Accenture's fifth annual global e-government study

2004 key findings
during the past year. However, the country released
a new strategy in February 2004 that demonstrates
that the country plans to focus on developing a
“coherent” public service (independent of legacy
applications and individual suppliers and across
public-sector boundaries). The strategy is fueled
by a number of relevant and quantifiable goals.
The United Kingdom and Ireland also made only
minor progress from 2003 to 2004, although their
slowdowns in growth were not as severe as some
other countries. The United Kingdom lost one place
in the rankings and Ireland remained the same.
Again, the way these countries have hit a plateau
shows the need to refocus priorities. Ireland’s longawaited
Public Service Broker is expected to become
the common framework for integrated services in
the country. Once this fundamental enabler is in
place, growth could take off once again. The United
Kingdom’s online future is still unclear. It reached
the peak of its growth several years ago and has
slowed down since then while other countries continued
to grow. This year, however, there will be a
restructuring in the governance of the eGovernment
program that potentially could bring a new strategy.
The United Kingdom also seems to be ahead of
many countries in its use of marketing. While these
UK marketing efforts are primarily in response to
late take-up of the Internet in general, applying the
principles learned to eGovernment specifically could
start paying dividends in terms of increases in takeup
and satisfaction with eGovernment. (See page 16
in the “Promoting take-up is taking hold, but the
challenge remains” section for specific examples
of how take-up already is improving in the
United Kingdom.)
“We believe in the decentralized model. The advantage is that as soon as
the official agencies experience or apprehend a change in direction
they’re free to adapt to it. I know that there have been objections, saying
that we in Sweden have been a bit too decentralized; that it is a risk and
potentially a waste. But I think it is mainly a strength.”
—Gunnar Lund, Minister for International Economic Affairs and Financial Markets, Sweden
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