icegov2012 proceedings

[43],[44]. E-governance at the national level has now progressed
for supporting MDGs either directly or indirectly. Every nation
now has adequate plans to display its e-readiness and has
strategies to support the MDGs effectively [32]. It is thus
imperative that each MDG needs to be assessed in terms of the
contributions of E-Governance in meeting the agenda across all
the levels of governance with adequate focus at the local level. In
Indian context, this is more relevant as part of the development
process because of the fact that local development has larger
ramifications in meeting the national goals [29].
Sustainable development strategies are constantly focusing on
MDGs [12],[10]. E-Governance strategies are also being termed
as effective contributors to sustainable development.
Measurements of sustainable development and assessment of
critical success factors of MDGs provide common base for
understanding readiness of a nation to address sustainable
development with social, economic and ecological dimensions. In
this paper assessment of causality for achieving successful MDGs
through E-Governance is explored. It considers dimensions
related to sustainable development as important contributors. In
Table 2 below the stated dimensions are related to the E-
Governance readiness indicators with specific relationships with
MDGs[19].
Table 2. MDG and E-Governance Readiness
MDG Goals E-Governance Readiness
Indicators
1.Eradicate
extreme
poverty and
hunger
2.Achieve
universal
primary
education
3.Promote
gender
equality and
empower
women
4.Reduce
child
mortality
5.Improve
maternal
health
6.Combat
HIV/AIDS,
malaria, and
other diseases
7.Ensure
environmental
sustainability
8.Develop a
global
partnership
for
development
Government E-Readiness to
provide support for
economic issues at the local
level. This readiness
indicates citizens’ readiness
to achieve higher income
through better education,
skills, reduction in
information asymmetry,
information on market
Government E-Readiness to
socially network the
community, enhance
awareness among women
with multi-media services
Government E-Readiness to
network the community,
enhance awareness and
provide inputs to the citizens
to use natural resources
effectively with holistic
environmental considerations
Sustainable
Development
Dimensions
Economic
Social
Environmental
356
Global readiness reports on E-Governance have maintained that
national E-Governance efforts are likely to bring in the desired
effects in achieving sustainable development indicators [25],[23].
2.1 Research Model and Hypotheses
Sustainable development is a complex and multifaceted issue that
has been challenging each and every nation [12]. Various attempts
are made to attain this through MDGs and there are various
instruments used to assess the level of attainment of these goals.
National E-Governance readiness for each nation has been a
routine phenomenon that showcases readiness of each nation with
benchmarking to provide insights to the efforts being made for
attaining sustainable development goals though ICT interventions
[14],[15]. These efforts, especially in the context of India, need to
examine the causal relations among E-Governance readiness and
sustainable development.
This research includes assessment of following relationships:
1. Contributions of E-Governance services in the village can be
used for assessment of e-readiness to meet the MDGs.
It is argued that e-readiness (excluding ICT infrastructure
readiness which is a subset of overall e-readiness) is made
available through E-Governance services. Such services need to
be designed with active collaborations of citizens.
2. E-readiness to support MDGs is likely to contribute to the
empowerment of the village households for meeting sustainable
development indicators in the village.
It is argued that MDGs need to direct E-Governance services at all
levels of the nation. This would facilitate creation of success
factors for the E-Governance services provided. In absence of
such directed efforts e-readiness may get limited to establishment
of IT infrastructures.
In order to answer the research questions some research
hypotheses are proposed as discussed below. These hypotheses
are leveled in three tiers.
Tier-I Hypothesis: In Figure 1 the first hypothesis is presented. It
posits that every goal under MDG at the local level is influenced
collectively by the citizens, community groups and government
agencies.
H1
Household
Affinity
Community
Affinity
Government
Support
MDG #
Figure 1. MDG and Stakeholders
Tier-I includes collective contributions from the local level
citizens, community groups to successfully meet the MDGs. It is