Embracing Risk in E-Government Policy Development
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Embracing Risk in E-Government Policy Development
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By Isaac Kwaku Fokuo Jr., Founder and Principal and Naam Chakravorty, Gulf Region Analyst, Botho Emerging Markets Group
April 26, 2022
E-governance can be a risky business. The use of information and communications technologies to deliver government services to citizens has its benefits. However, when policymakers make decisions without intrinsic knowledge of e-governance implementation, they face the possibility of failure due to a lack of technical infrastructure, human resource competency, and inadequate cybersecurity. As a result, several governments have been slow to execute e-government policies. Unfortunately, this isn’t the solution either, because a country’s lack of digital maturity in a world that is increasingly reliant on digital services makes it more vulnerable to challenges. For example, in Malaysia, cybercrime was projected to have cost the country over US$ 532 million since 2017. The policymaker's dependence on the private sector has increased to safeguard them against digital vulnerability, resulting in faster technology deployment. However, most governments fall behind the private sector in terms of understanding and harnessing the power of technology, increasing the difficulty in developing foundational strategies and policies around it. So the conundrum is how governments may take calculated risks when developing and implementing e-governance initiatives while ensuring that the true stakeholders - citizens - benefit from them.
The absence of structural policies or a framework to guide the development of digital solutions tailored to a country's needs is a key impediment to the country's digitization aspirations being fully realized. The framework can also look to include how to communicate and gain insights from other countries' knowledge banks of e-governance practices instead of repeating their mistakes. Malaysia, a country that began its digital journey almost two decades ago, is experiencing delayed e-governance growth, which has been attributed to a lack of digital infrastructure and cooperation across government entities, and public officials' and citizens' unwillingness to adapt. The country has only recently begun to overcome traditional bureaucracy to aid digital transformation by establishing a 'Digital Government Framework' under the Malaysian Administrative Modernization and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU). This move has placed it among the top 50 countries in the UN E-Government Development Surveys. Malaysia’s innovative initiatives have enabled it to climb the rankings, propelling it upward by 12 ranks from 60 in 2017 to 48 in 2018. The country’s implementation success is yet to be measured, though.
A good example of a country embracing risk in its e-governance strategies is Malaysia’s North East neighbor, Taiwan. In a controversial move in 2012, the Taiwanese government advertised an unusual idea: "Rather than wasting time arguing policy, let's focus on laying the groundwork and getting things done". This encouraged four programmers to hack Taiwan's central government budget, which they then made public, allowing citizens to provide personalized and, in the end, critical feedback on practically every line item! Instead of reprimanding these "civic hackers," Taiwan took the initiative in stride, establishing the "gov-zero" movement, which is now one of the world's most active civic-tech communities. Since then, Taiwan has made collaboration a central part of its administration, utilizing technology in a way that allows citizens to participate meaningfully.
The lesson to be learned from Taiwan's example is that citizens are the true stakeholders in e-governance. Taking a step back to formulate a long-term vision for digitalization could help countries in emerging markets make better and more informed decisions in both crisis and non-crisis situations. The framework would take readers through the country's e-governance vision and principles and define what the government expects from its interactions with the private sector and its citizens. The steps required to achieve an effective framework are to ask fundamental questions such as "who," "what," "why," and "how," namely:
Who should be involved in such digitization projects?
What is the projected goal?
What will be the structure of collaboration with the private sector?
Why should that e-government tool be developed against traditional practices? And what would be the benefits for the government and/or the citizens?
How will e-government tools be developed, revised, and integrated into existing systems?
How will efficacy be measured?
And how can citizens participate in such projects?
Taiwan, once again, serves as an example, having excelled in e-governance through collaborative engagement. Audrey Tang, Taiwan's Digital Minister, developed a network of Participation Officers in each ministry. They function as conduits for inter-agency coordination and serve as bridges between the general public and policymakers. Whenever a digitization proposal is made, a collaborative meeting is convened, with representatives from government departments and the general public asked to participate in the discussion and help design new policies together.
Risk is an important factor to consider when developing and implementing e-government technology and the ecosystem of policies around it; however, it can be managed. With targeted goals, pragmatic implementation, and an assessment of enablers (technological resources, capabilities, and governance), policymakers should look to match their vision with all existing and future stakeholders. These parameters are necessary for any policy or program aiming to create a solid foundation for the government's digitization initiatives to succeed.
Isaac Kwaku Fokuo Jr. is the Founder and Principal of Botho Emerging Markets Group
Naam Chakravorty is a Gulf Region Analyst at Botho Emerging Markets Group