Transformational Government

Transformational Government is the use of computer-based information and communications technologies (ICT) to change the way governments work. The term is commonly used to describe a government reform strategy which attempts to radically change the way people understand government, especially those working within government. For example, it is often associated with a 'whole-of-government' viewpoint, which tries to foster cross-department collaboration and provide 'one-stop-shop' convenience in the delivery of services to citizens. Transformational Government is the use of computer-based information and communications technologies (ICT) to change the way governments work. The term is commonly used to describe a government reform strategy which attempts to radically change the way people understand government, especially those working within government. For example, it is often associated with a 'whole-of-government' viewpoint, which tries to foster cross-department collaboration and provide 'one-stop-shop' convenience in the delivery of services to citizens. The term Transformational Government is usually used aspirationally, as denoting the 'highest' level of what e-government can achieve: During the last two decades, governments around the world have invested in ICT with the aim of increasing the quality and decreasing the cost of public services. But over that time, as even the least developed countries have moved to websites, e-services and e-Government strategies, it has become increasingly clear that e-Government has not delivered all the benefits that were hoped for it. One study found that 35% of e-government projects in developing countries resulted in total failures; and that 50% were partial failures. In reaction to these poor outcomes, there has been a shift of perspective to 'Transformational Government', aiming beyond purely technical aspects of better enabling e-government processes towards addressing the cultural and organisational barriers which have hindered public service benefits realisation. Researchers have defined the rationale for Transformational Government as “the exploitation of e-government such that benefits can be realized”. In 2010 the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) published a report which identified a wide range of common pitfalls which have hampered many governments in achieving significant impacts through their technology investments. However, OASIS also noted that: OASIS cites the UK and Australia as two of the leaders in this area: