Study finds investment in e-gov is still a government priority

Even in this time of tight budgets, government’s commitment to reaching citizens through e-government is strong, according to a by the General Services Administration’s Interagency Advisory Board.The report, , said that focusing technology’s use on citizens’ needs helps programs “achieve maximum payoff.”The board, within GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Communications, provides guidance on emerging IT issues for agency technology personnel. The board’s members include three CIOs from federal, state and local governments, GSA IT experts and representatives of the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils. Though dated March 31, the board’s report was released yesterday.The researchers looked at federal, state and local e-government programs as well as those in other countries. The study found that governments cannot use traditional return on investment analyses because they do not fully measure the impact of e-government. Instead, governments need to develop new metrics to determine the effect e-government programs have on the public, the study said.E-government, the researchers found, has five benefits for the public: