Early breakthroughs in e-government—the use of information and communications technologies to provide and improve public-sector services, transactions, and interactions—have enabled government organizations to deliver better service and improve effectiveness and efficiency. In many countries, more than 70 percent of taxpayers now file taxes electronically, for example, and many other transactions—ranging from renewing drivers’ licenses and paying parking tickets to managing government benefits—can be conducted online. Employees within government agencies also use the Internet routinely to manage internal processes, such as human resources and travel.

However, despite the continued allocation of enormous resources, progress on the e-government front appears to have plateaued over the past few years. Many new e-government initiatives have neither generated the anticipated interest among users nor enabled clear gains in operational efficiency. In the face of unprecedented fiscal constraints, as well as users’ heightened expectations based on the integration of the Internet into their daily life and work, it is imperative that the public sector refine its approach to e-government to ensure that these initiatives achieve maximum impact.

In our experience, three obstacles have, however, limited the impact of e-government efforts: ineffective governance, lack of Web-related capabilities, and reluctance to allow user participation in the creation of applications and content.