E-Government Evaluation of the French Foreign Ministry

Kristin Kopach
POS 368
October 5, 2010

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/

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With the end of the information technology revolution, the availability of information
found online has grown. Furthermore, there is an expectation that information should easily be
found online. The use of the internet by the government is referred to as “e-government”. More
specifically there are two agreed upon definitions:


a. The Gartner Group Consultancy defines e-government as, “the continuous
optimization of service delivery, constituency participation, and governance by transforming
internal and external relationships through technology, the Internet, and new media” and,


b. “The use of Internet technology and protocols to transform agency
effectiveness, efficiency, and service quality.” accredited to Mark Forman, the former Associate
Director for Information Technology and E-Government at the US Office of Management and
Budget (OMB)1.
With a combination of the two definitions, government-consumer relations and efficiency, a
strong definition of e-government is cultivated. By evaluating a website like French Foreign
Ministry’s website, one used by those who wish to travel to or have diplomatic relations with
France, we can see how the French government views e-government and therefore, in a sense,
relations with the rest of the world.



When one logs on to the French Foreign Ministry website, he or she is greeted by a
pleasant and interactive homepage. Further explored in the next section of this paper, there are
language choices for non-native French speakers. When translated into English, the translations
of the links and menu items seem smooth, and not simply translated and regurgitated. The
mission of the website is displayed via a link on the right hand side of the page. In a news
publication from 2008, the mission of the Ministry is to promote the interests of France by
expanding the reach of France’s culture and language in order to contribute to the development
of poor nations and to protect the environment. This mission is different when navigated to from
the English website, here it states that France’s international profile is determined by the

1Koslowski, Rey. Class Lecture. POS 368 Information Technology and World Politics. New Public
Management and E-government. University at Albany, Albany, NY. 30 September 2010.

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country’s adaptations to a changing world. Both of the mission’s webpages have the same
information but without the same navigation. 2

The website has a good ease of use, the information is presented logically. The most
popular focus shown on the homepage are links to news media regarding the Ministry. Along the
top fixed menu, there are three drop down menus with links to internal and external websites: 1.
the countries with which France has relations, 2. French priorities, or better translated as policies,
and 3. online services which include addresses to the Foreign Ministry, information on how to
obtain a visa, a guide for foreign diplomats, and embassies and consulates. There is also a search
bar along this menu bar. Above this menu bar, there are fixed links which include press,
discovering France, traveling to France, learning French and investing in France. To the left of
the website there are many links, which change with the webpage to which one is currently
navigated. On the homepage, there are links to the ministers, the budget for the Ministry, and
publications among others. There is also a separate sidebar to European Union links. There are
also some picture links to some of the things listed above, i.e. learning about French culture and
language. At the bottom of the left pane, there are small printed links including “contact us”, new
news, site map and and “about” page. In the middle of the page there is a flash enabled photo
slide in which articles are linked. There are also links to videos, pictures, and documents. In the
bottom middle of the homepage, there are links via pictures to the latest news regarding the
Ministry. Interestingly, only on the French homepage, are there links to social networking
websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, along with an RSS feed.

Having presented a brief overview of the website, a more fine tuned evaluation will show
the Ministry’s e-government evaluation. The stage of e-government for this website is stage 3-
interactive presence, which is, “interactive services to enhance convenience of the consumer
such as downloadable forms for tax payment, application for license renewal” 3. To begin, the
method of evaluation used is a question based system. In 2009, Darrell West published a paper
where, using 18 questions, he evaluated the websites of the public and private sectors. While all
of these questions may not be applicable to e-government, it is a good template. The questions
include, “publications; databases; audio clips; video clips; foreign language access; ads; user

2Any mention of the Ministry or “the website” throughout this paper is in reference to the French Foreign
Ministry found at http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/
3Koslowski, Rey. Class Lecture. POS 368 Information Technology and World Politics. New Public
Management and E-government. University at Albany, Albany, NY. 30 September 2010.

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fees; premium fees; W3C disability access; privacy policies; security policies; allowing digital
signatures on transactions; an option to pay via credit card; email contact information; areas to
post comments; option for email updates; allowing for personalization of the website; and PDA
or handheld device accessibility” 4 . Figure 1 shows the features that the website possesses.

Figure 1
✔ Publications Databases ✔ Audio Clips

✔ Video Clips ✔ Foreign Language ✔ Advertisements

Access

n/a User Fees n/a Premium Fees ✔ W3C Disability Access

Privacy Security Policies n/a Digital Signatures

Policies

n/a Credit Card ✔ E-mail Contact Info Ability to Post

Payments Comments

✔ E-mail Website ✔ Mobile Access

Updates Personalization

West evaluates the websites by assigning 4 points to each question, for purposes of e-
government, the questions of user fees and premium fees have been excluded form this
evaluation with the idea that one’s government does not usually ask for more payment than one
is already paying in taxes. Also the option of paying for services/merchandise via credit card has
been excluded due to the fact that there is no area to purchase any content on this webpage via
any type of monetary transaction. Finally seeing as there is no reason for one to sign anything on
this webpage, the category of digital signatures has been excluded. This leaves the French
Ministry a possibility of earning 56 points.

Media. With the presence and usability of publications, advertisements, and audio and
video clips, the Ministry has earned 15/16 points. There are many areas of the website which
allow the user to see news articles regarding the Ministry, therefore the full 4 points were
awarded. As mentioned in the overview, there are links to the European Union and French
culture websites, while few, these advertisements keep in line with the message of the webpage

4Darrell West and Jenny Lu, Comparing Technology Innovation in the Private and Public Sectors
(Brookings Institution June 2009), 23pp.

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and one does not expect there to be many erroneous advertisements on government webpages,
therefore this section received the full 4 points. The video aspect of the site is designed nicely, it
has the ability to view videos in flash or mpeg4, as well as to share these videos on social
networking websites. The videos are related to the mission of the website and there is a brief
explanation in text of the video; this section was also awarded the full 4 points. Finally regarding
media, the audio of this site where necessary is adequate. However, there are no audio links to
speeches which are published on this site, therefore one point has been taken from this category
due to lack of full optimization of audio, leaving it with 3 points.

Privacy. The two categories involving privacy are the website’s security policies and
privacy policies. This webpage does not display either of these therefore, earning a 0/8 for this
portion.

Contact information. The categories in this section include e-mail contact info to the
Ministry, the ability to post comments, and the option to receive e-mail updates. The Ministry
has earned 6/12 points in this section. The “email us” link found at a usual place on the website,
at the bottom left corner, brings the user to a page where he or she can email the Ministry on a
variety of subjects, each subject having a separate form. While the ability to view this page in
English does not seem to be working properly, webpage is outlined well, this portion received
the full 4 points. The ability to post comments is useful for consumer-consumer interaction
within the webpage. No where on this website is there an area to post comments, therefore giving
the Ministry a 0/4 in this section. Finally the ability to subscribe to email updates is found via an
external link, interestingly only navigable through the English portion of the website. Due to the
fact that the Ministry itself does not have email updates and that this link is difficult to find, the
Ministry received a 2/4 on this category.

Website Accessibility. Finally the 5 of the rest of the categories will fall into the section of
website accessibility, these include website personalization, mobile access, W3C disability
access, foreign language access, and databases. The Ministry has earned a total of 8/20 on this
section. The only ability to personalize the website is by language through what is most likely IP
address recognition, there is no other personalization on the webpage giving this category a 1/4.
When navigated to from a mobile device (in this instance, an iPhone), the website is not
optimized for mobile viewing. There is, only navigable from the French website, a link in the
bottom left corner, “mobile”, which brings the user to a plain white webpage with some links to

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articles on it. There is no ability to navigate back to the homepage other than pressing the back
button on one’s browser from this page. This confusing link and no mobile browser optimization
gives this category a 0/4. W3C accessibility refers to the ability for the disabled to view and use a
website. Usually, these are thought of by an “increase text size” button or the ability to hover
over a picture or other media to view text. This webpage receives a 2/4 on W3C for its text
explanation of video clips and pictures, however it does not offer the ability to view the webpage
in any larger font for those with ailing vision. The font size is relatively small for a website with
the purpose of being seen by all those wishing to visit and have relations with France (a large
group of people). The website, as mentioned earlier has the ability to view the information in
French, English, German, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. Also, as mentioned earlier there are
some discrepancies between the different language’s websites yet the translations are
comprehendible; this category receives a 3/4. Finally the website does not offer a database, yet it
does have a fixed drop down menu, described in the overview, which allows the user to navigate
through the different policies of France regarding other countries and information on those
traveling to France, therefore this Ministry has earned a 2/4 on this section.

With a combined score of 29/54, and the rating of a stage 3/5 of e-government, the
website does not optimize the full potential of the internet. While it has great information for
those wishing to travel and do business in France, there is little intractability between the user
and the website. There are areas where the Ministry would be able to bring some of its external
links onto the main website, including the ability to sign up for email updates and visa
processing. Yet for a website designed to provide information on France’s Foreign Ministry, the
website is adequate.

As we, as a global society, move towards a greater dependence on information
technology, the importance of e-government has grown. The ability for a user to navigate to the
website of his or her government allows for better consumer (or constituent) interaction and the
opportunity, with feedback, for the government to provide better for those consumers. It also
allows for the government to cut down on operating costs by providing things such as forms and
services online- eliminating the need for a physical building and employee. The French Foreign
Ministry is a good example of a middle-of-the-road website. It offers an explanation of the
agency, some news articles, and some other related links. In the future, this webpage could be

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optimized with more consumer intractability and a better ability to use the forms mentioned in
external sites, i.e. visas, and disabled access.

Works Cited
French Foreign Ministry. France Diplomatie. French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. 2008. 1
! Oct. 2010 URL: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/

Koslowski, Rey. Class Lecture. POS 368 Information Technology and World Politics. New Public
! Management and E-government. University at Albany, Albany, NY. 30 September 2010.

West, Darrell and Lu, Jenny, Comparing Technology Innovation in the Private and Public Sectors
! (Brookings Institution June 2009), 23pp.
! Download report at: http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2009/06_technology_west.aspx.

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