IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

I felt something similar at last month’s China E-government Awards, the first event of its kind in Hangzhou. The past ten years have seen the rapid development of China’s e-government infrastructure. Just as China has made great strides to build a world-class physical infrastructure, so the government has been at pains to provide world-class e-services for the 300 million Chinese with internet access. This has meant local governments, especially fast-developing ones like Hangzhou, have been mandated to upgrade online services that fulfill local needs. But while China wants to modernise service delivery quickly, it has been careful to ensure that local governments do not rush to upgrade services just because they have to, and neglect the reason for doing so - to better serve the citizen.

Nach einer nichtöffentlichen Testphase hat der Netzwerkausrüster Cisco Systems gestern sein Metropolitan Mobile Network Solution (MMNS)-Programm gestartet. Im Rahmen des Projekts sollen komplette Städte mit Netzwerktechnologien ausgestattet werden. Kern des Programms ist ein Router, der sich nahtlos über verschiedenste Zugangsarten mit dem Backbone verbindet.

Residents will be able to book inoculations and receive Covid-19 test results, register to vote, renew car licences, and pay taxes and utility bills on a new digital platform set to launch on Wednesday under the latest government initiative to turn Hong Kong into a smart city.

The one-stop-shop iAM Smart platform, which cost HK$60mil (RM31.24mil), will allow Hongkongers to freely use a single digital identity and authentication to conduct government and commercial transactions online, automatically fill in personal details on electronic forms and handle statutory documents and procedures.

"In view of the prevalent use of smartphones in Hong Kong, the Government leverages on mobile technology to provide on-the-go services for the public," the Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Daniel Lai, said.

China’s capital Beijing launched a new smartphone app to connect millions of visually disabled people with volunteers.

Launched on Tuesday, the free app, ‘see4me.org’, has two channels – one for visually disabled users and one for volunteers, the China Daily reported.

It allows the visually disabled to post requests, such as medical instructions or having mail read to them. When a request is posted, it will be received and answered by volunteers.

The “GovHK Notifications” app enables users to be well informed about important notices or “alerts” from the government in a timely manner.

The Notifications are classified into categories such as air pollution alerts, food alerts, weather warnings, special traffic news, immigration information, leisure facilities, tax rates and rent, and student financial assistance.

The usage rate of Hong Kong e-government services has risen dramatically, reaching 12.9 billion information searches and electronic transactions by 2012 - a 2.7 times increase from 2010.

“We have established a government cloud platform (GovCloud) to develop shared electronic government services. It will comprise of core infrastructure and a shared pool of computing resources that can be dynamically provided to e-government services, based on individual demand,” shared Lai.

Through interactive media exhibits, the five-storey City Gallery, with a floor area of over 3200 square metres, showcases Hong Kong’s major planning proposals and infrastructure projects and also presents visions of the city’s future developments.

The country’s Information Services Department (ISD) has released an iPad application which provides details of government projects, social development and country performance indicators.

The free app, which supports English and Chinese, is quoted as being “a useful reference source” with which to analyse Hong Kong’s social progress over the last year.

The SFC, HKMA, IA and MPFA are encouraging FIs to adopt iAM Smart in their businesses for customer authentication, document signing, and remote onboarding.

Hong Kong’s OGCIO (Office of the Government Chief Information Officer) has announced the launch of iAM Smart, which provides all Hong Kong residents with a single digital identity and authentication method to conduct government and commercial transactions online.

The free app - Tell me@1823 - can be downloaded on iPhones or mobiles that use the Android operating system. It was introduced by the 1823 Call Centre, which is operated by the government's Efficiency Unit.

Those wanting to complain or make a request can send text messages, voice recordings or upload photographs and give their location by using the location service on their phone.

In 21 chapters, the free app covers a wide range of subjects including the economy, commerce and industry, employment, the environment, social welfare, education, infrastructural development, culture and recreation, infrastructure development and state of IT adoption.

The Assistant Commissioner for Transport (Technical Services), Mr Leung Tak-fai, noted in the briefing session that the Public Transport Enquiry Service (PTES) had recorded more than 1.3 million users since its launch in April 2009.

"Using mobile phones for internet access has become very popular in recent years. To help travellers search for suitable public transport routes while on the move anytime, anywhere, the TD and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) have developed the PTES smartphone app and mobile website," Mr Leung said.

The tag, which will be pasted on the left side of the windshield, contains information including licence plate number, engine number, colour of the taxi, and details of the operating licence. Law enforcement personnel will be able to scan the tag using a handheld device and instantly recognise whether the taxi is licenced.

Ten key digital and smart applications were presented in downtown Shanghai on Tuesday to provide brand-new economic, life and social governance experiences.

The applications were presented in Changning District at a digital transformation promotion meeting as pilot projects to be promoted across the city. They are expected to speed up digital transformation and improve people's daily lives.

When the catastrophic 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti at the beginning of this year, its fault lines extended far beyond the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. The earthquake also exposed the shifting landscape of information-sharing in emergencies, as a number of grassroots technology groups leveraged the availability of mobile and cloud-based technologies to aggregate, translate, map and disseminate data about humanitarian needs and available resources.

Speaking at the opening of a one-day conference on e-Governance for Small States held at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, UK, on 19 November 2012, the Secretary-General said e-Governance facilitates improvements in public financial management, anti-corruption and enhances efficiency in service delivery.

Since the launch of e-Seva in the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh in 2001, governments and charity organisations have been building telecentres the world over. Rural communities, for which access to government services had been out of reach for so long, finally joined the information age.