A global study of 34 nations saw the government here ranked highest on optimising productivity of ministries and departments through the use of infocomm technology. It was also singled out for 'big progress' on its government online portals.
What it did not do so well in: Promoting itself via cyberspace. It fared the worst for this indicator, ranking seventh behind Sweden - which took first place.
Into its fifth year, the study was conducted by Japan's Waseda University Institute of e-government - which is also in charge of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's e-government research centre.
The governments were measured on six key areas with 28 indicators: Strength of broadband, cellular and PC networks, electronic services delivery, computerisation of government processes, national portal, the chief information officer and e-government promotional activities.
Singapore moved upwards in almost every indicator, accounting for its improved results from 2008. For the indicator on national portal, it moved into the top ten for the first time, ranking first.
The report, done by Dr Toshio Obi, also noted several shifts in trends.
'From merely providing services, governments have established virtual spaces for citizens to have their voice.' said the director of Waseda University Institute of e-government.
But the report also noted 'only a few countries have recorded satisfying use of their online services', saying that further 'marketing' is required.
It was recommended that cyber laws and digital authentication be put in place as governments move online.
'In the near future, both Web 2.0 and mobile government will be the hottest issues in e-government,'said Dr Obi.
The top 10 countries
- Singapore
- United States
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
- Japan
- Korea
- Canada
- Taiwan
- Finland
- Germany
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Tan Weizhen
Quelle/Source: The Straits Times, 06.03.2009
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