Benefits of E-government

Question 1

What is one of the disadvantages faced by rural areas compared to urban areas, and how can e-government help address it?

Answer 1

Rural areas face disadvantages in accessing government information and services compared to urban areas. E-government can help address this imbalance by expanding government services to rural regions, promoting inclusiveness as an integral part of sustainable development.

Question 2

How does the digital divide manifest in terms of Internet use between urban and rural residents in various regions?

Answer 2

The digital divide is evident in the fact that urban residents are more likely to use the Internet than rural residents. In Africa, for instance, only half of the urban population is online, compared to just 15 percent of the rural population. In the least developed countries, urban residents are nearly four times as likely as rural residents to use the Internet, with a 47 percent versus 13 percent difference. Wide internal disparities in Internet availability and use can also be observed within cities and regions.

Question 3

What are the two barriers that e-government can help break down in service delivery, and how does it achieve this?

Answer 3

E-government can break down the barriers of distance and time in service delivery. It achieves this by bringing the government closer to citizens, making services more accessible to those who may face mobility or distance issues, and by providing around-the-clock access to government services from virtually anywhere, overcoming time constraints.

Question 4

What project was launched in Ghana in early 2018 to provide remote access to Wi-Fi and internet services in rural communities?

Answer 4

An “affordable and sustainable connecting the unconnected project.”

The project was set to take place in four rural communities in western Ghana, prior to it being rolled out across the country.

Question 5

How is the Wi-Fi hotspot powered in the Ghana project?

Answer 5

The Wi-Fi hotspot is 100 percent solar energy-powered.

The hotspot is connected to the Internet by existing infrastructure such as microwave link and fiber, satellite, balloons or drones, bringing connectivity to even the most remote areas of the world.

Question 6

What types of devices can users use to access the internet via the Wi-Fi hotspot in Ghana’s project?

Answer 6

Users can access the internet using any smartphone, tablet, or laptop.

Question 7

Apart from internet access, what other services and benefits does the project provide to rural communities in Ghana?

Answer 7

The project offers fast access to e-learning, e-health, e-governance, enables information sharing on topics like healthcare and agriculture, and allows online communication with government authorities.

A local cloud at the base station provides fast and easy access for the listed services above and allows citizens to share information, such as on health care and agriculture, as well as to communicate online with government authorities.

Question 8

Ghana: Remote access to Wi-Fi and internet services

Where are the hotspots used?

Answer 8

In public establishments such as schools, hospitals, banks, police stations and marketplaces.

Question 9

What are some ways governments and organizations use cloud computing in disaster preparedness?

Answer 9

They use it for creating online maps, securing data, and setting up networks of sensors.

Question 10

What role does cloud computing play in disaster response and humanitarian efforts?

Answer 10

It helps facilitate disaster response by making data and services more accessible and scalable during and after disasters.

Question 11

How do hospitals in Rwanda request medical supplies through the drone system?

Answer 11

Hospitals can send a WhatsApp message or place an order online to request medical supplies.

Question 12

What notification does the doctor receive when the drone is about to deliver the medical supplies?

Answer 12

The doctor receives an SMS message when the drone is about a minute away from its destination.

Question 13

How has the use of drones improved the delivery time of life-saving services like blood to rural hospitals in Rwanda?

Answer 13

Previously, it took about four hours for delivery, but now it takes less than 45 minutes, and sometimes as little as 15 minutes.

Question 14

What is the expected impact on costs when the drone delivery program is established nationwide in Rwanda?

Answer 14

The costs are expected to be comparable to current land vehicle deliveries but with a much quicker response time.

Question 15

In early 2018, which African government sought to replicate Rwanda’s drone distribution efforts, and how many drones and flights per day are they planning to provide?

Answer 15

The Tanzanian government aimed to replicate these efforts and planned to open four drone distribution centers with Zipline, providing more than 100 drones and 2,000 flights a day

Question 16

In what year did the Rwandan government partner with Zipline for drone deliveries of medical products?

Answer 16

The partnership was established in 2016.

This is not the first time an East African country is spearheading emerging technology solutions aimed at greater inclusion.
In 2007, Safaricom, a Kenya-based telecommunications company, launched the often-cited mobile phone-based money transfer service, M-Pesa, which has since spread around the region and the world. That success is now being replicated with drones

Question 17

In what year did the Government of India launch the Digital India program, and what was its main objective?

Answer 17

The Digital India program was launched in 2015 with the objective of bridging the gap between urban and rural areas through digital infrastructure development, digital literacy promotion, and expanding online services.

Question 18

What is the primary aim of Digital Malaysia, and when was it initiated by the government for implementation?

Answer 18

Digital Malaysia is designed to drive the country’s transition towards a developed digital economy. It was initiated for implementation during the period 2018-2022.

Question 19

What are the key goals of Digital Kazakhstan?

Answer 19

Digital Kazakhstan aims to accelerate the country’s economic development, improve the quality of life of the population, and create the necessary conditions for the transition to a digital economy.

Question 20

What is the main objective of Bangladesh’s national Digital Bangladesh strategy, and by what year does it aim to achieve this objective?

Answer 20

The Digital Bangladesh strategy aims to transform the country into a digitally developed nation by 2021. It focuses on ICT integration to support good governance, law enforcement, employment, and growth.

Question 21

What is one of the key advantages of e-government for citizens and businesses in dealing with government agencies?

Answer 21

E-government simplifies procedures by eliminating the need for citizens and businesses to understand the complex structu

Question 22

How can information and communication technologies (ICTs) improve government transparency and accountability?

Answer 22

ICTs can improve government transparency by providing access to information, increasing accountability, and allowing citizens to monitor government activities, thereby fostering trust between citizens and their government.

Government is the largest owner and processor of public information and the largest user of information technology in a society.

Question 23

Transparent Government:

The effective use of information technology can build up a more ________

Answer 23

• Transparent
• Accountable
• Competetive government

There is strong demand from citizens and businesses for the government to improve transparency and anticorruption efforts, and many leaders believe that e-government provides a means of doing so.

Question 24

Define:

Accountability:

Answer 24

Making organizational proceedings transparent and explaining and justifying decisions and choices in terms of stated policies and procedures.

Question 25

What is Open Government Data (OGD)?

Answer 25

Can be defined as “government information proactively disclosed and made available online for all to access, without restriction”

Question 26

How can OGD increase transparency?

Answer 26

Making data easily accessible gives citizens the opportunity to evaluate the performance of various administrative institutions.

Question 27

What are some benefits of opening up government data?

Answer 27

Can lead to more efficient use of resources and improved service delivery, which is an important component of e-government strategies in most countries.

Question 28

How can providing open data through an online portal bebeneficial for the society?

Answer 28

if implemented effectively, can enhance transparency and reduce the time and resources associated with public requests for data, allowing academics, businesses and civil society organizations that contribute to digital inclusion efforts to gain new insights into complex policy issues surrounding the principle of leaving no one behind.

Question 29

What are the Reduced Government Costs associated eith E-gov initiaatives?

Answer 29

E-government initiatives can significantly reduce the costs associated with interactions between citizens, businesses, and government. This approach also streamlines operational processes for both businesses and government entities.

Question 30

Reduced Gov costs:

ICT-Driven Resource Reduction

Answer 30

ICT (Information and Communication Technology) adoption in government often aims to minimize resource expenditure. Governments may use ICT to either reduce overall spending or allocate funds to higher-priority areas

Question 31

Reduced Gov costs:

Efficiency and Paperwork Reduction

Answer 31

Information technologies in government can reduce inefficiencies related to duplicate data collection, processing, and storage. This, in turn, can alleviate the burdensome paperwork and data processing costs associated with public programs.

Question 32

What is

Reduced Government Costs (Anti-Keynesian Model)

Answer 32

In the short term, transitioning information and services to an online platform may necessitate new investments by government agencies, leading to increased costs. However, in the long run, the extensive utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will contribute to reducing the overall costs of government.

Question 33

Who is famous for saying:

“In the long run we are all dead.”

Answer 33

John Maynard Keynes

This statement is often interpreted as a criticism of the idea that the future holds all the answers and solutions to our problems

Question 34

What are the three principles emphasized in Portugal’s modernization of public services?

Answer 34

The three principles emphasized in Portugal’s modernization of public services are rolling out citizen-centric services, administrative simplification, and the rationalization of the administration’s interoperability, costs and resource use.

Question 35

What is the concept of “citizen shops” in Portugal’s public service delivery?

Answer 35

Citizen shops” are an innovative concept of public service delivery that brings together, in the same space, several public and private entities. This involves collaboration between the local public administration and local partners and citizens who best know the needs of a population and the area.

Question 36

What is the purpose of Portugal’s multi-service centers?

Answer 36

There are now more than 150 physical multi-service centers as part of a national network utilizing ICTs to set up citizen spaces for the provision of digitally delivered services, with in-person assistance if required. This addresses the fact that digital literacy is not at the same level everywhere in the country.

Question 37

The modernization of public services in Portugal since the late 1990s has been driven by a policy focused both on

Answer 37

Efficiency and cost reduction, on the one hand, and high-quality services and their multi-channel delivery on the other

Question 39

What is multi-channel delivery?

Answer 39

Multichannel service delivery is the provision of public services by various means in an integrated and coordinated way. End users can make selections according to their specific needs and circumstances to receive consistent outcomes across channels.

Question 40

What is a citizen-centric approach?

Answer 40

Broadly, a citizen-centric approach is one where, instead of the bureaucracy second-guessing citizens, governments consult citizens about their needs, and encourage their direct participation in policy making and service design and delivery.

Question 41

What is interoperability?

Answer 41

Interoperability refers to the convergence of ICT platforms and networks making hardware and applications compatible and inter-communicable, usually using standards and solutions developed by ICT suppliers and/or NGOs financed by them. It is an electronic “handshake” that enables separate communication systems to share information among themselves towards a common end.

Question 42

What are citizen shops?

Answer 42

Citizen shops are an innovative concept of public service delivery that brings together, in the same space, several public and private entities. They involve collaboration between the local public administration and local partners and citizens who best know the needs of a population and the area.

Question 43

What is modernization?

Answer 43

Modernization is a permanent process, carried out through reform and innovation, which today means a transition to a postindustrial society. Historians link modernization to the processes of urbanization and industrialization and the spread of education.

In sociological critical theory, modernization is linked to an overarching process of rationalisation. When modernization increases within a society, the individual becomes increasingly important, eventually replacing the family or community as the fundamental unit of society. It is also a subject taught in traditional Advanced Placement World History classes

Question 44

Adopting E-gov, How can it promote democracy?

Answer 44

Government websites could turn this into a reality through:
1. electronic polling
1. electronic referenda and
1. electronic voting.

Question 45

What are the requirements for electronic polls, referenda, and voting systems?

Answer 45

Such electronic polls, referenda, and voting systems must meet both political and technical requirements of accuracy and reliability.

Question 46

What is the name of the committee responsible for conducting Internet voting in Estonia?

Answer 46

The name of the committee responsible for conducting Internet voting in Estonia is the Electronic Voting Committee.

In 2012, an Electronic Voting Committee was established responsible for conducting Internet voting even as the National Electoral Committee retains a supervisory role.

Question 47

How many times has I-voting with binding results been carried out in Estonia as of 2014?

Answer 47

I-voting with binding results has been carried out eight times in Estonia as of 2014.

In the local elections in October 2005, October 2009 and October 2013;
In the parliamentary elections in March 2007, March 2011 and March 2015;
In the European Parliament elections in June 2009 and May 2014

Question 48

Internet Voting in Estonia:

When was the Internet voting first introduced?

Answer 48

in the local elections of 2005

When more than 9 thousand voters cast their ballot via the Internet corresponding to about 2 per cent of all registered voters.

Question 49

What is the difference between I-voting and other forms of electronic voting?

Answer 49

I-voting is software-based and does not require the involvement of cumbersome and costly machinery for it to operate, nor does it require election volunteers or the electorate to go to a physical polling place to vote.

Question 50

What are the two main types of challenges to implementing e-voting systems?

Answer 50

The two main types of challenges to implementing e-voting systems are security and trust issues. Security issues include denial-of-service attacks, malware, and hacking. Trust issues include voter coercion, vote selling, and confidence in the electoral process.

Question 51

How can modern technology help to promote democracy?

Answer 51

Modern technology can help to build up a new type of partnership among the stakeholders of society, which should help to promote democracy.

Question 52

What is the role of ICTs in promoting democracy?

Answer 52

ICTs promote participation through the two-way sharing of knowledge and experiences between governments and their citizens.