initiative, instead depending on departments’
voluntary participation (ICCS 2008).
Toward Q2 Through ICT
In September 2009, two new ICT strategies were adopted to support the Government’s vision
Toward Q2: Tomorrow’s Queensland and to strengthen the drive towards integrated, citizen
QGAP is a network of 78 ‘one-stop’ government service shops located in rural and remote communities
across the state. Each QGAP office provides a face to face contact point for customers and offers the same
level of service and accessibility that is available in more densely populated areas.
3
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
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centric service delivery via ICT integration. The first strategy4, Toward Q2 through ICT: the
Queensland Government’s strategy for government ICT, has four key objectives to ensure:
1. accessible government – using ICT innovation to deliver easily accessible customercentric services and information to Queenslanders and developing innovative (on-line)
two-way engagement processes between Government and citizens
2. efficient government – adopting a One Government ICT approach across government
agencies improving service delivery and reducing costs
3. effective government – providing leadership across government in ICT directions,
governance and engagement with industry
4. strong industry government partnership – developing the relationship between
government and industry to assist Queenslanders and deliver efficiencies.
Furthermore, the 2009-2014 Implementation Plan for the Toward Q2 through ICT Strategy
mandates SSQ as the preferred supplier of online and telephone services to the public
(QGCIO 2009). The plan also outlines a number of responsibilities for SSQ in delivering
accessible, citizen centric government:

implementation of the single government website experience – the Government’s
targets are that by 2012 Queenslanders will be able to conduct 50% of all government
service interactions online (excluding those that require face to face delivery) and by
2014, Queenslanders will be able to access Government information and services
through single entry points across multiple channels

rationalisation of published government telephone numbers

a public campaign – one number, one website

development of a whole-of-government SMS

development of a state-wide counter strategy building on QGAPs

expansion of the http://www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au website to enhance community
engagement – the Government’s target is that by 2011, the Government will ensure
that all major community consultation activities are available online, and

exploring the use of Web 2.0 technologies to further enhance citizen engagement and
service delivery – the Government’s target is that by 2010, Queenslanders will be able
to contribute to policy debates through the use of new and emerging technologies
Recent research (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu 2008)5 reveals that Queenslanders want
integrated and easy-to-find government services (they are not interested in which Department
has which responsibility); expect consistent, authoritative and reliable information; prefer to
conduct their business online or over the telephone (rather than face to face) and expect
security of and privacy in their interactions with government.6
4
The second strategy, developed by the Department of Employment, Economic Development and
Innovation, is ICT for tomorrow’s Queensland and is designed to help build a strong local ICT industry to
support the state’s businesses and economy. This strategy is not examined here.
5
SSQ regularly conducts and/or commissions research to understand service delivery from a citizen point of
view as well as conducts its own citizen-centred online research.
6
Furthermore over 75% of Queenslanders have Internet access at home; 31% are using the Internet for the
majority of their contact with the Government; three in five could be encouraged to use the Internet more for
connecting with Government; and four in five prefer to use “e”, that is the Internet, telephones or mobiles for
connecting with Government. It bears emphasis that there remains a group of citizens, particularly the elderly
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
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As articulated in its Delivering to Queensland: SSQ Strategy 2008-2012, SSQ’s vision is for it
to be the front door to the Queensland Government providing the primary point of contact for
Queenslanders to access government services through multiple delivery channels – as
illustrated by Figure 2 below.
Figure 2
Call Centres
Counters
Online
SMS
Emerging
technologies
While some progress has been made toward achieving the Government’s ICT Strategy
targets, including the development of a single Government portal7, there is still a plethora of
(often confusing) public contact points. SSQ estimates that there are nearly 3000 state
government telephone numbers in the Brisbane white pages, almost 1000 counters state-wide
and over 260 qld.gov websites. In addition, SSQ estimates that it delivers only about 9% of the
total Queensland Government service delivery market (this figure should increase as a result
of the requirements set by the Toward Q2 Through ICT Strategy).
The Queensland e-government experience highlights six key obstacles in achieving integrated
ICT for improving service delivery:

lack of a whole-of-government policy to support and drive innovative ICT for improved
service delivery (which the Toward Q2 Through ICT Strategy is designed to address),
and the disadvantaged, who are not digitally connected and thus for whom traditional service delivery
channels are necessary.
7
A number of initiatives have occurred in the development of a single Government website experience. In
2005, a QGCIO paper, Policy: Portals in the Queensland Government, called for a single external-facing
portal – www.qld.gov.au – for the delivery of all government online services, with management responsibility
for the portal resting with SSQ. In 2007, SSQ initiated a joint project with QGCIO and DPC, WOG Portal
Strategy, to identify the current state of the Queensland Government online environment, better understand
the needs of the sector and develop a clear future direction. In 2008, Cabinet endorsed the Delivering to
Queensland: SSQ Channel Management Strategy 2007-2012 for integrated service delivery via the
www.qld.gov.au portal.
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
9

reliance on voluntary willingness and capacity by departments to transition appropriate
services to SSQ (again, which the ICT Strategy mandating SSQ as the preferred
supplier is designed to address),

departments considering the costs of SSQ’s service delivery to be too high,

the dependence by SSQ on the capacity and capability of departments to connect their
‘back end’ systems and to provide ‘specialist’ information support to achieve the end-toend service delivery experience for the customer; there are variable levels of maturity
and sophistication across departments in these areas,

the need for better cross agency data collection and analysis, common cross-agency
ICT infrastructure and systems, and

on-going research and common measurement tools across departments to better
understand customer needs and preferences and evaluate whether they are being met.
Alongside the Government’s initiatives to deliver more responsive services through a single
government ICT interface, individual departments and agencies have recently begun to
use the new social media of Web 2.0 to better connect with their clients and customers.
Some examples include:

Queensland Health uses Twitter to provide news updates, e.g. Swine Flu outbreak, public health
messages.

Tourism Queensland (TQ) has an official Twitter profile for news, events, competitions and exclusive
holiday deals to visit Queensland; TQ extensively used social media in conjunction with its ‘best job
in the world’ campaign.

Queensland State Library uses Twitter for promotions, events and media releases

Queensland Police has a Twitter feed for individuals to report missing persons, persons of interest,
etc.

Queensland’s TransLinkSEQ uses Twitter to report major service disruptions, latest public transport
news, upcoming service changes and events in South East Queensland. TransLinkSEQ also has an
i-phone application which shows bus/train timetables.

Here for Life road safety awareness campaign (www.hereforlife.qld.gov.au) sponsored by the
Department of Transport and Main Roads includes LifePIX where users can upload their own
LifePIX across a range of social networking platforms, such as Twitter.

Energex uses Twitter to provide information and advice, including about power outages, energy
efficiency messages, power line upgrades, etc and also to alert about new content on other digital
channels, including videos on YouTube.
Anecdotal evidence indicates that there is considerable interest amongst Queensland
departments and agencies in greater use of Web 2.0 to enhance service delivery and to
engage more meaningfully with citizens and clients. SSQ is currently exploring how to drive
and support the move towards Government 2.0. In January, SSQ hosted a workshop of
interested agencies to examine the implications of the recommendations of Australia’s Report
of the Government 2.0 Taskforce8, their linkages to existing or future initiatives, and which
agencies or entities might take the lead on these. It is anticipated that these conversations will
continue.
It also bears emphasis that the examples above illustrate that in most cases, departments are
using Web 2.0 tools to disseminate, or push out, information to citizens and clients, a one-way
The Australian Government has yet to respond to the Taskforce on Government 2.0’s Final Report which
was submitted to the Government on 22 December 2009.
8
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
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rather than the two-way engagement envisioned by Government 2.0. In a recent study of so
called transformational e-government initiatives in New Zealand (2009), O’Neill argues that
most – while having a ‘new’ look and feel based on the latest technology – were best
described as instrumental as their impact on the underlying structures and relationships within
government and between government and citizens remained unaltered. The transformation
may be more instrumental – that is, doing the same things differently – than systemic – that is,
doing different things.9
Public servants’ online engagement with clients and citizens – to have more informal dialogue
or collaboration through Web 2.0 – is problematic. Traditional policy and practice has
restricted public servants’ communication with clients to the official modes, such as letters and
emails, expressing the official government view. Using Web 2.0 takes public servants into
essentially unchartered territory. The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) issued
guidelines in 2009 to encourage public servants’ online engagement, as detailed below. As
these guidelines make clear, however, agencies will need to provide further support to ensure
the appropriate use of ICT, particularly social media.
APSC Guidelines for Public Servants’ Participating Online
Web 2.0 provides public servants with unprecedented opportunities to open up government decision
making and implementation to contributions from the community. In a professional and respectful
manner, APS employees should engage in robust policy conversations. Equally, as citizens, APS
employees should also embrace the opportunity to add to the mix of opinions contributing to sound,
sustainable policies and service delivery approaches. Employees should also consider carefully whether
they should identify themselves as either an APS employee or an employee of their agency. There are
some ground rules. The APS Values and Code of Conduct, including Public Service Regulation 2.1,
apply to working with online media in the same way as when participating in any other public forum.
The requirements include:



being apolitical, impartial and professional
behaving with respect and courtesy, and without harassment
dealing appropriately with information, recognising that some information needs to remain
confidential
 delivering services fairly, effectively, impartially and courteously to the Australian public
 being sensitive to the diversity of the Australian public
 taking reasonable steps to avoid conflicts of interest
 making proper use of Commonwealth resources
 upholding the APS Values and the integrity and good reputation of the APS.
APS employees need to ensure that they fully understand the APS Values and Code of Conduct and
how they apply to official or personal communications. If in doubt, they should stop and think about
whether to comment and what to say, refer to the Code of Conduct, consult their agency’s policies, seek
advice from someone in authority in their agency, or consult the Ethics Advisory Service in the APSC.
Agencies may find it helpful to provide guidance and training to employees in using ICT resources,
including personal use, the use of social media, and any rules or policies about representing their
agency online. It would be particularly helpful to workshop scenarios around some of the more complex
or ‘grey’ issues that arise for employees in deciding whether and how to participate online, in the
performance of their duties or otherwise, consistent with the above principles.
O’Neill (2009) defines instrumental transformation as a radical change in the existing administration,
information management and service delivery practices of government agencies that may also have a
consequential impact on organisational structures and/or management practice; and systemic transformation
as a radical change in existing governance arrangements of public management including constitutional
responsibilities and accountabilities; fiscal management; legislation; regulation; and decision-making rights
over public resources.
9
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
11
5
Challenges
This snapshot of the development of e-government illustrates three broad challenges for
Queensland to realise the benefits of ICT for improving service delivery and citizen
engagement.
5.1
ICT Technology
Technology holds enormous potential for a whole of government perspective in the
development and delivery of policy and services. Effective e-government, however, depends
on having in place the appropriate ICT infrastructure in government and society. Within the
Queensland public sector, there is still considerable variability in the sophistication of ICT
infrastructure across departments and within the new mega departments. Across the state,
there has been considerable uptake of digital technology, as mentioned previously. The
penetration of smart digital devices is bringing citizens closer to government, including those
who are geographically distant. There remains, however, an equity of access issue for those
who are not digitally connected.
5.2
ICT Integration
Moving to integrated ICT for enhanced service delivery also continues to be a key challenge
for the Queensland Government, although as the United Nations (2008) observes, only a few
governments have made the necessary investment to move from e-government applications
per se to a more connected, integrated and user-focused ICT. The Queensland e-government
experience highlights a number of obstacles in achieving integrated ICT for more responsive
service delivery as discussed previously, but also contributing is the long standing culture of
departments operating separately. This silo mentality makes the required collaboration and
sharing of information, needed to address complex policy problems, and the use of common
ICT infrastructure very difficult. The 2009 Machinery of Government changes, which combined
some portfolios into single departments, were designed to support greater integration of
service delivery, but almost one year later, some departments are still working to integrate
what were previously separate, and in some cases incompatible, ICT systems.
5.3
ICT Transformation for citizen centric government
The third challenge is to achieve meaningful participation by citizens and clients in policy
processes for more responsive and accountable government. Second generation ICT enables
public servants and interested communities to work in collaboration on complex policy and
service delivery issues, at the same time ensuring greater transparency of government
decision making. Moving to Government 2.0, however, requires a culture of open government
and open access to government information.10 This move will also require changes to some
aspects of established policy, practice and culture within the public sector. Clearly there will
need to be a sustained focus on equipping public servants with the necessary skills in eliteracy and on motivating citizens to engage with government.
6
Summary
Since 2008, the Queensland Government has pursued a number of strategies to achieve
integrated, accessible, citizen centric service delivery, including the Toward Q2: Tomorrow’s
10
The Queensland Right To Information 2009 Act is designed to create such a culture.
Innovations in ICT for Improving Service Delivery: e-Government
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Queensland, Machinery of Government changes, Performance Management Framework,
Toward Q2 Through ICT Strategy and other service delivery reforms. ICT plays a critical role
but as the Queensland e-government experience demonstrates, there remains a considerable
way to go and challenges to overcome. The policy arm of Government is currently identifying
appropriate policies and service delivery aspects of ICT that will need to be developed and
implemented to assist in achieving integrated and accessible services for Queenslanders.
7
References
Australian Government, 2009. Engage: Getting on with Government 2.0: Report of the
Government 2.0 Taskforce at
http://www.finance.gov.au/publications/gov20taskforcereport/index.html.
Bourgon, J. 2007. “Why should government engage citizens in service delivery and policy
making?” Paper presented at the OECD Public Governance Committee Symposium on
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Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, 2008. Smart Service Queensland Review of the Queensland
Government's online channel: Current State Assessment, Department of Public Works
internal document.
European Communities 2009, [eGovernment in the] United Kingdom, eGovernment
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Institute for Citizen Centred Service (ICCS) 2008. Case Study – Smart Services Queensland,
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Noveck, B. S. 2009. Wiki Government: How Technology can make government better,
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State Government Chief Information Office (QGCIO) 2009. Delivering on Toward Q2 through
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http://www.qgcio.qld.gov.au/qgcio/strategies/Pages/TowardQ2throughICT.aspx
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State Government Chief Information Office (QGCIO) 2009. Delivering on Toward Q2 through
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http://www.qgcio.qld.gov.au/qgcio/strategies/Pages/TowardQ2throughICT.aspx
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