This definition encompasses the activities of e-government as those of conducting the affairs of state on various levels and with the greatest rational involvement of citizenry.
Governments are embracing the internet to provide services to business (G2B) and citizens (C2C), as well as government to government (G2G), citizen to citizen (C2C), government to supplier (G2S) and government to employee (G2E). It is the use of information and communication technologies to support government function and services and to support citizens on their participation in political processes.
In year 2000 European Union Summit in Lisbon set ambitious goal of making Europe the world most competitive and dynamic knowledge based economy. It resulted in the eEurope Action plan to exploit the full potential of the Internet to promote a competitive economy.
It means office automation and internal management information systems and expert systems, as well as client-facing web sites. The objective is to make it easier to deal with local, regional and national governments by making services available electronically.
The benefits of e-Government are reduced costs through more efficient processes, the integration of disparate agencies systems, and improved service to citizens via the internet and other electronic channels. Efficiency in administration and providing broad access to information and transactional services to the citizenry are recognized as the primary concerns in the e-government.
Investment by government will also decrease the cost of doing business through simplification of procedures self-service systems and one stop shop for enterprises. The biggest beneficiaries here will be the small to medium enterprises, which are the backbone of the European economy.
E-Government
