Interview Guide

"Benchmarking E-Government / E-Democracy"

Booz Allen & Hamilton and Bertelsmann

Foundation

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 Preamble and objective of the interview

With this interview guide the Bertelsmann Foundation, supported by

Booz∙Allen & Hamilton, intends to evaluate status and dynamics of e-
government/e-democracy programs on the basis of interviews with
selected best practice candidates; on request the information will be
treated confidentially. This evaluation was triggered off by the hypothesis
that until now most e-government programs primarily focused on the
aspect of electronic service delivery (ESD), which were traditionally
delivered offline (e.g. visits to the local authorities, written
correspondence, etc.). Our current understanding is that e-democracy and
participation services are yet not fully incorporated in most of the existing
e-government programs. This hypothesis is what we would like to discuss
with you in the following interview.

Answering the questions should not take longer than 90 minutes in total.
We send you the interview guide in advance so you can get familiar with
its contents and prepare yourself for the interview. We structured the
interview along six segments:

I. Services / product portfolio

II. Efficiency

III. Transparency and participation

IV. Change management

V. Quantitative data assessment

VI. General information about your organization

In the scope of the project we defined the terms "electronic service

delivery", "e-democracy" and "e-government" as follows:

[Electronic service delivery]: ICT-based processing of customer-

oriented services of traditional public bodies (legislature, government and
administration, jurisdiction)

[E-democracy]: ICT-based information (transparency) of citizens and

businesses and their participation in decision making processes of
governmental and non-governmental public bodies

[E-government]: Combination of both electronic service delivery and e-

democracy offerings of public bodies

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I. Services / product portfolio

Based on our research we understand that you already offer a variety of

electronic services tailored to the needs of citizens and businesses. However, we
got the impression that most electronic services are associated with traditional
administrative procedures. E-democracy services are not yet equally reflected
in your service offerings. Please explain briefly how you chose your service
portfolio that is already established within the scope of your e-government
program. Please explain if any user-specific research was part of the program
set-up and if businesses' and citizens' needs are taken into consideration while
developing and improving the service portfolio. Have you already established,
or are you planning to establish electronic services tailored to the needs of
specific customer groups (e.g. citizens or industry groups)? How many of the top
10 services (G2C, G2B) have already been implemented? Please estimate the
ratio of implemented services against all feasible services (G2C, G2B), and the
ratio of pure information versus transaction services. What help functions, search
engines, etc. – if any– have you implemented to enhance user friendliness?

To what extent are electronic services actually used by citizens and especially by
businesses (please briefly explain the ratio of online and offline services) [4, 5, J]?
For important services, please explain the frequency of usage. Does the actual
usage go along with the planning (does the targeted group use the offerings)

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[5]?

Have you incorporated any services of different administrative bodies,

businesses, etc. on your site [7]? Have you started any initiatives to bring your
internal procedures in line with user applications (especially resp. businesses),
so that an uninterrupted workflow between the applications is achieved [7]?
Does the data exchange with users and the internal processing work without
any interruption/change of media [11]? Have you defined any standards for
interfaces [7]?

Which measures have been taken – with regard to your service portfolio – to
avoid the so-called "digital divide", i.e. the split in social groups which either
have very good or very limited access to electronic services [9]? What role play
different distribution channels (e.g. call center, Internet, letter/fax, etc.) in
your e-government program [9]? Have you developed plans to offer tailor-made
services to specific groups? Do you intend to improve the access to electronic
services (e.g. via public web access points)?

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How do you address security issues? Are there any rules or laws in place which
guarantee privacy and security of your electronic services [10]? Which
technologies do you use therefore [12]? How do citizens and businesses make
use of these technologies?

Can you imagine a (further) personalization of electronic services, e.g. by

establishing accounts for every citizen bundling all contacts with your
organization and the allocation to a virtual personal advisor [F]? If personalized
services already exist: Why did you introduce such services? What is your
experience with such services [F, G]? Have personalized services led to a higher
degree of customer bonding [F, G]?

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Note: In case no e-democracy services are available, what are your reasons for
your not offering any e-democracy services (fear of higher utilization of
resources, e.g. with the editorial support; possible misuse by demagogues, legal
issues, technical reasons, etc.) [L, M]?
In case e-democracy services are available, what is your experience with the
usage of such services (especially with regard to businesses) [J]? Can you
quantify your internal efforts to process comments, petitions, etc. [L, N]?

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II. Efficiency

From your perspective, has the deployment of modern technologies accelerated

internal processes? [15]? Which systems measure/evaluate these
accelerations [14]? To what extent is the deployment of modern technologies
taken into consideration when formulating and modifying internal processes? Do
you adjust internal processes to external necessities [17]? Have you established
an explicit, formalized feedback mechanism? Have you defined a process
model/architecture [13]?

Are you following a business case approach in your e-government activities, i.e.
are you relating costs and benefits of each project [16]? How do you allocate
ressources to core processes? Do you know of any projects that have already
paid off, resp. projects that are close to break-even?

How do you finance your e-government program? Please explain briefly if

the projects are financed by public resources only, or in combination with

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innovative financing models (e.g. public-private partnership or other provider
models) [19]. Do you have any sponsors (e.g. businesses)? Do you outsource
specific processes or services [19]?

Please describe your technological resources deployed for executing your e-

government program: Is a comprehensive applications and systems
architecture in place [24]? To what extent have you integrated front-end and
back-end systems [22]? Which platform technology do you use [25]? Which
database architecture have you implemented [21]?

To what extent do your employees accept new technologies? Do they refuse

to work with them? If so, how do you deal with/solve this issue? Did you observe
group-building in the implementation process of your e-government program
("freaks", refusing groups, early adopters, etc.) [30]? Have you established any

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support structures for applications and systems that employees can use [23]?

Can you estimate the total internal effort of your institution's entire e-
government program (staff, investments, miscellaneous) [L]?

To what extent are processes and applications within the public body seamless
and synchronized (both within and between departments)? Do you have any
structural problems, (functions, change of media, etc.) in the
communication-/data-flow between departments?
If so, are there any plans ready to solve these problems [28]? Did you implement
a reliable and effective WAN (communication platform) for all locations of the

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public body [27]? Do you have a Customer Relationship Management or a
similar system in place?

To what extent have employees access to adequate state-of-the-art tools and

facilities (PC, access to the Internet) [31]? To what extent do employees
internally accept and use the applications and services (e-mail, etc.) [30]? Are
there any training and qualification programs for employees in place that
focus on efficiency improvements [18]? How did new Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) affect the processes and resource
requirements within the public body [20]? To what extent is intellectual capital
developed within the organization and the dissemination process of knowledge
improved (e.g. is there any specific program at hand that supports the
aggregation of organizational know-how within the public body)?

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III. Transparency and participation

As stated earlier, we believe that e-government should not only focus on an

increase in efficiency and the use of the internet for services associated with
traditional administrative procedures, but also deal with innovative ways of
involving citizens and businesses. Please detail briefly the possibility for citizens
and businesses to exert influence on decision processes within the public
body. Are there any formalized rules for citizens who whish to participate in the
decision making process [41]? Do you actively consult citizens via new
Information and Communication Technologies ("unlocking"/activating public
groups) [45]? Did you clearly define and communicate ways (e.g. an official
procedure) for consultation of citizens and businesses? [41, 42]?

To what extent have you integrated chat rooms, forums or any similar
platforms in your e-government program in order to offer the citizens and
businesses the opportunity of debating topics of public interest? If so, do
you host/moderate or edit such online chats [44]?

Do you know (please give us your best estimate) how often your participation
services/offerings are used by citizens and businesses [J, 45, H]? Do you trace
(how) and analyze the usage of these services? What benefits do citizens

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and businesses gain by using them [G]? Do you actively "unlock" (activate)
specific public groups that might be interested in specific topics [43]? Please give
us your best guess of how many groups and citizens were activated and are now
frequent users of your participation services/offerings. Can you assess to what
extent the involvement of citizens and businesses in the public decision making
process has changed/increased/improved recently [J, H]?

Do citizens and businesses have access to information about the status of

their requests, enquiries or submissions [33]? Have you installed, similar to
FedEx or UPS, a "track-and-trace" system (in order to track the status of a
submission)? If so, how frequently do citizens and businesses make use of such
a system? Is this system more targeted at the specific needs of citizens or
businesses? If you have not installed such a system yet, are you planning to do
so in the near future?

How do you ensure that your employees are accessible for the "customer"
(citizen as well as business)? Is there a single point of contact for both
customer groups? Are there standardized procedures/rules for the process (time)
of replying to an enquiry? What is the ratio of online to offline processing or
communication [40]? Do you offer publicly available specific directory services

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("red pages") including useful search functions/engines [35]? Can users directly
access a specific contact persons via e-mail/internet forms or templates [37]? Is
there a feedback mechanism (towards both specific and unspecific contacts)
[38, 39]?

How did you enhance the service portfolio with e-democracy and
participation services over time? Do you have any detailed plans in place, how
and when to enhance your service portfolio with such participation services [A,
B]? In case you have incorporated e-democracy services/offerings: Did the
implementation of your e-government program improve, accelerate, slow down
or become more complicated [L]? Did e-democracy services/offerings sup-
port/stimulate the cooperation between private interest groups or business,
communities [I]? What "lessons learned" can you derive from the
implementation process? On looking back, what elements or approaches
would you plan/change today?

To what extent do you display political decision processes and events in the
web, on your portal, or on any other comparable platform [36]? How frequently
make citizens and businesses use of this offering/information? How do you make
sure that for citizens and businesses the legislative procedures and decision
making processes are entirely transparent [34]? How do you make sure that

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the information provided on the platform is relevant and up-to-date [32]?

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IV. Change Management – dynamic criteria

Please provide us with a brief overview of the implementation approach you

chose for your e-government program/strategy (starting point, history, significant
events, political responsibility, budget/resource allocation, etc.) [P].

Please describe the current organizational structure of your e-government

program/program team [49]. How large is the team? What kind of team
composition did you choose? To what extent (how) do politicians support this
team? At which level of hierarchy has this team been installed?

How was the crafting of a vision/strategy and transforming it into concise

strategic goals and targets done [47, P]? Did you systematically conduct
comparative studies with competing regions and cities, or with international

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best practice candidates [46]? How did you transform the e-government
vision/strategy into detailed guidelines and targets which are now being
realized and transformed by individual teams [47, P]? Is there any standardized,
comprehensive coordination process with superior and inferior public bodies
and institutions (federal, regional and local authorities)? Are there any
cooperations, pooling of resources and facilities with external providers and
partners [48]?

Please explain briefly the implemented systems/mechanisms in order to

control the overall e-government program as well as smaller individual projects
within the scope of the overall project. Is there a comprehensive, compliant and
regularly updated "project master plan" [50]? Did you establish an empowered
program-controlling function? Did you develop and implement a key indicator
management for resource allocation and budgeting purposes [51]? Compared
with the overall e-government program, what percentage of your available
resources did you assign for the project controlling and program management?

Is there any comprehensive portfolio analysis of all your e-government

projects, being regularly updated? How (which mechanisms) did you prioritize

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the various e-government projects [50]?

To what extent do you communicate the strategic approach, program

targets and progress
of your e-government programs to the public? By what kind of media? How
often do you publish these targets [52]?

To what degree are employees involved in the development, composition and

implementation of your e-government program [53]? What communication
channels do you use to inform and involve employees? Do you have explicit
employee training and qualification programs tailored to the specific needs

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of every employee [54]? Did you align/synchronize the personal targets of every
employee to support the e-government program? Are there any
incentives/motivation programs for employees in place focusing on the
support of your e-government program [55]?

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V. Assessment and key figures

We now would like to ask you to assess some statements by simply

marking the respective column (1= totally agree, 7= totally disagree, 4=
neutral):

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Statement Partiall Totally
Totally Rather Neutra Rather Do not
y disagr
agree yes l no agree
agree ee

Citizens expect us to offer

personalized electronic services;
they want to be treated as
customers having a real choice [F].
By imbedding participation features,
the acceptance of e-government
overall increased significantly [G].
The major difficulties of
implementing e-government were
not caused by internal problems but
simply by lack of resources.
First we were skeptical with regard
to participation of citizens; However,
since we incorporated participation
services,
e-government can be implemented
faster and easier [L].
The participation in forums for
citizens and in decision making
processes stimulate businesses –
projects can be planned better and
more efficiently and implemented
faster [J].
If we were to launch e-government
again, we would think less in terms
of technology, consider more the
user perspective, and design our
services around their benefits.
Our legal mission equally comprises
the promotion of electronic service
delivery and participation services
for citizens on the basis of new
technological possibilities [C].
The target group for electronic
service delivery and e-democracy
services is identical [D]

(IT) Systems and processes for

electronic and e-democracy services
almost correspond with each other
[O, E]

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We would further like to ask you to answer the following quantitative
questions (if the figures are available to you)

Question Statement
How large was/is the budget (respectively the
given IT resources) from 1998 to 2001, and what
part of the budget was/is assigned to electronic
services delivery and e-democracy services?
How many employees (project team members)
were/are necessary from 1998 to 2001 for the
development and implementation of electronic
services delivery and e-democracy services?
How many online transactions (electronic
services) per year are performed
- by users of e-democracy offerings/services?
- by users only interested in electronic service
delivery (and not using any of the e-democracy
services offered)?
How many online transactions (electronic
services) does an e-democracy "customer"
perform before and after having used e-
democracy offerings for the first time?
What are the comparable costs for an online vs.
an offline consultation process of citizens and
businesses (planning procedure, coordination,
referendum, hearings, etc.)?
How many online visits and transactions
(electronic services) per year are performed
- by users with a personalized entry portal?
- by users without a personalized entry portal?
How many users/visitors of your web offerings had
their entry portal personalized?
How many e-democracy and participation services
users/customers do you have?
On average, how many entries, comments,
opinion polls, etc. are done per e-democracy
user/customer?
How many new formations of private and
economic interest groups per year can be
observed before and after the implementation of
e-democracy and participation services on your
web-portal?
How many "first-time" users took the advantage of
electronic or e-democracy services in 2000 and
2001?
How many business users/customers utilized
- electronic service delivery?
- e-democracy and participation service offerings?
What is the ratio of businesses using your services
offline vs. online?
How many litigations / suits result from an online
planning process request and how many suits

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result from an offline planning process requested
by businesses?

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VI. General information on the interview partner and the
organization

We kindly ask you to give us some information on your organization, your

position, and your responsibilities. We would very much appreciate any
demographic data (population in your area, economical structure, number of
employees of your organization, etc.).

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