Hi everyone! I am Aldwin Urbina, an International Development Engineering (IDE) M1 student from Abe Lab. I came to TokyoTech with a thesis proposal on how to further enhance Philippine e-government systems using currently available computing technologies. I have learned about a relatively new technology at a seminar about an advanced computer resources architecture framework called “cloud computing”. The benefits of employing such technology in the business sector were said to be very promising. Hence, cloud computing is gaining the interest of governments across the world as a means to further improve the delivery of government services to the people. However, the supposed benefits of adopting said technology in e-government are yet to be substantiated with actual accounts. Hereunder is a short introduction of my proposed thesis which provides the rationale and importance of my study. I have quoted John Adams’ view on the purpose of governments. I find it appropriate to be mentioned here to remind us of the significant role of information and communications technologies (ICTs) as tools to facilitate government functions.
“The happiness of society is the end of government… the form of government which communicates ease, comfort, security, or, in one word, happiness, to the greatest number of persons, and in the greatest degree, is the best.” – John Adams
With technological advances in the ICT sector in providing high-speed communication services, transparent record keeping, and ICT-based management in government, the delivery of public services and regulatory functions are being radically transformed. Governments have been increasingly dependent on ICTs in the same manner that the demand for ICT services by citizens continues to increase at a faster rate. ICTs are now seen as indispensable means to increase accessibility of government services to its citizens and in achieving increased transparency, efficiency and trust in government. It has been proven that ICTs have the ability to transform and improve traditional means of communication and interaction between government and citizens as applications of such technologies are ubiquitously present and continuously being integrated into everyday life. This is why governments all over the world have adopted and continue to develop e-government systems.
However, due to limited resources of governments, especially in developing countries, they tend to immediately resort to quick, short-term and standalone ICT solutions and disregard the principles of standardization, sustainability, interoperability and resource sharing. With tiered structures of governments, operational inefficiencies in the delivery of e-government services (i.e., inefficient use of resources, among others, investment, energy, effort) can persist yet go unnoticed. Considering that implementing and managing ICTs are costly, it is prudent for governments to consider strategic deployment schemes such as whole-of-government approach in formulating their respective e-government plans. Moreover, such government plans should foremost be citizen-centric rather than organization-centric to achieve economies of scale. Thus, it is important that the employment of ICTs in facilitating the delivery of public services to the people be carried out in the most efficient way where the benefits truly far outweigh the costs. Awareness of the above considerations, among others, is a good start for governments to reflect on with the goal of realizing the full potential of ICTs for e-government applications.