Theoretical foundations of the organization of e-government.

Experience of foreign countries in the creation of e-government

Practical aspects of organizing e-government in Ukraine

Today there are many different definitions of this term. As briefly as possible, "electronic government" can be described as "automation of the process of providing public services." The Gartner Group defines "e-government" as the continuous improvement of service delivery, citizen political participation, and governance by changing internal and external relationships through technology, the Internet, and modern media.

The e-government model identifies four clearly defined areas of relationships: between government services and citizens (G2C - government-to-citizen), the state and private companies (G2B - government-to-business), government organizations and their employees (G2E - government-to-employee) and finally between different government bodies and levels government controlled(G2G - government-to-government).

In this article, we will consider the role of " e-government"mainly in the sphere of relations between public services and citizens, on which the introduction of the ES model, according to many experts, will have the most beneficial effect.

According to American and European experts, the primary task of the state is to provide certain services to the population with the money of taxpayers. Consequently, the population has the right to demand high-quality and fast execution of these services from the state, which is directly provided by the G2C sphere and indirectly by G2E, since the quality and speed of the provision of services also depend on the efficiency of the intradepartmental work of state institutions.

The history of the creation of e-governments goes hand in hand with the development of information technology. According to experts, the introduction of information and communication technologies (ICT) in public administration will accelerate the development of the economy, reduce the cost of bureaucratic procedures, increase the efficiency and productivity of government departments, expand the population's ability to form a civil society by improving access to various types of information , creating a more transparent work of public services, weakening bureaucratic barriers.

"Electronic government" means the use of information technologies, in particular the Internet, as the most accessible means of electronic interaction in order to convey government information and inform state structures and government agencies. Thus, EP has the following main goals:

Optimization of the provision of government services to the population and business; increasing the degree of participation of all voters in the processes of leadership and governance of the country;

Support and expansion of self-service opportunities for citizens;

Growth of technological awareness and skills of citizens;

Reducing the impact of the geographic location factor.

Thus, the creation of ES should provide not only more efficient and less costly administration, but also a fundamental change in the relationship between society and the government. Ultimately, this will lead to an improvement in democracy and an increase in the responsibility of the authorities to the people.

Fundamental principles of ES organization

To achieve the maximum level of benefits, citizens need to realize the fundamental principle that government should be available to everyone, anywhere, at any time. "Electronic government" should provide citizens with interaction with the state and access to public services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of geographic location and season.

At present, the dissemination of information to citizens is, as a rule, passive and irregular, and is mainly limited to its dissemination through the media. People learn about new laws and government orders from newspapers, on TV, etc., but they do not have the opportunity to get acquainted with these documents when they really need it.

Turning, for example, to the passport office or BTI, you first of all face the problem of finding information on the provision of services (forms, the procedure for the provision of services, etc.). Far from always this information can be found on the bulletin board, and citizens have to seek advice from employees who are far from always disposed to communicate with customers. Following the satisfaction of "information hunger", you are faced with the problem of low availability of services, expressed in the form of one or more long lines in which you need to stand. And finally, the third problem is the payment for public services, which makes you defend another queue, now at Sberbank.

Due to the inaccessibility of information and the lack of interest of employees of a state institution in the provision of services, a citizen may not know at all that, according to the law, he is entitled to, for example, some benefits or compensation. People are not aware of their rights and therefore often become victims of dishonesty of officials and guardians of law and order.

To solve such problems, the list and description of all public institution services, legal and regulatory information must be available to everyone at any time. As part of the formation of an electronic community in the country, such information should be standardized and published, for example, on the same Internet sites, a self-service system for citizens.

However, ES does not begin with the functioning of the information exchange system via the Internet, but with the provision of services by the state through this system.

Not everyone has the opportunity to go to offices. Getting a service via the Internet is undoubtedly better than sitting in queues waiting for an appointment.

The appearance of the EP is, to a certain extent, a response to the emerging expectations of citizens in response to the obligations assumed by the authorities.

"Electronic government" should provide direct and open dialogue citizens with power, various social services, committees and departments, and ultimately - with each specific head of any rank and status, which will make "electronic government" not only accessible, but also interactive.

In fact, the creation of an electronic signature is a way to bring an official closer to a citizen, while reducing the influence of the subjective factor. Impersonal communication between an official and a citizen, put under control at the same time and allowing the citizen to track the process of solving his requests himself, is the ultimate goal of creating an electronic signature and the dream of taxpayers. The minimum benefit that society receives is the reduction of corruption and bribery.

EP technologies

Modern information Technology provide a rich selection of tools for the organization of "electronic government", worked out both at the conceptual and practical levels.

Let's consider the e-government model as an ideal integrated information system (IS) - what software technologies it should be based on.

Document-oriented technologies

One of the fundamental infrastructure components of ES is the electronic document management system (IDM - Integrated Document Management), known in the Russian market under the abbreviation SADD, which emphasizes the clerical orientation of the system. Indeed, after all, ES involves working primarily with documents - with citizens' statements, certificates, letters, etc. In the public sector, a document is both the goal of activity and a means of production. There are many aspects associated with documents: they need to be stored, searched, collectively processed, transferred from paper to electronic form and vice versa. For the public sector, the following typical tasks can be distinguished, which should be solved when building an electronic document management system:

Office automation. Mainly, here we are talking about the processing of incoming, outgoing and internal documents, accounting for draft documents, coordination, control over the execution of documents, etc.;

Servicing citizens and organizations. This is, first of all, the mass processing of applications from citizens and organizations received through subscriber reception points or the Internet;

Case management. During processing, many others are added to the original document, which must be filed. Such documents are still in paper form, and it is precisely such documents that have legal force, then we are talking about the use of Record Management (RM) class systems that allow organizing synchronized accounting of both paper and electronic copies of the document, as well as automating withdrawal and return functions.

But SADD alone is indispensable when organizing a developed EP. Modern reality makes us think not about a simple IDM system, but about a full-fledged information resource management (ECM) system that has grown on the foundation of IDM and BPM (Business Process Management).

A review by the European Commission states that since the last survey in October 2001, great progress has been made in the implementation of e-government in Europe. Accessibility and interactivity of public services on the Internet increased from 10 to 55 points (percentage).

The review states that more than 80% public services have an online form - an increase of 6.5%.

Erkki Liikanen, EU representative on the topic "Businesses and the Information Society", argues that moving public services online is not enough to gain an effective advantage. As in the private sector, changes in public services go hand in hand with reorganization of core work and investment in human capital.

The review noted the differences between types of public services. So, among all the studied services, 12 - for citizens and 8 - for business. On average, services for businesses are more developed than for residents (68% versus 47%), and they are progressing rapidly. Among the categories of public services, those related to tax collection are the most developed - 79%, followed by registration services (cars and new companies) and public protection. Services related to the issuance of documents and permits (driver's licenses, passports, etc.) are the least developed - 41%. And although all countries are trying, the difference between the most and least advanced is very large - from 22 to 85%. Online services grew the most in Sweden and Belgium, both up 20% (points) in 6 months, Norway remained flat at 63%, and Finland grew 70%.

At the end of the review, it is stated that the most basic services, often provided at the local government level, such as public libraries, are easily and well implemented in the form of user-oriented portals. More complex types of services, such as social payments and payments, require more efforts and reorganization of the activities of the state body to work online.

Public services that involve complex procedures and are provided locally, such as environmental permits, are mostly in the information-only phase. Some progress has been made in the use of portal solutions in combination with the centralization of information and forms. Only by supporting them with appropriate re-engineering processes will it be possible to bring these services to the level of transactions.

A survey of twenty basic public services in 15 EU countries and Iceland, Norway and Switzerland was conducted in April 2002 as part of the EU Benchmarking eEurope project. The representative sample was over 10,000 public service providers in 18 countries. The conclusions are as follows: the most effective "e-government" was created in Ireland. It received an assessment of the European Commission experts at 85%, Sweden was in second place with 81%, and Norway was in third with a result of 70%. average rating for all countries is 54%.

At the end of the year, officials from 11 Belgian municipalities will test electronic identification cards. Through these cards, the relationship between citizens and officials will be carried out and access to online public services will be allowed. If this six-month pilot project is successful, ID cards will be introduced in 589 Belgian municipalities. The card will be valid for 5 years and cost E10.

The card, the size of a regular bank credit card, will contain the same identification parameters as usual, but the owner's address, an electronic signature, and security features will be added to the microchip to protect the stored information, including a PIN code.

The British central government already provides 54% of its services online. The goal is to bring this figure to 75% by the end of this year. Issues of security and user authentication remain a stumbling block in the way of further development. Government security chief Dr. Stephen Marsh stated that most of these services are purely informational and therefore do not identify their users. But agencies like the Internal Revenue Service will use password protection to authenticate e-mails. Non-state firms providing authentication services must have official permission to do so. So far, there are only two of them - the Royal Bank of Scotland's Trust Assured Service and the Trusti's Certificate Factory.

Electronic government in the countries of the world: UN rating

Research in the field of e-government was carried out by the United Nations Unit for Public Economics and Administration (UNDPEPA) based on data from the past year. When compiling the rating, the so-called "E-gov index" was used, which takes into account several factors. In particular, UNDPEPA specialists assessed the representation of the authorities of a particular country in the Internet, the degree of development of telecommunications and the general level of "Internet education" of the population.

According to the results of the research, the United States took the first place in terms of the pace of implementation of the idea of ​​"electronic government" among 190 countries of the international community (3.11 points according to the UNDPEPA rating). Followed by: Australia (2.6), New Zealand (2.59), Singapore (2.58), Norway (2.55), UK (2.52), Canada (2.52), Netherlands (2.52). 51), Denmark (2.47) and Germany (2.46).

The implementation of ES initiatives will be ensured through the use of structured, systematic approaches to the planning and implementation of these initiatives, based on the development and implementation of a unified ES architecture.

The unified ES architecture (hereinafter EA) is a structure that reflects the relationship between all elements of the ES and should allow identifying and systematizing the existing needs of various ministries and departments for the use of ICT, the ability to reduce the existing redundancy, and also determine the directions in which they have homogeneous requests for investment in ICT.

The unified architecture of ES, being a reference model of the processes and structures of public administration, represents methodological framework ongoing ICT projects and events. In this capacity, EA is intended to provide:

support for the correctness of the goals of individual projects,

coordination of projects among themselves,

evaluation of the effectiveness of individual projects,

optimizing the use of funds by eliminating duplication of work,

investing in advanced technologies and interoperable systems.

The key role of EA is clearly manifested in the example of interdepartmental projects, where EA acts as a single "framework", which is used both as a set of project evaluation criteria and as one of the mandatory regulatory and methodological tools for selecting, implementing and monitoring the effectiveness of projects.

EA is a holistic view of what governments and individual agencies do, how they work, and how ICTs provide the support they need to do so. Without such systems approach the implementation of the e-government initiative will inevitably involve large quantity problems and inefficient costs.

The overall structure of the EA consists of three architectural layers related to the requirements for the implementation of needs (Figure 13):

activity architecture;

system architecture;

technical architecture,

as well as two "through" architectural components that have their own reflections in each of the three previous layers:

business continuity and security architecture;

performance (efficiency) architecture.

The architecture of activities should be based on a model for describing the activities of public and local authorities power in terms of functions and processes for the implementation of these functions. This model should describe the mutual obligations of public authorities, as well as their obligations in relation to citizens and business structures.

The system architecture reflects the main links between the services offered by state and local governments and the application architectural components supporting these services by means of application layer ICTs. It contains standards and recommendations for the development of information systems of state and local authorities that ensure the implementation state functions, as well as the basic components and elements of the ES, which should be used centrally or repeatedly by many departments: the ES portal, the certification center, the national identification system.

The technical architecture reflects the capabilities of basic information and communication technologies as a means of organizing the interaction of the applied components of the system architecture with each other, with data sources and with users of information systems. This architecture includes standards and recommendations for the hardware and software, communications, technological standards and protocols, as well as a methodology for describing and standardizing data from state information systems and a standard for metadata.

The business continuity and security architecture is designed to plan, support the implementation and control at the architectural level of a set of actions and tools designed to ensure the continuity of the activities of authorities and ES systems with specified parameter values ​​and ensure information security.

Figure 13. Unified ES architecture.

The performance (efficiency) architecture of ES and its components is a system of balanced scorecards and general metrics for evaluating the performance, effectiveness and efficiency of ES components across the entire vertical - from individual information systems and business processes to the main performance results and their strategic impacts (consequences).

The main components of the ES infrastructure include (Figure 14):

Figure 14. General scheme EP infrastructure.

• 1. An ES portal that provides the implementation of a single entry point to departmental information systems focused on providing interactive services to citizens and business structures.
• 2. Certification center, which is a component of the public key infrastructure, which is the basis for providing secure information exchange, authorized access to services provided by departmental information systems, as well as confirmation of the authorship of electronic documents.
• 3. National identification system, which allows to identify the subjects of interaction.
• 4. A single secure transport environment that ensures the functioning and interaction of internal information systems, and a secure access to public telecommunications.
• 5. Information systems of departments and local authorities - suppliers electronic services.

EP portal

The interaction of the government with citizens and business structures should be organized through the ES portal, which represents a "single point of access" to all electronic services and public information resources of government agencies.

At first, it is necessary to define a set of electronic services that allow citizens and organizations to receive samples of all documents (forms) that are required to be filled out when contacting government agencies, instructions for filling out and printing them, mechanisms for searching documents according to specified criteria and full-text search. This approach will allow offices to standardize the forms of electronic documents in advance, design their appearance and field structure so that they are correctly displayed on the terminal screen.

It is necessary to develop means of authentication and personalization of users, to provide access to information resources and ES services using all available means of communication (Internet, e-mail, WAP mobile protocol, etc.).

It is necessary to organize interaction with the payment system of the Republic of Kazakhstan for financial transactions.

A consistent launch of ES services should be ensured in accordance with the chosen strategy and priorities, taking into account electronic services, the implementation of which requires the interaction of information systems of various departments.

Integration and interaction of various services and information systems of various departments can be carried out both through web services and through message routing functions.

The functions of routing messages between information systems of different departments, as well as transforming these messages based on the appropriate XML schemas in order to ensure the compatibility of information systems, should be provided through the Government Gateway, which is the interface between the portal and information systems of departments and local authorities.

The main components of such an interface are:

Environment for guaranteed delivery, transformation and routing of messages based on standard Internet protocols.

Communicative XML format, which serves as a means of describing and organizing information interaction between the ES portal and departmental information systems. At the same time, data can still be stored in application systems and databases in its internal format, but if it is necessary to transfer it to another application, it will be transformed into XML format, as an intermediate format understood by all systems.

It should be based on a metadata base that describes the composition and properties of data stored in departmental information systems and methods of access to them. Metadata that ensure the efficiency of information search (on the portal), description of semi-structured information (documents), creation of archives with records of electronic documents.

The use of a communicative XML format already at the design stage will allow developers of departmental information systems to systematize, unify and standardize, to a certain extent, the properties of departmental data.

The functions of continuous support and development of the communicative XML-format based on the description of departmental information systems in the Register of Engineering and Technology should be entrusted to the national operator in the field of informatization CJSC National Information Technologies.

The development of the portal, taking into account the pace of formation and readiness of the elements of the ES infrastructure, is evolutionary process. Its implementation should take place in stages.

To implement the ES portal, it is advisable to purchase standard, debugged software that implements most of the functions described above.

Verification Center

The certification center is designed to support user authentication procedures on the ES portal, providing confirmation of compliance of the public key of the electronic digital signature isi to the private key of the electronic digital signature, as well as to confirm the authenticity of the registration certificate of the portal user. An appeal to the Certification Authority occurs only when the user accesses a service that requires confirmation of access rights to it. After the first access, electronic documents generated by the portal user in this session are automatically signed by his electronic digital signature and acquire legal status.

The task of the Certification Center is also to ensure secure electronic document management between the state bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Electronic documents signed in the process of work acquire a legal status in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated January 7, 2003 No. 370-II "On Electronic Document and Electronic Digital Signature".

The work of the Certification Center should be based on a public key infrastructure, the creation and full use of which will allow the government to guarantee a high level of information security, ensure compliance with the constitutional rights of citizens to confidentiality in their interaction with the state, the rights of commercial structures to protect trade secret, which will lead to an expansion of the range of consumers of e-government services.

User authentication technology should allow the use of specialized personal devices as carriers of key information that exclude the possibility of forgery/replication, such as smart cards. The specific choice of device should be determined at the engineering design stage.

An important task of maintaining personal records is to determine whether key information on an electronic medium belongs to a given individual. The solution here may be the use of identification methods based on the measurement of biometric indicators (fingerprints, iris pattern, etc.).

National identification system

One of the main functional components of ES is the national identification system, which provides procedures for identifying subjects of information exchange.

Currently, registration and identification of individuals and legal entities is carried out at the departmental level. The existence of various identification numbers, such as the Social Individual Code (SIC), registration number taxpayer (TRN) and others, complicates the integration of information systems. The ES concept requires a single identification number. The solution is to create unified registers of individuals and legal entities that have departmental identification numbers as additional attributes at the transitional stage.

An individual identification number should be assigned from the moment of registration of birth, or acquisition of citizenship of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and at the transitional stage - when issuing an identity card. The identification number must be affixed and used in all documents received by a person throughout his life. It must ensure the integration of data about an individual from different information systems and meet the following requirements: invariance throughout the life of a citizen, the minimum possible length, noise immunity, the possibility of automatic formation in a decentralized mode.

In order to improve the quality of services provided by the government to citizens and business structures, it is necessary to develop measures to introduce identity cards based on microprocessor electronic technologies containing a registration certificate of a public key of an electronic digital signature intended for passing the authentication procedure on the ES portal. In addition, such ID cards may contain additional personal information (driver's license, medical and payment cards, etc.) and should become an essential element of the e-government infrastructure in the future.

The implementation of a unified personalized accounting will be carried out through the formation of the SDB "Individuals".

The SDB "Legal Entities" is designed to provide a unified record of legal entities and should ensure the integration of departmental registers of legal entities, such as the register of taxpayers, the register of legal entities of statistical bodies, the register of the Ministry of Justice. The implementation of this database should provide a single centralized registration of legal entities.

SDB "Address Register" should serve as the only source of address information for information systems and software of the National information infrastructure. This register should contain toponymic and geonymic information about all settlements, streets, buildings, apartments and other real estate objects. The address register also captures a change in the status of the address information (renaming settlements, streets, etc., putting into effect or termination of toponyms and geonyms). It should be based on a single regulatory and reference information of addresses for all participants in the information space.

Unified transport environment of state bodies

Currently, government agencies are building their information and communication systems (ICS) independently and in isolation from each other, focusing solely on their own needs.

In particular, when implementing integrated distributed multi-level systems (systems of tax and customs administration, treasury and pensions), the lack of a unified transport environment for government agencies led to the creation of corporate communication networks. With this approach, significant financial and material resources are scattered, there is no unified security policy, and it is problematic to organize interdepartmental interaction at any level of the administrative-territorial structure of the state.

The solution is to create a unified multi-service secure transport environment of state bodies (hereinafter - UTS GO RK) with the participation of telecom operators based on modern technologies, which will allow:

• - organize common policy information protection and security;
• - combine existing and developed departmental information systems of state bodies;
• - create virtual private networks;
• - reduce the cost of operating departmental networks of state bodies and the network of interdepartmental information exchange.

Creation of UTS GO RK on the basis of modern technical solutions should ensure the organization of a reliable public secure data transmission network with the provision of services of guaranteed quality of service for the transmission of heterogeneous traffic (video, voice, data) based on modern data transmission technologies.

Information systems of departments and local authorities

Departmental information systems reflect the specifics of the work of a particular department related to its functional purpose. Currently informatization of departments is mainly focused on automation domestic business processes. In accordance with this concept, the architecture of departmental information systems should be revised and supplemented taking into account the provision of electronic services to citizens and business structures. In pursuance of this provision, each department must adopt its own industry informatization program.

Within the framework of departmental information systems, the components of the "Resources of Kazakhstan" database are formed, which are a set of independent databases, such as: natural and mineral resources and subsoil, the national oil and gas data bank, library collections etc.

The real estate register is an integral part of the "Resources of Kazakhstan" database, and it is a single secure source of information about all real estate objects in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including buildings, structures, apartments.

The land cadastre is designed to store accounting information about land plots.

Departmental information systems that implement electronic services should be developed independently in accordance with a single ES architecture.

The main service providers within the framework of the concept are the information systems of local authorities, providing services such as registration at the place of residence, payment of utility bills, etc.

Information systems that implement electronic services at the local level are developed centrally, tested in pilot areas and replicated in the regions.

The services of the government-to-government sector are provided by such integrated information systems as one system electronic document management, standard system information support administrative and economic activities of state bodies. Also here we can note such departmental systems as the information system for the formation of the republican budget and the Situational system of public administration of the Ministry of Economy and budget planning RK, integrated information system of the treasury of the Ministry of Finance of the RK, the implemented system of electronic public procurement of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for public procurement and etc.

The development of modern information technologies (the introduction of electronic document management, the creation of portals) led to the setting of the task of improving the quality of the provision of public services to public authorities through the introduction of these technologies into the practice of their own activities.

Today there are many different definitions of the term "e-government". In short, e-government can be described as the automation of the process of providing public services. Gartner Group defines e-government as the continuous improvement of service delivery, citizen political participation, and governance by changing internal and external relationships through technical means, Internet and modern media.

Electronic government (e-Government) is a system of interactive interaction between the state and citizens using the Internet, a new model of public administration that transforms traditional relations between citizens and power structures.

Government equipped with an electronic interface (online government, government on-line, GOL) should be distinguished from e-government. It is clear that e-government is always connected with citizens through an online interface. But not always online government is e-government. The latter requires a deeper restructuring of traditional forms of activity.

Electronic government is a way of providing information and providing an already formed set of public services to citizens, businesses, other branches of government and government officials, in which personal interaction between the state and the applicant is minimized and information technologies are used as much as possible.

This is a whole system of public administration based on the automation of the entire set of administrative processes throughout the country and serving the purpose of significantly increasing the efficiency of public administration and reducing the costs of social communications for each member of society. The creation of e-government involves the construction of a nationwide distributed public administration system that implements the solution of a full range of tasks related to the management of documents and their processing processes.

There are four distinct areas of relationship in the e-government model:

• between government services and citizens (G2C - government-to-citizen),
• the state and private companies (G2B - government-to-business),
• government organizations and their employees (G2E - government-to-employee)
• between different government bodies and levels of government (G2G-government-to-government).

E-government has the following main objectives:

• optimization of the provision of government services to the population and business;
• increasing the degree of participation of all voters in the processes of leadership and governance of the country;
• reduction of labor costs and time for processing and preparation of documents, acceptance management decisions;
• increasing the level of performance discipline and simplifying the mechanism for its control
• ensuring efficiency (observance established by law terms) of providing services to the population;
• acceleration of interaction with subordinate organizations, other authorities,
• ensuring openness and accessibility of information about the activities of state authorities and local self-government, as well as the services they provide;

reducing the costs of government bodies to ensure interaction between themselves and with the population. divisions located in other cities or remote offices;

The creation of e-government provides not only more efficient and less costly administration, but also a fundamental change in the relationship between society and government. Ultimately, this is a factor in improving democracy and increasing the responsibility of government to citizens.

We can distinguish the following principles of the organization of "electronic government"

• Citizen orientation. Citizens (taxpayers) should determine the policy and direction of the project.
• Convenience and ease of use. All electronic applications used in the `digital government` are intended to facilitate the use of the system for citizens, increasing the speed of servicing requests and reducing waiting times.
• Business transformation. All software, architecture and infrastructure, as well as e-government policy, are aimed at making the government system the efficiency of a business model, with its corresponding value chain.
• Cost and complexity. They should be kept to a minimum so that work with the system does not cause difficulties for either private or corporate users.
• Service. The effectiveness of the "electronic government" should be manifested in its ability to quickly and with least cost serve the largest number of citizens, while providing highest quality service.
• Conformity. Electronic applications must fully comply with the overall architecture of security systems, identification, electronic payments, as well as the overall design of the user interface of the system.
• The scale of decisions. Applications must ensure the interaction between the various structures and bodies that make up the system, and full mutual compatibility.
• Execution. Applications should be consistent with the goal of improving transactions by reducing the duration and complexity of service and effort.
• Reporting. Applications should increase data accuracy and the ability to archive and audit transactions.
• Implementation speed. The term for finalizing and implementing applications should be from three to nine months.
• Ready for action. Governments must be willing to join the system and tailor their work to it. While accepting certain risks, these bodies should be guided by sound examples and common sense, confident in the success and usefulness of the project.

AT international practice Sufficient experience (both positive and negative) has already been accumulated in the development and implementation of the stages and projects for creating the e-government architecture. Today there is no single template that could meet all the conditions and solutions to the problem of e-government formation. Each country has its own unique combination of circumstances, priorities and available resources that can be used to accomplish this task.

Analyzing the experience of building electronic governments in different regions and countries of the world, it is customary to single out three main architectural models that have received practical implementation in America, Europe and Asia. Conventionally, they can be called as follows: the American model, which reflects the specifics of its formation in the United States; European, within the framework of which the development of electronic state structures is carried out in most countries of Western, Central and Eastern Europe. And finally the Asian the model most successful in Singapore and South Korea.

The American model of e-government is developed in the USA and Canada. The program of its creation in the United States primarily aims to simplify and reduce the cost of interaction between citizens and business representatives with government agencies, as well as to make it possible for them to communicate directly with citizens. The American government is gradually becoming the largest consumer of information technology and software in the country. Its expenses on high-tech solutions are estimated at 40-50 billion dollars a year.

In Canada, where there are problems in the provision of services similar to those in Russia and due to the geographical situation - long distances, extreme climatic conditions, the specifics of the northern peoples, low population density in most of the country and cultural diversity, as well as the structure of government (in In the structure of the government of Canada, there is a separation of powers, not a hierarchy of power), the one-stop-shop system at the federal level has been implemented for about a decade. Back in the 1990s, a service-oriented government was announced in Canada. In September 2005, Services Canada was launched as a one-stop-shop for providing multi-channel access to a variety of customer-centric services. By choosing one of the service delivery options, whether by phone, in person or via the Internet, a citizen has universal access to government programs and services. The program is managed by the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development.

Currently, Services Canada has 320 public service locations, the project also has a Services Canada College and a high quality service certification program. In order to achieve vertical integration in the provinces of Canada, similar service delivery agencies exist and cooperate with Services Canada.

The European model is characterized by the presence of supranational institutions - the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Court of Justice, whose recommendations are binding on all EU countries. Therefore, the European model is focused, first of all, on leveling the playing field and coordinating the activities of "e-government" for all countries of the European Union.

The Asian model relies on a specific management style, the Asian type corporate culture and a multi-layer system of public administration, organized according to the principle of a hierarchical pyramid. Government South Korea when forming the model of "electronic democracy", the main emphasis was placed on meeting the information needs of the population and the introduction of information and communication technologies in the system of culture and education.

AT recent times government sites on the Internet are becoming more and more popular, the active development of the Web is forcing the authorities of most countries to develop the electronic component of their activities.

A Taylor Nelson Sofres study of more than 28,000 people in 31 countries (Australia, Canada, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and a number of European countries) showed that the number of citizens using the worldwide web to access government services has increased significantly in recent years, in general, 30% of the population accesses the websites of various government agencies.

According to the study, people primarily turn to government resources for information. At the same time, the percentage of the population that uses them to conclude transactions and receive personalized services has recently increased.

The most popular e-government sites are in Sweden - 57% of the population consider them very useful, as well as in Norway (56%), Singapore and Denmark (53%), England and Japan in this respect have the lowest rates (13%).

Back in March 2001, Japan approved a comprehensive program for the development and implementation in the country of promising information and telecommunication technologies "Electronic Japan" (e-Japan), designed for 2001-2005. Her the main objective- formation of conditions on the territory of the country for the introduction of information technologies, the creation of infrastructure for high-speed data transmission networks, the development of electronic commerce. All this was supposed to give an impetus to the economy of the country, which has recently been in a state of stagnation.

In mid-2005, the World Bank held a video seminar where the experience of building e-governments in the United States and Canada was presented in concentrated form, and its significance for developing countries (Brazil, Guatemala, Macedonia, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Uganda, etc.) ) . Most of the World Bank's client countries now look to the American and Canadian experience as a source of best practices and training materials for designing and implementing their own national e-government strategies, developing system management frameworks, and creating a unified architecture. Studying the experience of implementing projects in advanced countries is necessary in connection with the desire to avoid common mistakes and maximize the rate of return on investment. At the same time, there are many factors that should be considered and taken into account in specific implementations: the size of the country's population; cultural, socio-economic and political characteristics; prevalence of Internet access in society; sources and readiness to finance projects, etc. All these issues were studied by the executors and participants of the FTP " Electronic Russia”, when developing their own view on the possibility of using foreign experience in our conditions.

Thus, the program for creating e-government in many countries of the world suggests that it is necessary to develop information technology as a factor in ensuring effective management the state and the provision of quality social services to the population.

Work on the creation of electronic governments in various states is carried out under the slogan of greater openness and accountability of governments to citizens. The electronization of, say, the payment of taxes by citizens is only a technological and completely secondary task in this movement. Accountability, in turn, is not limited to providing some information that citizens need, but is ensured by an open specification of sets of performance indicators for specific state bodies and the creation of means for monitoring these indicators accessible to the population. Building such a system will allow citizens to independently judge the effectiveness of government agencies, and not rely only on the statements of their leaders or superiors and on media reports.

In Russia, a federal target program "Electronic Russia (2002-2010)" has been developed and adopted to implement the project on the introduction of e-government. In 2006 the Government Russian Federation approved the new edition of the Federal Target Program "Electronic Russia (2002-2010)" prepared by the Ministry of Information and Communications of the Russian Federation, in which one of the directions for implementing the program activities is "ensuring the effectiveness of interaction between state authorities with the population and business entities based on ICT", and the Concept of formation adopted a year later in the Russian Federation of e-government until 2010, one of the goals of e-government formation is already defined as improving the quality and accessibility of public services provided to citizens and organizations, simplifying the procedure and reducing the time for their provision, reducing administrative costs on the part of citizens and organizations associated with their receipt, introduction of uniform standards of service to citizens. The concept of "electronic government" in the Concept is defined as "a new form of organizing the activities of public authorities, which, through the widespread use of information and communication technologies, provides a qualitatively new level of efficiency and convenience for citizens and organizations to receive public services and information about the results of the activities of state bodies.

According to the Concept, e-government was to be created in two stages:

1) 2008 - development and approval required documents,

2) 2009-2010 - practical implementation.

On September 10, 2009, Decree No. 721 “On Amendments to the Federal target program"Electronic Russia (2002-2010)"".

The new version of the Program practically reflects the activities, goals, performance indicators aimed at building the infrastructure of the e-government of Russia and the implementation of the Concept for the formation of e-government in the Russian Federation until 2010.

According to the provisions of the Program, the construction of the e-government infrastructure will be built on a unified technological platform by combining on a single telecommunications infrastructure its functional elements - information systems of federal bodies executive power, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, local governments, as well as elements of the public access infrastructure - access centers in public reception rooms, libraries and Federal State Unitary Enterprise Russian Post, departmental and regional call centers, websites of state bodies on the Internet, regional multifunctional centers provision of services.

Fulfilling the order of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation assessed the possibility of extending the Program for 2011-2012 and proposed that it be considered inappropriate.

For the programmatic implementation of information policy in public authorities for the needs of the society of the Russian Federation, the development of e-government infrastructure, solving the problems of departmental and regional informatization, the widespread penetration of information and communication technologies into the lives of citizens and organizations, and ultimately the modernization of the economy and social relations in the Russian Federation will be developed new program- long-term target program "Information Society (2011-2018)".

It is assumed that the main directions of the program will be the development of state automated information systems, the implementation of departmental programs for the development of the information society, the information development of the regions, and the development of the national information infrastructure. One of the main points of the program is the creation in Russia of "electronic government" at the federal and regional levels.

However, some experts are very skeptical about all the above programs. Their main argument is that the amounts invested by the state for their implementation are huge, if the federal target program "Electronic Russia" cost less than 100 billion, then the long-term target program "Information Society (2011-2018)" is planned to spend 375 billion. rubles. There are also expenses from the budgets of federal and regional executive authorities at various levels. Within the framework of these programs and budgets, state organizations create numerous websites, information systems, Internet portals, etc. Many organizations already have ten "Internet Assets" on their balance sheets, various Information systems and internal corporate portals. Huge expenses go not only for their creation and launch, but also for their maintenance and operation.

Many of the resources described above have already died, some are abandoned and not supported, and most exist only for show and reporting to higher and regulatory authorities. But money from the budget is still allocated and used for them, regardless of their current state, and in absolute terms, these amounts, as a rule, are much larger than commercial organizations spend on such work.

According to experts who criticize e-government implementation programs, the very idea of ​​creating their own state social networks and various Information Internet portals for budgetary money at any level of government is erroneous and vicious. There are especially many of them on such topics as medicine, education, culture, sports, and youth policy. Moreover, these are not only projects financed from the federal budget, but also regional ones /E.Lerner/

So it will be much better for the state and society if the state reserves the very minimum on the Internet - official sites. Public organizations of any level do not need to create their own public social media and portals, you can perfectly cooperate and use the most successful of the existing ones.

The portal of public services http://www.gosuslugi.ru/ is a system of "one window" of the all-Russian state information center, which makes it possible to carry out, using electronic digital signature technologies, communication between citizens and commercial enterprises with various government organizations providing this or that information and services. This is an innovative project that offers a single infrastructure for standardizing and integrating the scope of electronic services and basic management processes within individual government organizations and, therefore, for the transition to interagency electronic interaction and the possibility of providing legally significant remote services to citizens.

A brief excursion into the history of its development: in Russia in 2006, work on the provision of public services in electronic form at the federal level were actually failed. In 2007, on the contrary, large-scale works to create a trusted portal of public services. However, due to the imperfection legislative framework and the need to carry out a wide range of work by the forces of state authorities, it was not possible to provide public services in electronic form. Thus, as of the first quarter of 2008, more than 75% of the Internet resources of the federal executive authorities did not advance in improving the quality of providing information on public services beyond the first, informational, minimum stage. Other departments were even in this issue in a state close to zero. But, finally, on December 15, 2009, the trusted portal of public services - www.gosuslugi.ru, designed to provide citizens and organizations with public services in in electronic format through a single site on the Internet, was launched

The portal "Public Services" (Gosuslugi.ru) is a reference and information portal. Thanks to this portal, any person or organization can obtain information about public services, the procedure for their presentation and registration, forms of appeal. All information about public services posted on the public services website by regional and federal authorities Russian Federation. Also, the State Services website provides an opportunity to receive these same services.

For a more convenient search for answers to the questions you are looking for, the site is divided into public services provided to individuals and public services provided by legal entities. For a more convenient search, you can make a selection by categories, departments and emerging life situations. The “government services” website also contains pages with all the latest publications and an interesting section dedicated to professional answers to all kinds of questions. In addition to all of the above, on the website of "public services" there is a section with the most frequently needed services.

On the public services website, all services are structured and divided into categories, by departments and by life situations. Therefore, finding the service you need should not be so difficult. The site has the following sections:

Information on the site is grouped into the following categories:

For individuals:

• Citizenship, registration, visas
• Family
• Social Security
• Land and property relations
• Taxes and fees
• Law enforcement
• Labor and employment
• Nature management and ecology
• Agriculture and Veterinary
• Culture, art
• Education and science
• Department of Housing and Utilities
• Entrepreneurial activity
• healthcare
• Insurance
• Information technology and communications
• Transport and road economy
• Customs
• Economics, finance, statistics
• Energy

For legal entities

In addition to all those listed for individuals, the section contains additional subsections:

• Non-Profit Organizations
• Production, construction and trade

It is also possible to group data by departments providing a particular service, as well as by life situations. The site contains current news and a reference section "Questions and Answers". In addition to the areas of service providers mentioned above, the website of state services.ru contains a lot of information related to finance, production, housing and communal services and Agriculture, cultures and ecosystems.

On the first stage the portal performs information and reference functions: it contains descriptions of public services, the procedure for their provision, lists of documents required to obtain them, forms and samples of applications, receipts, contacts of relevant state bodies. Now the portal has such a set of information about more than 100 federal and 250 regional public services. Information on the portal is posted and updated by the departments themselves that provide certain services.

Some types of public services available now:

• state inspection Vehicle(record);
• acceptance of applications from citizens on the establishment of labor and state pensions;
• acceptance of applications for voluntary entry into the pension co-financing program;
• informing insured persons about the state of their pension account;
• registration, issuance, replacement of passports of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
• issuing invitations to enter the Russian Federation, as well as making decisions on issuing visas;
• licensing activities for the manufacture of prosthetic and orthopedic products on the orders of citizens, as well as providing information about such organizations;
• licensing of medical activities, as well as providing information about these organizations
• providing information on the provision of high-tech free medical care
• acceptance of a tax return on personal income tax;
• organizing the issuance of a temporary residence permit in the Russian Federation and a residence permit in the Russian Federation to foreign citizens;
• registration at the place of stay and at the place of residence.

Starting from 2011, for most public services on this portal it will be possible to fill out all the necessary forms, then print desired document. From 2012 it will be possible to submit documents electronically.

At the next stages, it will be possible to submit documents to government agencies through the portal in electronic form without a personal appearance. In the future, an electronic document, after it is sent, goes to a certain official for consideration, and the user on the same site can track the status of the document.

The concept of e-government is also based on the idea of ​​forming an electronic document flow, both intradepartmental and interdepartmental. The main significant points from the point of view of documentary support of management for the organization of intradepartmental workflow are the following:

• the probability of losing documents with paperless workflow is reduced to a minimum, in contrast to working with paper documents;
• it takes only a few minutes to search for the required document - attributive search tools provide a quick search for an electronic document even by incomplete details, and when a barcoding system is introduced, an instant search by barcode is possible;
• coordination of documents and decision-making on documents takes from several hours to 2-3 days, even if one approver is in Kaliningrad, and the second in Vladivostok;
• participants in the approval process have access to reviews of other approvers, as well as to versions of the document;
• time and resources are saved to ensure the interaction of employees within the organization by automating memos, applications, internal rules the movement of documents, the appointment of instructions and the formation of reports on executive discipline, the rapid and controlled familiarization of employees with new documents, the simplification of document management;
• work with citizens' appeals is carried out promptly and accurately in compliance with the deadlines - they are also entered into the system, which sends them according to the regulations laid down in it and controls the timing of the preparation of response decisions;
• documents can even be signed electronically when using an electronic digital signature in an organization;
• managers at various levels have complete picture ongoing processes;
• the costs of ensuring interaction between different authorities are reduced, the administration of this process is simplified;
• there are tools for tracking the timing of the provision by other authorities of the data and documents necessary for decision-making and the provision of public services;
• documents can even be signed electronically when using an electronic digital signature in organizations - the transfer of documents signed with an electronic digital signature can be considered sufficient and does not require duplication of paper documents;
• searching for documents, regardless of the organization that prepared them, takes several minutes if the interdepartmental document flow of two or more organizations is implemented in a single information space- all organizations work in fact in a single system.

Access to documents is facilitated, a real possibility of their reuse is created. The prerequisites for the transformation of information into knowledge have been created.

All documents are collected in a single document repository - for an organization that has many departments throughout Russia (or the entire region), it is enough to create a single archive of documents. It is much easier to organize access control to documents when working with electronic documents and their archival storage - access rights are determined by the role of a specialist in BOSS-Referent EDMS systems. Several specialists can work with an electronic document from the archive at the same time, while only one employee can use a paper document. The cost of storing documents is reduced, since the electronic archive of documents occupies a much smaller area and requires less maintenance costs.

The creation of e-government is a powerful tool for the system of information and intellectual support and decision-making, which makes it possible to put into practice the knowledge management system in public authorities.

So, the functions of e-government are defined as follows:

Organization of public administration based on electronic means of processing, transmitting and disseminating information, providing services to state bodies of all branches of government to all categories of citizens (pensioners, workers, businessmen, civil servants, etc.) by electronic means, informing

I use the same means of citizens about the work of state bodies;

Information technologies in public administration;

State on the Internet;

A metaphor that means information interaction between public authorities and society using information and telecommunication technologies;

Transformed for government and government organizations ideas of electronic business in which the government acts as a kind of corporate user of information technologies;

automated public services, whose main functions are; ensuring free access of citizens to all necessary state information, collecting taxes, registering vehicles and patents, issuing the necessary information, concluding agreements and formalizing the supply of materials and equipment necessary for the state apparatus;

The use of new technologies, including Internet technologies, in government bodies.

The introduction of e-government technologies can lead to a reduction in costs and savings of taxpayers' funds for the maintenance and financing of the state apparatus, an increase in the openness and transparency of the activities of government bodies.

E-government allows, among other things, to solve three main problems of power: to introduce electronic document management, which will reduce bureaucratic delays and speed up decision-making, transfer into electronic form communication between citizens and business with the authorities on the principle of one window (government portal) and, in addition, make state and municipal administration more transparent, bureaucratize power and bring it closer to citizens.

E-government gives citizens more opportunities to influence the life of the country by giving them the opportunity to express their point of view through Internet technologies. At the same time, the Internet allows public authorities to increase their importance and influence by providing new services that are maximally adapted to the consumer. It is important to note that e-government is not the automation of existing processes, not the duplication of off-line activities in electronic form, but the creation of new processes and new relationships between “governed and ruling”, aimed at improving the efficiency of the state as a whole.

Thus, e-government is the concept of a new system of state administration, an element of a large-scale information transformation of society. Changing the legal framework, educational priorities, principles of budget formation and spending, environmental guidelines, redistribution of areas of priority competence of state and public structures, shifting emphasis in the economy, updating and expanding value structures, shifting emphasis in the economy, updating and expanding the value paradigms of society - all this, together with many other components of the life of society, is the basis for the reengineering of public administration based on the creation and functioning of the principles of e-government.

The introduction of e-government in the country harmonizes the relationship between the authorities and the population, reduces dissatisfaction with the authorities, softens the political confrontation due to the constructive electronic dialogue of the whole society and the authorities. As a result, a new paradigm of public administration is being formed, based on the interaction via the Internet of all structures and institutions of society: civil servants, business, active citizens, educational and research institutions, public groups, civil organizations.

2. Three stages of e-government

Usually, there are three stages in the process of e-government implementation.

Stage 1 ( publicity). At this stage, ICT tools expand and make faster and more targeted access of citizens, organizations and enterprises to government information. To implement this stage, the authorities create their own websites, which contain legislative and other legal acts, forms of necessary documents, statistical and economic data. The main element of this stage is the speed of updating information and the availability of a government web portal that integrates all government information resources and provides access to them “through one window”. This stage in Belarus is actually implemented by the website of the president, supplemented by websites of the government, ministries, executive committees and other authorities.

Stage 2 ( online transactions). At the second stage, public services (registration of real estate and land plots, filling in tax returns, filing applications for permits) are provided online. The transition to this stage allows optimizing bureaucratic and labor-intensive procedures, reduces the scale of corruption (virtual contact with an official reduces his ability to extort bribes). The implementation of this stage allows the authorities to provide services in electronic form (e-services) to the population and firms 24 hours a day and 7 days a week through a "single window" (the government portal mentioned above).

Stage 3 ( participation). At the third stage, the participation of society in public administration is ensured by providing interactive interaction between citizens and firms with politicians and officials throughout the entire cycle of public policy development at all levels of government. It is implemented with the help of web forums, where draft normative and legislative acts are discussed, proposals are accumulated. A typical example of a web forum was organized quite recently in Belarus on the issues of the Belarusian state ideology.

3. Top Ten E-Government Actions

1. Systematically announce all government meetings. Report time, place, agenda, and provide information on opportunities for citizens to submit proposals, participate or observe (virtually) the proceedings of the meetings.

2. Place a “democracy button” on the home page of the website, which opens to the user a special section on the purpose and mission of government agencies and organizations, key government officials, links to basic laws, budget details, and other government accountability information. Publish information about how citizens can most effectively influence the policies of an institution. It may contain links to relevant committees and bodies of the national/local parliament.

Topic 10. Electronic government in the system of public administration

1. Information technology and the new mission of administrative power

Modern computer technologies are increasingly intruding into the work of power structures, into the relationship between citizens and the state, they determine the ways of transformation and modernization of the state apparatus. July 22, 2000. was adopted Okinawa Charter for the Global Information Society, in which it is emphasized that " information and communication technologies (IT) are one of the most important factors influencing the formation of the society of the twenty-first century . Their revolutionary impact concerns the way people live, their education and work, as well as the interaction between government and civil society. ».

Advances in information technology are changing the nature of the activities of the state and its structures. New information technologies are becoming new political and administrative technologies. Introduction of information and communication technologies makes the work of executive authorities more dynamic and flexible, interactive . Improving the quality of government-provided services, informing citizens is becoming more complete .

ICT, one side, deliver the information necessary for the normal functioning of state institutions, on the other side enable citizens to respond to the practical implementation of public policy.

Structurally, the use of ICT in the activities of public institutions means the end of the internal and external "closeness" of the executive power.

Liquidation internal closeness means a change not only in the organizational structures of the authorities, but also in the nature of relations between them.

Liquidation external closeness leads to the establishment of a different type of relationship between administrations and citizens . The introduction of information and communication technologies into the activities of executive authorities is gradually taking away the traditions of secrecy in the activities of the administration and lays the foundation of the "glass house"(administrative transparency).

Information and communication technologies change the mission of administrative power in two directions :

1) the political category "interest" acquires a new meaning : technologically facilitating communications between the state and citizens (which also has legal consequences), information technologies return to the state its fundamental functions, which become more conscious and contribute to focusing attention on the primary problems of citizens ;

2) new technologies allow a more balanced transition from regulation to regulation , create a new regulatory mechanism.

Thus, the state begins to perform its functions more effectively and at the same time democratically.

Work in these areas takes place at several levels:

• at the theoretical level it's about understanding information as a management resource , considered along with human and material and put on a par with labor and capital;
• at the technical level unified data banks are being created, document circulation is being computerized, administrative activities are being technologized , which allows you to unify the individual nodes of the regulatory mechanism;
• at the organizational level increased desire to consider information management as one of the priority multidisciplinary tasks relating to the organization as a whole, and not to its individual parts;
• at the state level the range of information processed by public authorities is expanding , growing potential and decentralization computer systems, information support is improving qualitatively, based on the tasks of executive authorities.

Development computer science, software, communication tools allowed government agencies to make greater use of computer technology in their activities. Modern computer programs make it possible to combine previously isolated functions:

• business-production,
• information,
• advice to citizens.

Modern possibilities of computer technology :

• open access to a much larger volume of information than ever;
• provide the ability to quickly transmit and receive information;
• allow remote use of sources operational information, services of the largest libraries, databases and databanks.

At the same time, the tasks, conditions of functioning and organizational structures of the executive branch differ in specific features that do not allow one to transfer schematically and without changes the understanding of rationalization typical of technical field, for political and administrative management. Executive authorities differ significantly from each other, managerial work is much less amenable to formalization than it might seem at first glance. Experiencing a great need for information, the executive structures do not use all the reserves of information support at their disposal. This indicates the need to improve information management, in particular, the adoption of decentralized solutions proposed by the users themselves.

Countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada have accumulated today rich experience in the use of these technologies in public administration, which made it possible to form the concept of "electronic government". The pace with which these countries are entering the modern stage of the information society is enormous.

UK government moved the end date of the program for the development of electronic technologies in society from 2008 to 2005. In accordance with this program, since 2005, every resident of the country who wants to have access to the Internet has received this opportunity; all government services posted information online; the country has become one of the world's leaders in the use of these funds in the economy.

In Canadaa number of programs have been developed to intensify the use of information technology under the general name "Communicating Canadians" (" Connecting Canadians "). Already in 2000, 57% of Canadians had access to the Internet.

IN THE USA, where electronic technologies in government activities are associated with the administrative reforms of the early 1990s, the movement for "electronic government" intensified with the advent of the new administration of George W. Bush. This movement is the basis of the administrative reform of the new century.

The process of electronization of government activity is also unfolding in other countries. So, in Germany in 1999, a special program was adopted "Modern state - modern management" (" Modern State—Modern Administration ”), based on the principles of the new public management: work better and cost less; perform tasks in a competitive environment; be permeable and open. For this purpose, in 2000, in order to intensify the development of e-government, Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder opened the program “ BundOnline 2005 Egovernment initiative ”, according to which all services of the federal administration that can be carried out via the Internet were transferred to an online form in 2005. Back in 2002, about 69% of the population were inclined to solve their problems with public authorities via the Internet .

2. Sources of information transparency and openness of the state to civil society .

Information plays an important role in organizing the interaction between the state and the citizen. Sufficient, complete and understandable information helps to ensure transparency in the work of executive authorities, provides citizens with the opportunity to participate in the preparation of political and managerial decisions.

Information that a citizen can receive from an executive authority is divided into several types:

— information about the services provided to citizens by the executive structure;

— information about opportunities to participate in decision-making;

— information about office work and methods of work of state institutions;

— reference Information.

Main problem is that How accessible are these information Services citizens and what is their quality . As a rule, executive authorities do not monitor whether their information is taken into account by citizens and how much they understand it.

Executive branch, governmental bodies throughout the civilized world are aware that their successful work becomes impossible without creating information and communication services, whose work is based on the following principles:

• general availability;
• protection of confidentiality, personal secrecy and security;
• observance of intellectual property rights;
• education and continuous (throughout all life and at any age) training;
• use of the latest achievements computer technology and information technologies.

However, in certain circles a point of view is formed, what the centralization of information resources will lead to the centralization of the power of the government, will allow the undivided control of information and the monopoly exercise of power.

It is also very important how the information received is used. Decision makers rely more on their own knowledge and experience than on information from other sources. For example, in order for a public servant to use information from the Internet in his work, a computer network must become a widely available channel, the same as other communication channels. According to a Gallup poll, more than half of US government employees are wary of the Internet. They are afraid of violating the secrets of private life, an excessive amount of information, they are afraid of losing personal contacts, they are afraid of retraining and stopping in career growth.

History reminds that all major changes in society caused its split, That's why there is the potential that the technological revolution of the second half of the twentieth century will create new "haves" and "have-nots" i.e. those who have access to information and those who do not. What texts, sounds and images will appear on the Internet, who will have access to them - these are largely political decisions that are made by the institutions that provide information.

In the information society, the issues of combining the freedom of public access to information of the executive branch and the protection of its confidentiality, privacy and human rights become especially relevant.

According to French scientist G. Mel, the state and its executive structures become an "information machine" , which collects, produces and processes information . For citizens, this machine - a system of public institutions - should give access to government information, solve their pressing problems, protect their rights and provide an opportunity to influence decisions regarding their lives. Opening access to their archival information, administrative bodies become transparent to citizens, but citizens, in turn, are revealed from different angles. So it is necessary to develop legal norms that regulate and protect information from both sides .

The true power and advantages of computer technology are clearly shown on the Internet. With the advent web -technologies, state institutions got the opportunity to post information about their activities and make it publicly available. The simplicity of their use led to the fact that ordinary citizens began to connect to the Internet.

3. Electronic government and management theory

The formation of electronic technologies for the implementation of government activities changes the very nature of management. In the information society, in comparison with the traditional exercise of power, a new structure and principles of management are emerging, which, in a conceptual sense, is more and more concentrated in the concept of "governance". Can be held differences in a number of criteria between the traditional exercise of power and the new administration .

So, decision-making processes traditionally were built on control and execution of commands , now the main parameters are consent and contract . Traditional Management paid great attention law and regulations , contemporary - non-coercive norms, collective recommendations, moral agreements . Traditional power carried out governments, bureaucracies and parliaments , new management in a networked society, more and more includes in public power such forms as commissions, forums, large democratically organized groups . If earlier management information was centralized and classified , now the information becomes distributed, open , a information processes associated with interfaces and protocols, become networked , include online forums, education, etc.

The concept of governance » reflects changes, which characterize and relations between civil society and public authorities , and relationships within organizational structure states . It is believed that the formed inter-organizational networks in the system of new public administration differ from intra-organizational networks in the system of bureaucratic management.

Networks within hierarchies, or intra-organizational networks, place relationships between actors under a governance structure that governs conflict resolution and guides behavior . Intraorganizational network forms includes joint ventures, strategic alliances, business groups, special rights enterprises, research consortiums, contractual arrangements, and interministerial, interagency, and intersectoral entities . Although there are conflicts in the latter networks, if the level of trust and cooperative cooperation in them is high, then there are significant reductions in transaction costs, better use of joint resources, a greater level of innovation, i.e. more conditions that ensure the effectiveness of management and general activities. In this regard, the Internet and new information technologies provide an additional basis for increased efficiency, although there is resistance to change in government organizations . As writes Jean Fontaine, “intraorganizational networks, partnerships and consortiums could not function on modern level without electronic means. However, the potential of information technology for rapid change in structure, systems, and management has not yet been realized—and may not be. Researchers consistently note that systems and structures resist change even when new information technologies offer efficiency gains. In order to take advantage of the networked computing space, organizations must be able to collaborate both internally and with network partners. ».

There is no unity among researchers as to how the administrative reforms of the recent past (new state management) and the formation of e-government are connected. Some believe that today there is a serious departure from the previous installations. At least, we can talk about the formation of a completely different model of public administration, changing all its parameters. Others are more careful. Often, e-government is seen rather as a new tool for solving largely the same tasks that were set by reforms based on the model of new public management (cost reduction, efficiency, competitiveness, etc.). In this regard, not all elements of e-government and directions in their development continue the previous reforms.

In general, there are three main elements of e-government:

1. Electronic democracy and participation (e-democracy and participation ) are intended to form public opinion and make decisions through electronic means (voting, civic networks, etc.);
2. Electronic production networks (electronic production net - work ) are forms of cooperation between public as well as public and private institutions through electronic means;
3. Electronic Public Services (electronic public services ) are intended to provide services for the benefit of recipients, individuals or companies through local, regional or national portals.

If the first component is related as a whole to the political system, then the other two, to one degree or another, continue what has been started. “I don’t see that New Public Management reforms or related movements have stopped, although many elements have been adapted to national needs and structures,” writes Kuno Shedler, one of the famous researchers of the new public management. — The concept of "e-government" is another opportunity to study changes in the political-administrative system. We should, however, not interpret e-government as the successor to the new public management, but consider this concept as an additional interesting approach to its argument.

4. The concept of "electronic government"

The development of information and electronic technical means has had a serious impact on the structures and processes of public administration. If at first this influence was expressed in an increase in the efficiency of collecting, processing and using information in the decision-making process, then later noticeable transformations began to occur in the institutions and methods of organizing the entire public administration system. Information technologies in public administration are gaining special intensity in the mid-1990s, which is expressed in the emergence of a new concept of "electronic government" (« e - government "). Concepts related to it are formed. "electronic democracy" (« e-democracy »), "electronic control" (« e - governance").

In general, the development of e-government follows the development of e-business and e-commerce. stands out "narrow" and "broad" understanding of e-government.

In a broad sense, e-government includes the use of all information and communication technologies from faxes to satellite communications to improve the daily activities of the government .

In a narrow sensepopular interpretation of e-government is in its definition as the exclusively Internet activity of the government , “which allows improving citizens' access to management information, services and expertise for the development of civic participation. It is linked to the ongoing duty of the state to improve relations between private individuals and the public sector through intensive, cost-effective and efficient provision of services, information and knowledge. It is practical implementation the best the government has to offer."

There are also "moderate" and "radical" schools in the interpretation of e-government.

In the first sensethis concept reflects improving the activities of public administration through the use of new information technologies, which ultimately makes it possible to increase its effectiveness in providing services to the population .

In the second sense e-government expresses not only the new nature of intra-organizational relations, but also transformation of the whole complex of relations between public administration and society .

All these approaches and schools are to some extent related to the understanding of e-government at various stages of its development. The most developed stage allows to form an idea of ​​a "virtual state". As writes Jane Fountain, « web portals that allow the business concept of "7 x 24 x 365" to be applied to government (available seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year) restructure the relationship between the state and citizens to make it simpler, more interactive and efficient. The virtual state means a government increasingly organized through virtual agencies, cross-agencies and public-private networks whose structures and capabilities depend on the Internet and the web.

Magazine "The Economist" » highlights the following aspects of e-government:

1) establishing a secure government intranet and central database for more efficient and cooperative interaction between government agencies;

2) provision of services on a network basis;

3) application of electronic commerce ( e-commerce ) for more efficient government transactional activities such as supply and contract;

4) digital democracy ( digital democracy ) for more transparent government accountability.

The state, through electronic means, makes it possible to effectively provide services to the population, business organizations, and improve the interaction between the government structures themselves. Wherein achieved common goals activities of the state:

• strengthening and expanding forms of cooperation between society and the state;
• promoting economic and social development society and citizens;
• quick and effective response to changing business conditions;
• optimization of the provision of services to the population and business structures; reducing the cost of services;
• increasing the efficiency of intra-organizational relations in public administration;
• development of personnel potential of public administration;
• increasing the responsibility of civil servants, encouraging their initiative and increasing the level of transparency of public administration in general.

5. Main stages of e-government development

The use of electronic and information technologies in public administration goes through a number of stages . Allocate five main stages in this process (according to the United Nations Division of Public Economics and Management and the American Society for Public Administration).

First stage — emerging web presence - associated with the release of government agencies in electronic network structures. At this stage, governments have one or more sites that play an informational role. These sites inform citizens about the composition of the government, its ministers, agencies, officials, and so on. Information about phones, addresses, reception hours, etc. is also posted. Sites can also be found feedback» in the form of information about the most frequently asked questions.

Second phase — advanced web presence - allows users to receive specialized and constantly updated information through a variety of government sites. Here you can receive government publications, legal documents, news information. The number of government agencies in the network is increasing, and communication with each of them is possible. There is information about e-mail addresses, search engines, the ability to send a comment or advice.

Third stage — interactive web presence - is characterized by an intensification of the possibility of interaction between citizens and government agencies that provide services to the population. A national government website often acts as a portal linking the user directly to ministers, departments and agencies. Interaction between citizens and service providers allows network users to have direct access to information tailored to their specific needs and interests. The user can receive specialized data, download various forms and forms or sign them through the network, make appointments with officials, participate in electronic meetings. This is where security sites and passwords for users appear.

Fourth stage — transactional web presence - includes the ability for the user to receive documents via the network and carry out transactions. Citizens can obtain visas, passports, birth and death certificates, licenses, permits and other transactional services. The government website is a portal that gives citizens direct access to government departments and services. Such portals are more focused on the needs and priorities of citizens than on government functions and structures. Citizens can also pay taxes and make other payments through the network (for parking, car registration, etc.). At that time the electronic signature is recognized .

Fifth stage — fully integrated web presence - distinguished by the fact that it allows the government to carry out all services and communications through the government portal, and allows the user of the network to immediately receive any service. It is noted that here the boundaries between government departments are very flexible, which allows us to talk about the new quality of the government and the organization of its activities and the functioning of bureaucracy, like a "virtual state" and the corresponding "virtual bureaucracy", "system-level bureaucracy".

Some researchers talk about the highest stage of development of e-government, when it is included in the system of e-democracy, which allows e-voting, network public forums, network sociological surveys etc. As Jay Moon writes, "if the previous ... stages refer to networked public services in the administrative sphere, the [last] stage emphasizes the networked political activity of citizens."

6. E-government portals in the world

The level of development of e-government by country, of course, is different. Ongoing comparative studies (some conducted, for example, since 1996 based on Website Attribute Evaluation System (http : // www . cyprg . arizona . edu ) Cyberspace Policy Study Group ( the Cyberspace Policy Research Group ) at the University of Arizona and George Mason University (USA)) show that most developed in this respect are the United Kingdom and the United States, then go India, Australia, Canada and Japan. Countries differ in the level of transparency and interactivity of the government. Thus, the Canadian government is more interactive than transparent, while Australia has a more transparent government, but less interacting with the population. The US government is characterized by the highest degree of transparency and openness.

In Franceaccording to the prime minister's circular, all the ministries of the country had to open their own page on the Internet until December 31, 1997 At the same time, the obligatory observance of the following requirements was required: the information provided must be exhaustive and objective, strictly updated, clear, providing equal access for everyone, and provide answers to the most frequently asked questions.

IN THE USAa similar project began to develop since July 1, 1997., although his idea arose much earlier. The creation of the National Information Infrastructure (doctrine N11) was one of A. Gore's election promises back in 1991 and was successfully fulfilled by him. Today, all US government agencies not only have a presence on the Internet, but also actively interact with citizens with the help of Email . Determining the value modern ICT for the development of the state and society, A. Gore noted: “These highways, more precisely, networks of distributed intelligence, ... will make it possible to make information publicly available, to establish communication and communication at the level of the world community. This will become a source of constant and sustainable economic growth, will strengthen democracy, find best solutions security tasks environment on a global and local scale, to improve health care and, finally, to fully feel like the real owners of our small planet.

At present, the functioning of e-government is organized in Internet portals, i.e. complex electronic means that ensure the implementation of a number of government functions.

Internet portals perform the following functions:

• searching and obtaining information;
• interaction of citizens and organizations with public authorities;
• holding events for citizens and organizations by public authorities;
• provision of public services.

In Great Britain the main government portal that ensures the work of e-government is "British network portal for citizens" [« UK online Citizen Portal": http: // www. ukonline. gov. UK ], which provides access to government information and services. It appeared in 2001. Every day it is visited by 123 thousand visitors. Before since 1994 information services were provided by the website of the British government www. open. gov. UK , which hosted the websites of individual government departments in alphabetical order. The new portal has access to the site "Entrance to the Government" (" Government Gateway ”), which provides registration services and provides forms of documents (for example, tax forms). The main portal provides access to the websites of commercial enterprises, feedback, consultations, etc.

Canadian government has been aimed at providing complete information and services to the government through the network since 2004. Three government portals are already operating here, providing communication and interaction between citizens and the government. This is " Canadian site» (« Canada Site": http:// canada. gs. ca ), « Government on-line» (« Government On-Line”: http :// www. gol-ged. gs. ca ) and " Service to Canada» (« Service Canada": http://www. servicecanada . gs. ca ). "Canadian site" appeared in 1995 and is the main one for providing services through the network.

In the United States of America main government portal « First Gov " put into effect in 2000, ( http: //www. firstgov. gov ) serves to implement the main goals of the fifth stage of the application of information technology to public administration. It is built in accordance with the basic concept of e-government as a system of relations: government - citizens, government - business, inter-agency relations. This portal has brought together over 27 million federal government pages to more effectively search for information and deliver services to meet user needs. In 2000, just about every federal agency, most states, and countless local governments provided information and services over the Web. The median number of services provided through the network by state governments was four. Of course, there are differences between different government bodies in the implementation of e-government. Some believe that the federal government is significantly behind the states. In the state of Maryland, for example, by 2002 it was planned to carry out 50% of services through the network, and by 2004 - already 80%. The current US administration is making significant efforts to electronicize its activities.

There are various opinions regarding e-government efficiency level. Its creation did not radically change the institutional structure of public administration. At the same time, new electronic and information technologies are gradually becoming a necessary element of government activities in various countries, modifying and sometimes radically changing approaches and attitudes in the administrative environment. The “fashion” for e-government reflects the current state of the information society, which makes it possible to make administrative and state activities and structures more open, transparent and efficient .

Comparison e-government formation strategies, for example, in Russia and Germany, allows us to conclude that, firstly, in Western countries, its goals and objectives are more specific and related to administrative reform, second, they most closely connected with the development of e-democracy although it has its own difficulties. For example, in Germany, out of 90 surveyed cities, 89% do not have an e-government development strategy and do not have information about the expectations of their citizens regarding e-government. The main disadvantages of implementation are considered (according to Prof. Michael Breitner):

- low activity in the use of electronic signatures;

- insufficient standardization of services and activities;

- lack of necessary legal norms;

- insufficient technological support;

- information overload;

- weak management and organization (organizational resistance);

- problems of consciousness and culture;

- lack of strategy and policy.