ICT, innovation and public management: governance, models and alternatives for e-government infrastructures

Abstract

E-government and related Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are commonly understood to provide a great opportunity to innovate the business of government by fostering efficiency and reforming public management. This paper argues that the main approaches and methodologies used for the development of egovernment applications, services and infrastructure overlook the potential to provide innovative mechanisms for the reshaping of government services, policy making and implementation. The aim of this paper is to highlight the potential reforms either needed for, or as a consequence of, the various innovations introduced to public management by e-government, to critically evaluate the dominant models underpinning the development of electronic services associated with such reforms, and ultimately to present an alternative approach – an alternative problematisation – one appropriate for the conceptualization of information infrastructures that serve the goals of governance. We suggest that focussing on well functioning policy enabling systems can offer a different point of departure.