Study Guide - World Model United Nations

government goes through in the pursuit of implementing
e-governance. The first of these is computerization,
or the idea of recording information using improved
technology and digital media in public offices. New
Zealand, Canada, and Singapore have shown great initiative
in this arena in the past. 6 In India in the 1970s,
the goal of e-governance efforts was simply to computerize
the enormous amount of information that the
government possessed. However, by the 1980s the goal
of e-governance had shifted to a focus on connectivity.
This focus on connectivity is considered to be the second
phase of e-governance.
In order to ensure the highest
levels of efficiency within
the government, Indian
officials took strides toward
connecting different district
offices within the government
so that information
could flow smoothly
between them. In the 1990s,
more efforts were made to
reach rural communities
in India and to include the
enormous variety and diversity
of people within the
nation. India at this time
also accepted the assistance
of non-government organizations
towards the goal
of improved e-governance.
International agencies have
been key actors in developing
nations throughout the
evolution of e-governance
practices, helping to facilitate
development despite initially large costs of implementation.
7
Evolution of e-governance has also been widely documented
in sub-Saharan Africa, where attempts have
been made more recently (most notably in the 2000s)
to increase the prevalence of e-government techniques.
A variety of issues have developed with the use of these
techniques, however, such as difficulties with information
management. There has also been a great deal of
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difficulty in ensuring that those who use the information
technology possess the knowledge necessary for
its successful application. Another concern that existed
in 2001 was that 60% of sub-Saharan African nations
had a UN e-government capability rating of lower than
1.00. A rating lower than 1.00 means that the country
is deficient in the kinds of resources necessary for egovernance
and is therefore an unsuitable location for
e-governance to be implemented. This was the case in
sub-Saharan Africa, not only from the UN rating, but
also from the lack of functional government sites in
In order to produce the greatest level of development, the flow chart seen here is one
of the key methodologies that is observed to achieve the best results. http://www.
iimahd.ernet.in/egov/ifip/dec2001/igov5.gif
many of these nations. Though there have been efforts
to implement e-governance, there is still much progress
to be made, and these efforts have mainly been thwarted
by a lack of resources. 8
Ultimately, the evolution from first through second and
third stages of e-governance occurs at varying paces for
individual nations and is highly dependent on the levels
of economic growth and stability of the general infrastructure
of these nations.
UNDP 9