A strategy for e-government in Dutch municipalities

The Dutch concept of e-government aims at a smart use of Internet-based technology in: quality of services, democratic participation, access to public data, efficiency in workprocesses. Municipalities play a central role in this concept of e-government. For example, the municipal citizens registration is a basic element for a national electronic identity infrastructure. Three studies, conducted by the Centre of Expertise have resulted in the strategic decision by the central government to implement a new intermediate institution: E-gem (Dutch abbreviation for E-municipality). These studies were focused on: (i) general models to discuss e-government with the stakeholders of Dutch local government, (ii) a study of the businesscase of central information management for Dutch municipalities and a strategy for implementation, (iii) a study of the necessary conditions to implement e-government within Dutch municipalities, focusing on the necessary organisational and technical architecture.