Engaging Citizens on the Internet

2010 ◽  
pp. 298-316
Author(s):  
Mark K. Cassell ◽  
John Hoornbeek
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Rural Populations ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Web Presence ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
Government Relations ◽  
Worldwide Web

Some literature on E-government has envisioned that the internet would foster a linear progression toward new, productive, and more democratic relationships between governments and citizens (Layne and Lee, 2001). Recent literature has questioned the pace at which these relationships are developing (Coursey and Norris, 2008). This chapter presents empirical results relating to citizen-government relations on the internet that are based on an assessment of the worldwide web presence of 428 local governments in northeast Ohio. Northeast Ohio provides a useful picture of E-government-citizen relationships because it includes a range of local government forms (counties, townships, etc.), urban and rural populations, and Midwestern influences that many consider “typical” of American states. The website reviews conducted assess citizen-government engagement in a variety of areas. The measures used include simple engagements such as the ability to sign up for email updates and the presence of event calendars to more involved interactions such as blogs, e-pay services, and open records requests. Using these measures, we assess citizen-government engagement among local governments in our sample. Follow up interviews with local governments that rate high on these measures are used to further ascertain the extent of engagement and the benefits they yield for government-citizen relationships and service delivery. This information, in turn, provides lessons relating to citizen-local government relationships that may be useful to other government entities. Analyses to ascertain why some local governments seek greater internet engagement with citizens than others are also be conducted.

Engaging Citizens on the Internet

2012 ◽  
pp. 175-192
Author(s):  
Mark Cassell ◽  
John A. Hoornbeek
Keyword(s):  
World Wide Web ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Rural Populations ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Web Presence ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
Government Relations ◽  
The World

This article presents empirical results relating to citizen-government relations on the internet that are based on an assessment of the World Wide Web presence of 428 local governments in northeast Ohio. Northeast Ohio provides a useful picture of E-government-citizen relationships because it includes a range of local government forms (counties, townships, etc.), urban and rural populations, and Midwestern influences that many consider “typical” of American states. The website reviews conducted assess citizen-government engagement in a variety of areas. The measures used include simple engagements like the ability to sign up for email updates and the presence of event calendars to more involved interactions, such as blogs, e-pay services, and open records requests. Using these measures, the authors assess citizen-government engagement among local governments in the sample.

Engaging Citizens on the Internet

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark K. Cassell ◽  
John A. Hoornbeek
Keyword(s):  
World Wide Web ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Rural Populations ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Web Presence ◽  
Government Relations ◽  
American States ◽  
The World

This article presents empirical results relating to citizen-government relations on the internet that are based on an assessment of the World Wide Web presence of 428 local governments in northeast Ohio. Northeast Ohio provides a useful picture of E-government-citizen relationships because it includes a range of local government forms (counties, townships, etc.), urban and rural populations, and Midwestern influences that many consider “typical” of American states. The website reviews conducted assess citizen-government engagement in a variety of areas. The measures used include simple engagements like the ability to sign up for email updates and the presence of event calendars to more involved interactions, such as blogs, e-pay services, and open records requests. Using these measures, the authors assess citizen-government engagement among local governments in the sample

scholarly journals Devolution, Accountability, and Service Delivery in Pakistan

2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahid Hasnain
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Government Relations ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
Physical Infrastructure ◽  
State And Local

This paper examines into the relationship between devolution, accountability, and service delivery in Pakistan by examining the degree of accessibility of local policymakers and the level of competition in local elections, the expenditure patterns of local governments to gauge their sectoral priorities, and the extent to which local governments are focused on patronage, or providing targeted benefits to a few as opposed to providing public goods. The main findings of the paper are threefold. First, the accessibility of policy-makers to citizens in Pakistan is unequivocally greater after devolution, and local government elections are, with some notable exceptions, as competitive as national and provincial elections. Second, local government sectoral priorities are heavily tilted towards the provision of physical infrastructure—specifically, roads, water and sanitation, and rural electrification—at the expense of education and health. Third, this sectoral prioritisation is in part a dutiful response to the relatively greater citizen demands for physical infrastructure; in part a reflection of the local government electoral structure that gives primacy to village and neighbourhood-specific issues; and in part a reaction to provincial initiatives in education and health that have taken the political space away from local governments in the social sectors, thereby encouraging them to focus more towards physical infrastructure. JEL classification: H7, D72, H4 Keywords: State and Local Government, Inter-government Relations, Political Processes, Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behaviour, Publically Provided Goods

First Meeting of the PIDE Committee on Devolution Reforms in Pakistan

2006 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-161
Author(s):  
Durre-e- Nayab
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Municipal Services ◽  
Fiscal Decentralisation ◽  
National Reconstruction

The Local Government Ordinance (LGO), formulated by the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) in 2000 and promulgated by provincial governments in August 2001, assigns powers, responsibilities, and service delivery functions to three levels of local governments: district, tehsil, and union. Responsibilities for the delivery of social and human development services, such as primary and basic health, education and social welfare, are delegated to the district level, whereas municipal services, such as water, sanitation and urban services are assigned to the tehsil level. The LGO does not only deal with the delivery of public services in its plan but also stresses the need for fiscal decentralisation, claiming that “Fiscal decentralisation is the heart of any devolution exercise. Without fiscal decentralisation no authority is devolved.”

scholarly journals Citizen Awareness and Satisfaction Survey: The Case of Tumauini, Isabela Philippines

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 5478-5487
Author(s):  
Renejoy M. Bulos
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Citizen Satisfaction ◽  
Satisfaction Index ◽  
The People ◽  
Multi Stage

Local governments in the Philippines are the nearest service units to its citizens. They are expected to deliver quality services to their constituents. As recipients of the different services, citizens are deemed in better position to assess whether quality services are delivered by the different municipalities in the country. In order to address the need to gather citizens’ feedback on the service delivery performance of the local government units (LGU), the Department of Interior and Local Government developed the Citizen Satisfaction Index System (CSIS). The municipality of Tumauini in the province of Isabela is one of the selected LGUs to implement the CSIS project in the country to measure its performance in service delivery for 2018. This study assessed the awareness and satisfaction of the people in Tumauini, Isabela on the services for Public Works and Infrastructure delivered by the LGU. There were 150 respondents selected using the multi-stage probability sampling method. In gathering the data needed, face to face interview was used with the aid of survey questionnaire. Overall, results revealed that citizens of Tumauini are aware and satisfied with the different service indicators of the Public Works and Infrastructure programs. Results of the study may help local government officials in crafting policies and making management decisions to improve the performance of the local government of Tumauini in the provision and delivery of Public Works and Infrastructure services to its constituents.

Local Government as a Democracy Actor or a Service Delivery Actor

2014 ◽  
pp. 127-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Demediuk ◽  
Stephen Burgess ◽  
Rolf Solli
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Governance Practice

Local governance occurs where a local government gives citizens a say in things that really matter to them, and e-governance initiatives provide electronic means to enable citizens to participate in this shared governing of the community. The clearer a local government is about the nature and degree to which it needs to act as a democracy actor (better citizens and better government) and/or a service delivery actor (better decision making), the greater the prospect that it can choose appropriate electronic means through an e-governance approach to meet those ends. In order to guide an e-governance practice and inform further research, this chapter: provides models that articulate the elements that constitute better decision making, better citizens, and better government, and presents examples from five local governments of how electronic means can satisfy particular ends.

Interrogating the Application of E-Governance for Service Delivery

2017 ◽  
pp. 31-60
Author(s):  
Francis Friday Nchuchuwe
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Computer Literacy ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Internet Diffusion

This study examined the application of e-governance for service delivery in Ojo and Alimosho Local government areas of Lagos State. Questionnaire and Interviews were used as major instruments for data collection alongside other secondary sources. The simple Random Sampling technique was used to derive a sample of 100 respondents from a population size of 748 workers from Ojo and Alimosho Local Government Areas. Simple percentages were used for the demographic data analysis, as well as to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that the application of E-governance is still a far cry in the local governments. Generally, the concept is novel among the workers as it is generally construed to mean electronic payment of salaries and lodgments into the Banks by the citizens. Beyond this, it was revealed that such facilities like web sites, constant electricity supply, enabling environments to boost tele-density, internet diffusion, adult computer literacy, cyber cafes, computer, etc. were not adequately available as expressed by the respondents.

E-Service Provision by New Zealand Local Government

2011 ◽  
pp. 718-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Paynter
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Government Services ◽  
The World ◽  
The Web

Historically, information and services can only be obtained through narrow, one to one, phones, and agency-specific shop fronts (Caffrey, 1998). Information technology, especially the Internet, opens possibilities of using methods to distribute information and deliver services on a much grander scale. The Internet provides a foundation for a variety of communications media. The Web is one of the most important media built upon the Internet. It can be accessed from almost anywhere in the world by means of computers and electronic devices; it is possible to elicit more information, establish platforms for online payment, online consultation and e-voting. Security concerns can be overcome by data-authentication technologies. It can deliver government services and encourage greater democracy and engagement from citizens. Governments around the world are exploring the use of Web-based information technology (Grönlund, 2002). Attention has focused on the design and delivery of portals as a major component of government electronic service infrastructures. The N.Z. government portal site (http://www.govt.nz/en/home/) or the Local Government Online Ltd (LGOL) Web site, (www.localgovt.co.nz/AboutCouncils/Councils/ByRegion/) are examples. Since the mid-1990s governments have been tapping the potential of the Internet to improve and governance and service provision. “In 2001, it was estimated that globally there were well over 50,000 official government Web sites with more coming online daily. In 1996 less than 50 official government homepages could be found on the world-wide-Web” (Ronaghan, 2002). Local governments are faced with growing demands of delivering information and services more efficiently and effectively and at low cost. Along with the rapid growth of technological developments, people demand high quality services that reflect their lifestyles and are accessible after normal office hours from home or work. Thus, the goals of delivering electronic government services are to simplify procedures and documentation; eliminate interactions that fail to yield outcomes; extend contact opportunities (i.e., access) beyond office hours and improve relationships with the public (Grönlund, 2002). Having an effective Web presence is critical to the success of local governments moving to adopt new technologies. Of equal importance is the evaluation of Web sites using different manual and automated methodologies and tools. In this study an evaluation of local authority Web sites was conducted to gain a practical understanding of the impact of the Internet on local governments in New Zealand using a tailor-made model specific to local governments. Issues studied focused on the information and services provided by the local authority Web sites. What is more important is whether the local government operations can or are able to support the expectations for speed, service, convenience, and delivery that the Web creates. Through identification of best practice Web sites and a set of evaluation methods and tools, this paper will provide a set of design guidelines to local authorities that would benefit and better meet the needs of their local communities.

scholarly journals Financial statements disclosure on Indonesian local government websites

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-128
Author(s):  
Wahyudin Nor ◽  
Muhammad Hudaya ◽  
Rifqi Novriyandana
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Opinion ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Websites

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which audit opinion, audit findings, follow-up audit recommendations, level of education, level of welfare and heads of local governments’ commitment influence the disclosure of financial statements on the official website of local government. Design/methodology/approach The data of this research comprise 68 financial statements during the period 2015–2016 collected from 34 local governments across Indonesia by employing the census method. The data then are analyzed using logistic regression. Findings The results of this study show that audit opinion has a positive significant influence on the disclosure of financial statements on local government websites in Indonesia, while the audit findings, follow-up audit recommendations, level of education, level of welfare and heads of local governments’ commitment have no significant influences on the disclosure of financial statements local governments’ websites across Indonesia. Originality/value The study contributes to the public sector accounting research by enhancing our understanding to the disclosure of financial statements on local government websites.

Service Shedding in Local Governments: Why Do They Do It?

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Lamothe ◽  
Meeyoung Lamothe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Delivery Mode ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Management Association ◽  
Alternative Service ◽  
Do So

Using four consecutive International City/County Management Association alternative service delivery arrangement surveys, this study explores the determinants of service shedding by local government in the United States. Our findings indicate that service shedding is fairly common, with almost 70% of jurisdictions experiencing at least one termination between 1992 and 1997. With regards to why jurisdictions shed services, we find that prior delivery mode is very influential. Specifically, services that were contracted out in the previous time period are much more likely to be dropped than are those that were produced in-house. We also find that the behavior of neighboring jurisdictions matters—if your neighbors tend to provide a service, you tend to continue to do so as well. We find little support for the idea that either budget stress or ideology is impactful in the decision to drop services.

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