Digital government and service delivery: An examination of performance and prospects

Abstract

AbstractSince the emergence of electronic or digital government two decades ago, the delivery of public services online has been a centrepiece in efforts to leverage the Internet and improve the performance of the public sector. Prodded by comparisons to banks and online retailers, governments at all levels have been enticed by the dramatically lower costs of a transaction online versus one involving mail, a telephone call centre, or in‐person service facility. Yet such comparators have also masked a much more complicated story for public sector service innovation and delivery reform. The recent advent of mobility further complicates this landscape since the term can be interpreted in one of two (partially related) manners: first, as a newer online channel via mobile devices that accentuates the search for efficiency as integration; and second, as a basis for more participative public engagement in the governance of service design and delivery. Drawing upon three inter‐related typologies of public sector governance (traditional public administration, new public management, and public value management), this article examines the evolution of a partially digitized sector service architecture, its mixed performance to date, and the challenges ahead. Specific attention is devoted to the Liberal Government's initial sign posts as well as the increasingly pressing inter‐governmental dimensions to more digitized service delivery.