1.2 UNDERSTANDING E-GOVERNMENT The purpose of E-Government is to bring governance closer to people through major improvements in the delivery of Government services and provision of information in ways that are most convenient to citizens and businesses. In essence, therefore, it is about transforming the way Government does business, going beyond the automation of existing procedures to transforming how the public service interacts with its various constituencies. Through EGovernment, ICT is integrated into key functions to bring about greater efficiency in the delivery of government services, thereby increasing responsiveness to citizens and businesses, and improving the reach of Government services into previously marginalised communities. In short, E-Government is the use of ICT to deliver services that are secure, innovative, high performing, interactive, progressive, evolutionary, integrative, and customer centric. Typical Government services for which there might be shared platforms or models for collaboration include applications for birth certificates, driving permits and licenses as well as renewals; applications for passports and/or visas and renewals; Social Security or National Insurance interfaces; payment of taxes as well as refund of taxes; applications for social services and grants; customs clearances and payment of customs duties and/or taxes; company registrations and renewals; and applications by foreign investors and/or firms to set up in-country operations as well as to track the status of those applications. Citizen centric service delivery enables such Government services to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year … anytime, anywhere, without significant interruption or delay. This results in fewer visits to Government offices, fewer steps or forms to complete transactions, and availability of services closer to home or accessible from the home, business, or any remote location, subject to the necessary security protocols. At its ultimate level, citizen centric service delivery provides a ‘one-stop-shop’ to the whole of Government, including safe, secure, transparent “cashless” systems able to benefit from economies of scale in service delivery. If applied correctly, efficient, effective E-Government results in a transformed public service. It might, in this regard, include service delivery based on the following configurations: 1. Government-to-Government (G2G): Online interaction between one set of Government organisations, departments, and authorities and others. G2G typically reflects the following two service delivery models (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government-to-government): o Internal: Linking a single Government’s departments, agencies, organisations and authorities to each other, for example via an integrated online government gateway that allows anyone to access any Government services available via the Internet; and 23