E-government

E-government of the future represents a globally important contribution by government for de-bureaucratizing and modernizing administration as well as developing interstate services. Moreover, transparency will be increased for all interest groups and the viability of locales and offices strengthened. The objective is to improve government services and democratic processes, as well as simplifying the form and completion of administrative activity. Online government services are oriented primarily toward citizens and companies, but also toward administrative bodies and will lead to a reduction in the workloads they face. Effective e-government protects against excessive regulation and the accompanying obligatory bureaucratic duties.

Early recognition of technological and social trends is important for government to be able to be successful over the medium and long term. It is only by recognizing trends like autonomous vehicles and smart microgrids early and creating the right conditions for their expansion that international competitiveness can be maintained. E-government research helps government to shape and actively guide these paradigm changes.

Digital administration increasingly means becoming a service provider in the future. Communication with government offices will become less bureaucratic and more streamlined for citizens, and electronic services will make visiting them unnecessary. Employing innovative technical solutions, such as digital identities and electronic signatures for example, contributes to devolution of bureaucracy and faster provision of administrative services. Citizens can access virtual offices in the Internet with greater security by using certified portals through which they can communicate simply and efficiently.

The growth of IT infrastructure in public administration was historic and extremely heterogeneous. The modernization and consolidation of this IT infrastructure is essential
in order to meet the challenges of tight public budgets, shortages of qualified staff, and rising security requirements. This means that modern information and communications technology is also a driver of reconfigured, lean processes and organizational structures.

Open Government is a step towards greater participation
by all groups in society. Administration in the future should
be more accountable and comprehensible for citizens. Open Government should soon enable everyone to view electronic files, just as utilization of available raw data for creating useful services and applications should be free of charge. In this way, greater transparency in government and administration will become normal practice. The benefit is enormous: the knowledge already present in datasets like crime statistics, social budgets, data regarding cooperative development projects, and research data can be used by anyone.

Digital proof of identity with online capability contained in the new personal identity cards – the size of a credit card – offers new reliability for business transactions on the Internet. The chip in the identity card facilitates simple and secure transmittal of the holder’s personal data – their electronic identity. The testing and demonstration center operated by Fraunhofer for application-specific advising and support during the introductory phase of the new personal identity card serves as the main contact and information point for the application testing program.