Accenture's fifth annual global e-government study

Innovative practices in eGovernment
www.csn.se
the paper form. The site also checks a user’s answers
before submission, so there is less chance an application
will be rejected because of missing or
conflicting information.
Sweden offers similar functionality through its
online Student Aid program, Webbsvar, at
www.csn.se. Students under the age of 20 are
granted student aid without having to apply. For
students over the age of 20 who study below thirdlevel
education, application forms can be ordered or
printed from the website. Webbsvar is an intentionsbased
service centered on the customer. It has a full
status report function, which details exactly what
has happened or is happening to a user’s request.
Users can view the value of their student loans,
when coming payments are due, transaction histories
and more. They can also get a status report of
pending applications. Legislation currently prevents
Webbsvar from accepting electronic applications and
this is the site’s most obviously lacking function.
Malaysia has successfully implemented the Malaysian
Smart School Pilot Project (www.ppk.kpm.my/
smartschool), another high-profile application within
Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor project. The
Smart School project’s intent is to transform the
Malaysian education system into an advanced
technology-based process that will revolutionize
the way students learn, think and act. Though active
for just more than a year and with several years to
go until full implementation, the pilot has already
reached some impressive achievements, including the
production of about 1,500 courseware titles, a firstever
integrated Smart School management system
for Malaysian schools and the establishment of 87
Malaysian Smart Schools.
www.ppk.kpm.my/smartschool
In the Netherlands, the Open Universiteit Nederland
(www.ou.nl), an independent government-funded
institute for distance learning at the university level,
has a very well organized site that makes it possible
to find information about courses, ask people who
have taken the courses questions about their experiences
and register online. It offers all of its students
an electronic learning environment through which
they can easily communicate with each other and
with their teachers. Furthermore, students can
download learning materials and check their knowledge
and skills with a short introductory opening
test on Studienet, the special extranet for students.
Currently, almost 15,000 students make use of
Studienet, making it the country’s largest electronic
learning environment.
www.ou.nl
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