Accenture's fifth annual global e-government study

In January 2004, the French Government unveiled
a new strategy and action plan for 2004 to 2007,
called ADELE (ADministration ELEctronique). The
program aims at driving progressive and consistent
development of services to better serve citizens,
businesses and public servants in a coherent and
coordinated way. ADELE constitutes the framework
of eGovernment initiatives in different areas such as
technical infrastructure, interoperability standards,
security, smart cards, training programs and partnerships.
The program defines both qualitative and
quantitative objectives and allocates €1.8 billion to
140 initiatives, including major programs such as
COPERNIC (renewed tax account systems), ACCORD
(a modernized state financial system), “Allo Service
Public,” SESAM-Vitale, and the electronic national
identification card that will be developed and
launched in 2006.
The government aims at achieving €5 billion to
€7 billion in productivity gains per year from 2007
through these and other initiatives. The newly created
Agency for the Development of the Electronic
Administration coordinates the development of the
action plan in close cooperation with ministries,
local authorities, and representatives from medical
and social institutions, industries, unions and users.
Annual assessments of the implementation are
planned, as well as citizen satisfaction surveys.
Although increasing, Internet penetration remains
low in France, at less than 30 percent. Among the
12 countries surveyed for citizens’ attitudes, France
has the second lowest regular Internet usage, just
ahead of Spain, far below Sweden (80 percent regular
users), the United States (66 percent) and the
United Kingdom (53 percent).
However, a high proportion of regular Internet users
have used eGovernment, with one person in three
doing so regularly. Looking for information is the
primary usage of eGovernment sites in France, but
nearly 30 percent of the visits relate to conducting
transactions. Most French users appear to appreciate
the advantages of eGovernment; the Internet is the
preferred method to communicate with government
for 49 percent of them.
Driving up usage of the Internet in general and
of eGovernment in particular are top priorities
for France to derive real value from the program.
In 2003, the French government created an
interministries delegation dedicated to develop
Internet usage. The broadband expansion, gathering
3.5 million subscribers by the end of 2003 (out of
21 million Internet access subscribers) may pave the
way to further progress.
Other challenges are on the horizon. France appears
ahead in many areas where innovation is taking
place, but needs to move to a new phase of broader
service implementation with an integrated technical
architecture and higher usage. The complexity of the
French administration (combining national, regional,
district and local-city levels) naturally results in
numerous sites that need to be coordinated to offer
coherent services. Providing integrated eGovernment
services is a challenge, particularly as competencies
get redefined in the context of a decentralization
process. It requires strong coordination among different
levels of administration and creates some
obvious complexity. Some cross-cutting projects are
currently being tested (for example, the Ministry of
Education is collaborating with some regions to set
up a platform for services for schools). The results
will have to be assessed to determine whether the
program answers users’ needs and articulates what
national and regional competencies are needed.
A citizen-centric approach should drive transformation
within the administration, which will require process
reengineering and change management. The administration
will need to set up the appropriate conditions
of interoperability between agencies’ back offices to
mask the organizational complexity and get the highest
profit from e-enabling paper-based exchanges. It
will also need to respect fundamental principles, such
as equal treatment of all citizens and confidentiality
of personal data. This phase of reengineering is a
key issue and an essential condition for adding new
high-value services to citizens. Tackling this problem
will require increased communication to convert the
public agents and the citizens to these new practices.
In a strong eGovernment position thanks to the results
the country has achieved to date and a firm government
will to modernize the French administration,
France appears ready to face its future eGovernment
challenges. Beyond its national responsibilities, France
is involved in constructing the European Union electronic
administration and international projects
bound to the governance of the Internet. The ability
to face the challenges of its ambitions is now crucial
to establish France as a leader in eGovernment.
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