- Value [1] Online Engagement
- Government needs to meet citizens where they are online. Social computing renders the online environment individual-user-centric.
Younger citizens are increasingly engaging each other, interacting with businesses, and building an online cultural and commercial
environment, all of which clearly call for government initiatives targeting citizens online. Governments will have to engage
citizens at sites where they are rather than expect them to approach government portals. Citizens view this as “keeping up
with the times,” indicating the inevitability of such initiatives.
- Value [2] Online Interaction
- Citizens are willing to interact with government agencies online. In general, citizens have positive attitudes toward potential
Web 2.0 initiatives. The more relevant the uses are for citizens, the more willing they are to interact with the government
on the specific uses. Appropriately designed initiatives to engage citizens in their own settings will also enhance the trust
citizens have in their government and help government build citizen loyalty. Such initiatives have the potential to increase
the transparency of government agencies, which could lead to greater trust in them. It could also lead to greater citizen
influence on government policies and actions.
- Value [3] Intermediary Services
- The role of intermediaries will increase. Many businesses are being aided by third-party firms acting as intermediaries in
providing content and service in the Web 2.0 environment. It is inevitable that, in order to engage citizens effectively in
their social computing setting, governments will have to employ and leverage intermediaries to increase their coverage and
reach to deliver content and “mashable” services. Governments will also be able to provide customized services to citizens
at a potentially lower cost with the help of intermediaries. The increased coverage and reach will come at the cost of decreased
control, which means governments have to relinquish some control over how the content and service is reconfigured and distributed.
- Value [4] Content and Service Design
- Government will need to rethink content and service design. Web 2.0 applications will necessitate governments rethinking how
they design their content and services. Content has to be addressable in a very granular form so that intermediaries can pick
the appropriate content and application they need to fulfill their service task. Privacy of citizen content and information
has to be defined at a granular level for the same reason. Similarly, security considerations may dictate the design of the
content and transportability of content to intermediaries as well as citizens in their online environment.
- Value [5] Embedded Authority
- Government will have to find ways to embed authority in its web-based services. A survey of government initiatives and pilots
in the Web 2.0 environment shows that they mainly span communication- and interaction-focused uses to date. Many citizens
have been exposed to the Web 2.0 environment in an entertainment and/or social context. There is a level of informality in
such uses that is likely to be associated with the more formal uses that governments may plan. Thus, imparting the appropriate
level of authority to government initiatives is critically important to gain citizen trust in such uses.
- Value [6] Equal Access
- Some citizens are concerned about equal access. The focus group studies indicated that many of the non-users of Web 2.0 technologies
were concerned that they might be disenfranchised if similar opportunities were not provided in other more conventional channels.
Equally important is the issue of access for those who do not have online access. Thus, there is a danger of some citizens
becoming “second-class” citizens based on their abilities and access.
- Value [7] Trust
- Citizens trust the government with personal data but not for service efficiency. Studies revealed that citizens trusted government
more than businesses with regard to their personal data and privacy. However, in terms of service efficiency, citizens tended
to trust the private sector to do a better job. Given the specific nature of trust, governments can leverage reputed third-party
service providers by teaming up with them to provide “mashable” services to citizens. It is imperative that government have
appropriate control over private information in such joint ventures to realize the overall benefits.
- Value [8] Metrics
- Government will need to measure the effectiveness of its Web 2.0 initiatives. Surveys of current measurement techniques in
the Web 2.0 environment in the private sector show that they are focused on two dimensions: • Measurement of the levels of
engagement • Measurement of the effectiveness of the application Both dimensions are necessary to calibrate the impact of
the initiatives and justify a business case for their use. While measures of levels of engagement are useful for initial evaluation
of government initiatives, the ultimate focus should always be on measuring the value generated for citizens.
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