From e-Gov to we-Gov Social Inclusion, Government and ICTs

Paul G. Nixon and Rajash Rawal The Hague School of European Studies, The Hague University, The Netherlands P.G.Nixon@hhs.nl R.Rawal@hhs.nl
Abstract: This paper examines the notion of social exclusion within the realm of e-Government. It examines the possibility for the potential of the increasing use of e-Gov to discriminate against certain groups within society. It gives a brief overview of some of the potential problems identified and the scope of those problems. It then goes on to examine some of the practical solutions being undertaken in order to alleviate any exclusionary effects of increased ICT use in the provision of e-Government services. Keywords: Access, e-Government, inclusion, digital divide, minorities

1. Access for all?

Equal access for all and social inclusiveness are key. Services will be available at times and in ways which suit the public not constrained by normal office hours or specific technology to access the service (access channels). This is the bold claim made by Hampshire County Council on their website where they stridently map out their visions on e-Government and ICT strategy (http://www.hants.gov.uk/egovernment/ictstrategy/vision.html). Such claims are made by many governmental organisations and agencies today. The chief task of this paper is to examine whether or not these claims can, genuinely, be made. There is no doubt that the wish to encourage the provision of on line government services, as envisaged under 'e-Europe 2005', is diminished by issues of access and exclusion. As succinctly put by Sladen, as we embrace the electronic utopia it is said that everyone is at the party, however, are some more welcome than others? (Sladen 2001). Does the development of e-Government and its various services afford society a possibility of real access for all, or are there hidden pockets within the community who, whilst not being wilfully excluded by the policy makers, are not actually able to be included in this strategy for a number of reasons? We will endeavour to highlight a number of sections of the general public, in any given nation state, who may be considered to be disadvantaged and then to outline some of the programmes being undertaken by various governments, at local, regional and national level, to overcome these problems. In order to do this the paper will first outline the primary targets of e-government, going on to outline the discrepancies such programmes may have. The paper examines the possibility of the potential of the increasing use of e-Gov to discriminate against certain groups within society. We then go on to highlight a selection of local/regional/national/ governmental initiatives which have sought to redress the balance and indeed meet the demands of having a truly accessible system of e-Government for all citizens and further suggest possible remedies that may need to be factored into e-Government programmes in order to maximise the use of the undoubted potential of Information and Communication Technologies.

2. E-Government
As traditional borders between domains and between levels of governance are seeming to be ever more blurred by the technical networks that stimulate the formation of all kinds of new social and political networks around the typical issue concerns of late modern society there is scope to examine the ways in which the concepts of e-government are re draughting the contexts in which citizens and governments interact. Citizens and governments interact regularly for example obtaining a new drivers license by interchanging information; or in the transfer of resources via the payment of taxes or the receipt of social benefit payments. Increasingly new technologies are being used to make such interactions more efficient, more seamless and easier for all parties to

transact. A key element is often the creation of a single point of contact, available for the citizen to interrogate or interact with 24 hours a day, everyday. This point of contact may be accessible via the use of a personal computer, mobile phones, digital TV's or even future developments of existing or new technologies which the EU sees as being crucial to ensuring the inclusion of all citizens. New uses of ICTs are shaping, and will continue to shape in the future, new perceptions of government in the modern European Union member states.

2.1 Benefits of e-Government

The benefits of eGovernment can broadly be characterised as falling under one of two headings which are not of themselves mutually exclusive; i.e. improving the machinery of governance and increased participation. Perhaps the present emphasis is too much on the former and not enough on the latter. Below are some more concrete examples of the perceived benefits; (adapted from Webster 1995, Hague and Loader, 1999, Nixon & Johansson, 1999, Nixon and Keeble 2001, Nixon, 2000; 2001; 2004; European Commission 2003; Information Society Commission, 2003) Assist in better co-ordination of policies and legislation. Permit a more efficient use of resources Aid dissemination and consultation, thus allowing greater participation and easier access to information generated by the various organisations and agencies of government. Enabling of more efficient, transparent, quantitative and qualitative auditing of government. Allow for equal treatment of each citizen Reconfigure interfaces between citizen and government. Facilitate the potential to build a more direct, participatory, digital democracy

There can be no doubt that many organisations and agencies at all levels of the government machine are endeavouring to make strenuous efforts to attempt to address issues of social exclusion and to promote e-Inclusion. Accounts of good practice abound (see www.beep-eu.org) and yet still the same old problems seem to reappear. Perhaps in the haste to adopt new technological adaptations in the modernisation of government not enough regard is paid to the impact of the changes on certain groups in society. As these groups tend to be somewhat relatively disempowered in the off line world it should be of little suprise that this disempowerment is replicated in the on line world and that such groups may lack the political clout to force government to take their needs into account. Below we will examine some of the problems faced and briefly describe just a couple of the projects designed to alleviate such problems.

3. Problem Areas
In 2002 British Prime Minister Tony Blair set out the target that his government would ensure access to the Internet for everyone who wants it by 2005 (Office of the eEnvoy in Foley 2004). However, as Graham and Marvin suggest, often such bold reform tends to focus on sections of society who form part of the more lucrative markets, a suggestion endorsed by Golding and Murdoch who perhaps go even further in their assessment that such developments are of more benefit to the affluent members of society (Golding and Murdoch 2001). Certainly the figures in Table 2 suggest that the more affluent are more likely to engage in the information society and thus be in a better position to take advantage of the benefits offered via such on line services. They also have the social skills and leverage to ensure that the services offered are tailored to meet their needs. The propensity towards the use of new technologies (Ling, 2004) means that one can start to envisage a situation where .. ..[t]he nature of citizenship is changing as part of the turn towards networked individualism. (Wellman & Hogan, 2004) The morphing of technologies offers

possibilities associated with increased utilisation mobile telephony especially for the young (Ling, 2004) who view their phones as a "third skin" (Fortunati, Katz and Riccini 2003 quoted in Wellman and Hogan, 2004) It is tempting to see this as a win win situation where the reduction in costs is of benefit to all. However as tasks previously undertaken by government officials and some of the costs associated with them are being transferred to individuals this may not be the case. One could also argue that the costs on online engagement with government particularly where it is the only means of intial engagement amount to a regressive taxation for a person on a low/no income. A growing reliance on on line provision implies a division between the info rich, those having the skills and resources to access on line service, and the info poor, who do not. The nature of the problem is excerbated by the growing trend of making more and more government services only available online. This immediately disadvantages those who do not have ready access to the internet or the skills with which to utilise it. This could serve to further deepen the lack of empowerment felt by some sections of the community. As a recent EU Commission Document (2005) noted " the exclusion from access and use can reinforce the relative disadvantage which originally caused the exclusion itself." Moreover. as ....government officials transfer day-to-day responsibility of their websites to technicians and webmasters, there is often benign neglect of underserved citizens whose needs may be outside the realm of the experience of well-educated, high-tech professionals (West 2003). Which could we feel lead to alienation by people who have different perceptions of their needs and that this alienation can be heightened by the tendency for e-government services to give, at least to some people's eyes, a perception of the de-humanisation of government. A further cause for the lack of comprehensive coverage may be found in the reasons as to why governments transfer services to the Internet. In most cases these exercises are seen as a way to save money and other resources, although it has to be said that the capital costs of such schemes can be extremely high. Running sites is often cheaper than staffing offices and hence eGovernment is sometimes employed not as a means which offers a whole host of new possibilities with the staff being freed up to deal with non standard cases, but as a way of saving money. As a result it is natural that the targeting of the audience only caters for the affluent and skilled, ignoring a wake of potential users, as to understand their needs and deliver 'made to measure' solutions would involve greater costs. The latest figures available as set out in the tables below show the importance of age, education and income in determining the level of access the internet and thus to on line services. Table 1: Percentage of Internet users by age
Age EU 15 users New Member States +3 15 to 24 68.7 48.8 25-39 59 28.5 40-54 46.6 15.8 55+ 16.9 3.2

Table adapted from eInclusion revisited, EU Commission. (2005) It is therefore of paramount importance that accessibilty to lifelong learning opportunities be available in order to try to narrow the gap in terms of internet use between those of differing levels of educational attainments.

Table 2: Percentage of Internet users by professional grouping

Self employed EU 15 users New Member States +3 54.6 23.3 Manager 80.6 71.5 White Collar 64.5 46.8 Manual worker 40.3 14.6 House person 25.2 4.5 Unemployed 38.6 17.7 Retired 12.4 2.9

Table adapted from eInclusion revisited, EU Commission. (2005) There are a plethora of locally run projects attempting to redress the imbalances between the differing groups. One examples of the many targeted internet training programmes is "Nonni su Internet" (Grandparents on the Internet) run by the City of Rome (http://nonnisuinternet.gioventudigitale.net/default.html) Table 3: Percentage of Internet Users by Terminal Education
up to 15 EU 15 users New Member States +3 13.6 3.1 16-19 42.1 20.7 20+ 66.4 49.6 Still Studying 79.5 66.4

Table adapted from eInclusion revisited, EU Commission. (2005) We can identify a number of different sections of society who may feel less welcome at the aforementioned party, amongst them are, i) members of rural communites, ii) the disabled, iii) nonnative residents and iv) old aged pensioners. We can also see from the tables that the situation requires a greater need for action in the new member and candidate states. If one examines Reis (2005) one can see that there are severe differentials between the rate of use in differing member states and e-Inclusion Revisited (2005) suggests that the recent enlargement has increased the task faced in narrowing such gaps if we are truly to create an equal Information Society for All. We will now go on to examine particular problems.

3.1 Members of Rural Communities

There can be little doubt that locality affects inclusion in the information society. As the figures in table 4 show people outside the larger towns have a poorer level of access to the internet. Table 4: Locality and Internet Use: Percentage of Internet Users
Village EU 15 users New Member States +3 37.9 12.2 Small Town 44 25.4 Large Town 49.2 37

Table adapted from eInclusion revisited, EU Commission. (2005) This is exacerbated by the fact that people who live in rural communities have fewer open access facilities from which to access the internet. Internet cafes and library based access points abound in urban areas but there is a dearth of such facilities in many rural areas. Ironically it is members of society who live in these areas who stand to benefit the most from the advantages of web-based services as it is they who have the largest distances to travel in order to interact with government agencies. Often the lack of opportunity to engage in e-government has little to do with the actual knowledge or skills of the citizen but a lack of access and availability. In many cases broadband internet is not available as the cables have not been laid, primarily for economic reasons. Indeed,

in some rural communities internet connection via mobile telephony is not even possible due to the local environment prohibiting signals, for example the small village of Bulnes which can be found in the mountainous area of Asturias, Northern Spain, and where there is only one land line in the whole village.

3.2 Disabled People

Consideration for disability access in traditional bricks and mortar government does not warrant a second thought. Access to buildings for disabled people is one of the prime concerns during their design; however the same consideration is not always given to its digital counterpart. As pointed out by West, not only is equipment manufactured for mainstream needs, government websites, at local, regional and national levels, websites often fail to fully meet the needs of the disabled. For more elaboration of this point see West (2003). 64% of EU residents over 50 years of age suffer from some form of restrictions in the use of ICTs. (For example the problems may range from extreme eyesight problems, to the inability to use touch screens due to the effects of arthritis (Seniorwatch 2003)) The Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines (http://www.w3.org/tr/wcag/ ) attempt to offer a template or checklist against which sites can be tested to ensure that they are properly accessible, In the UK there are further examples such as the Royal National Institute for the Blind's See it Right Accessible Website Standard http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_seeitrightaudit.hcsp#P 28_4920. It reminds web site creators that in some cases 'less can be more'. For example the use of colour may be confusing to those who suffer from colour differentiation problems and thus the use of black and white contrast can help alleviate any difficulties and the option of pausing moving text may be of use to people with reduced reading skills. Assistive hardware such as diability friendly mice and braille keyboards need to be easily available and must be incorporated (along with other adaptive technologies) into the design of all Public Internet Access Points. At present this is sometimes not the case where terminals are situated outside of secure locations and are prone to vandalism the casings required to protect the hardware can prevent use by people with some disabilities. Of course solving one problem for one group may excaerbate the problems for others. Whilst adaptations noted above, together with many others, may have high costs the alternative is to build an e-Government system that is just as discriminatory as the old system with barriers to access to information replacing the problems of access to government, and other public, buildings which has only been addressed after years of protest.

3.3 Non-Native Residents

Additionally, there are issues of linguistic competencies that may add to the discrimination and alienation felt by immigrant communities. This is particularly true, for example, of menu driven electronic phone systems, which assume a certain level of vocabulary in the host language which can cause misinterpretation leading to dissatisfaction and frustration. For practical examples of attempts to address such issues of linguistic exclusion see Section 4.1 regarding 'Inburgeringsloket' and also http://www.wien.gv.at/english/. Website use requires a certain amount of technical knowledge and often this knowledge is lacking in a non-native resident. The authors of this paper can testify to this having struggled on many occasions to complete their annual tax returns online. Consequently we can clearly see that the transfer of 'people' based services to web-based services may well meet the cost-cutting exercises of government, but it may also imply more funding is needed in educating or providing services for non-native residents if exclusion is to be avoided.

It is not just in terms of direct contact that linguistic capability can be a problem. Often a person may need to search for additional information upon the internet in order to properly utilize the egovernment services on offer in any given country. As more and more services go online this need increases and there is a danger of exclusion, particularly for non English speakers given the anglocentric nature of the internet (Chen & Wellman 2004 in Wellman and Hogan 2004)

3.4 Senior Citizens

As we saw in table 1 the low number of over 55's using the internet is a cause for concern under the scenarios envisaged within e-Europe 2005. It is also worth considering that some older people may not have the skills to adapt to the changing environment. Whilst the rise of silver surfers has been championed throughout the short time line of popular internet access there is no doubt that for many older people the internet is a cultural development which has passed them by. Clearly training needs to be given in internet and other skills. Whilst these are available at the moment there needs to be more encouragement if senior citizens are to take up that training and thus play a full role in a society which is increasingly basing its governance online or on other new ICT solutions wherever possible. We need also to ensure that services are not transferred to webbased applications which then would encourage the profit motive of agencies to provide services to pensioners for example, for financial reward. This would be a somewhat hypocritical situation where services previously available for free would now end up costing money to individuals. Thus services must ensure they remain accessible for all and that gaining access does not incur any additional costs for the citizen. The European Disability Forum has also noted that the over 55's (and indeed some people with disabilities of all ages) may also struggle with the notion of the increased use of M- Government, that is services/information accessed using mobile telephony, given both the propensity to miniaturise phones and the buttons on them making them difficult or impossible to use and the relatively small screen size which provide potential problems for the visually impaired.

4. Bridging the Digital Divide

It is clear form the above mentioned evidence that attention must be paid to all sections of society if the e-Government virtues of access for all and equal treatment are to be realised. In this section of the paper we will present two examples of initiatives which have sought to attempt to resolve some the issues highlighted above.

4.1 The Dutch Inburgeringsloket

In 2001 the Stichting Virtueel Inburgeringsloket (Virtual Citizen Booth Charity) was founded in the Netherlands in order to encourage integration of minorities and disperse information in a simple and accessible manner using multimedia strategies. The organization is a partnership between various actors from both a governmental and private perspective. The partners are: GovWorks BV, Stichting Virtueel Inburgeringsloket, AtGlobe B.V., Hoefnagels Advies, Stichting Kennisland, Mr. Peter van Heemst, Drs. Menno Hurenkamp, Ap-Art BV. The idea is to allow migrants to access information that local councils have regarding services and training programmes which target the migrant population. It is a digital publication which can be accessed online (http://www.inburgeringsloket.nl.) and whose real advantage is that it is published in a number of languages (English, Turkish, Moroccan and German to date) of the largest communities that make up the migrant population in The Netherlands. The information is presented in a number of different ways, by means of icons/animations, integrated menus and simple texts. The service is free at the point of access for the consumer;, the local government pays the software to be regularly updated and covers the general service costs that are incured. At this moment the local councils of Amsterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven and Deventer take part in this project.

Figure 1 The Logo of the Dutch Virtual Citizen Booth Whilst this virtual service caters for one need, dispersal of information in a way in which migrants can understand, it does not solve the problem of accessibility. This did not go unnoticed by the organization and they decided to station information posts such as those illustrated below in various town halls within the cities who participate in the project. The menu system is clear and based upon iconography or other visual prompts and the design incorporates as many film and photographs as possible to avoid the use of technical language. These posts cost some 15,000 per annum to maintain and update. However, the costs are subsidized and reduced by a percentage depending on the size of the local council and its ability to pay. The consumer is provided with the service for free and it is estimated that some 10,000 citizens make use of these posts every month within the participating municipalities (http://www.inburgeringsloket.nl/startprojectviwebitem16712lannl.html).

Figure 2 Using the Information Posts of the Dutch Virtual Citizen Booth

4.2 The Spanish Telecentro

In Spain, a joint venture between government, local municipalities and private actors have embarked upon a programme to improve accessibility by introducing new technologies to rural communities for free (http://www.telecentros.es) The partnership was established in March 2003 as Internet rural and has as its main aim to establish centres, Telecentros, in rural areas. These centres, financed and maintained by local town halls, aim to allow local citizens access to the Internet for free, whilst using the very latest technology available. All machines must meet a certain criteria and be no older than 24 months. In this way the citizens are able to experience what new technologies have to offer and are able to feel first hand the effect of developments in the ICT sector, for example, the latest trend is to offer citizens the possibility to use the local network without cables, wi-fi access for free. It is hoped that this allows people to try first and then buy once they are confident of a products quality and usage. Additionally, training is offered to for free to various parts of the community. Courses on offer include basic computer usage to more advanced web based design workshops. The aim is to introduce users to all equipment, computers, scanners, web-cams etc. These courses are semi-tailor made. That is to say those old-aged pensioners courses are instructed separately to that of say, teenagers. The rational is that teenagers will learn more quickly and at a faster pace than an older audience. If the groups were mixed the instructor would have to aim at both audiences, whilst moreover the older participants may feel inhibited by their younger counterparts. A breakdown of how the network has worked in exact detail, in the Principality of Asturias can be found in the document La Sociedad de la Informacin al Servicio de los Ciudadanos. This document examines the profile of the users with regard to their age and sex, use of the facilities and their profile.

Figure 3 A Telecentro in Asturias (Spain) teaching a group of OAPs To date some 1,500 centres have been set up nation wide and the programme hopes to double this number by 2008 by investing a further 24 million (http://internetrural.red.es/documentos.html) Qualification to participate in the programme is dependant on the local environment being accessible via broadband internet. Should a local community not meet this criteria they are encouraged to submit an application via their local council to be connected to the system. An example of how the process develops can be seen through the experiences of Porra, Asturias. This small village, which comprises 402 habitants, saw 35 locals apply for the facility.(La Nueva Espaa)

5. Conclusions
The potential of the two programmes mentioned in the above section is that they have as their primary aim an audience which is often seen to be partially excluded, namely migrants and rural communities. Their chief benefit is that they aim for self reliance by encouraging users without costing them a penny. The onus is on the providers to meet costs whilst maintaining standards at a high level. A further advantage of these interactive mechanisms is that they allow for users to question and see first hand what not only the possibilities of e-Government are, but also those of the new technologies themselves, they also operate on a local level thus embodying trust and familiarity which may help to reduce fear of adoption. No one argues that those creating pioneering systems of e-Government are setting out to deliberately exclude certain groups. However there can be little doubt that the design stage is the appropriate place to incorporate standards which meet the needs of all. As the European Disability Forum note designing for all... " ....is also a cheaper solution than amending products and standards or making specialist provisions. Such amendments are expensive, time consuming and ultimately discriminatory." The message is clear, if governments see transferral of traditional services to online services as a way to save money they will miss the point and end up excluding various sections of the electorate. We must attempt to ensure that all discrimination, however unintentional is eradicated from eGovernment iniatives if they are to be successfully adopted by the whole community. Initiatives such as those described above plus many, many others such as the EU's first Design for All and Assistive Technology Awards 2004 to enable inclusion are to be encouraged. There is much valuable work being done but much more remains to be done before we can claim to have achieved an inclusive system of e-Government throughout the European Union.

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