Governments generate huge volumes of information, much of it potentially useful to individuals and businesses. The Internet and other advanced communications technologies can bring this information quickly and more directly to citizens. The “Publish” phase of e-Government involves online dissemination of government information that is useful to other agencies and to the public.

According to the UN Global e-Government Readiness Report 2005, 94% of countries have websites, 90% provide information, such as publications, laws, policies; 70% offer databases of some kind; and 26% offer true ‘single-window’ portals. Additionally, 164 governments have contact information online and 125 offer downloadable forms.

Publish sites seek to disseminate information about government and information compiled by government to as wide an audience as possible. Information published online can include laws, regulations, policies, budgets, judicial opinions, official publications and reports, forms, executive decisions, and a wide range of government advice and information on matters such as health and agriculture. It also can include government directories, organizational structures, and contact information for government offices and key officials, including addresses and telephone numbers.

The formats for presenting content in the Publish phase include web text, downloadable PDF or text files, audio and visual files (including web casts), and interactive maps. The various types of content can be organized through “portals” which aggregate and organize content. Portals and other Publish presentations can be supported by content and data management systems (CMS and DMS). The portal intersection with the user is the “front end” (facing the customer), and the CMS or DMS, which runs behind that interface, is known as the “back end.” The quality of Publish websites depends on the amount of content, its usefulness and how often it is updated, as well as navigability, usability, search capacity, accessibility, and download time.

Even at the Publish phase, governments can achieve process reforms. For example, rather than merely creating electronic versions of existing paper forms, Publish applications present an opportunity to re-examine and revise processes, eliminating some forms altogether and streamlining the steps in an administrative procedure, thereby simplifying both online and offline processes. However, allowing downloaded forms to be used in lieu of printed forms, may require difficult reforms in traditional practices. For example, governments may lose the ability to charge for the forms and they may need to change the way they number them.

<<Previous: Chapter 3 - Introduction

Next: Phase Two - Interact>>

Back to Beginning of Chapter