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E-GOVERNMENT

OVERVIEW

In February 1998, the Swiss government issued its Strategy for an Information Society in Switzerland. One of the roles of the government in the strategy is as a model in e-government. E-government initiatives are being created to facilitate the relationship between the citizens and the government and between the cantons and the national government. E-government in Switzerland has C2G, G2G and G2C applications. Three objectives of the e-government initiatives have been set forth by the Information Society Coordination group. The objectives are:¹

creation of a virtual office - A portal through which the public can access services such as tax payments, voting or marriage licenses

the state as model user - For example, the electronic publication of legal and economic policy documents, public procurement services and customs control

televoting - local voting through internet

Top Ten Rankings in Global E-Government 2002

Taiwan	72.5
South Korea	64.0
Canada	61.1
United States	60.1
Chile	60.0
Australia	58.3
China	56.3
Switzerland	55.4
Great Britain	54.8
Singapore	53.5

Source: Taubman Center for Public Policy

Researchers at Brown University's Taubman Center for Public Policy conducted a study of global e-government initiatives looking at 1197 government web sites in 198 countries. The survey measured each country's online presence using several criteria to rate the country on a 100 point scale. The criteria included availability of contact information, publications, databases, portals, privacy security, disability access, and the number of online services.^₁ Overall the study found that e-government was not measuring up to its true potential. Some of the problems can be attributed to the limited wealth of the countries and the lack of internet access by citizens. Also, issues in the areas of privacy, security and access for special needs citizens also need to be addressed before e-government develop.

ENGLISH AND E-GOVERNMENT
The English language is a growing trend in e-government. 78% of the national government websites offer an English version of their website. Switzerland's websites feature English, French, Italian and German making it one of the 43% of websites that offer more than one language.²

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON
The Brown study found 15% of the national websites in Switzerland offer online services. This low percentage reflects the cantonal structure of the Swiss government. Also, the issue of privacy and security affect service offerings. Until Switzerland can offer high levels of privacy and security, their online services may remain low. Also, they must overcome citizens' resistance to using technology vis a vis the government. In terms of security policies, Switzerland was not ranked. Togo, Uruguay, Tuvalu and S.Korea all rate 100% in security policy. Privacy was another category in which Switzerland was not ranked. Four countries, Australia, Togo, Tuvalu, Chile and S.Koraa all ranked 100% because of their visible privacy policy. The problem in this area is a lack of a privacy policy and not communicating it to the public. Usability was another area in which Switzerland is lagging behind other countries. Despite these shortcomings, Switzerland is ranked at 55.4% This means that Switzerland has more than half of the features that that promote successful e-government. The overall rate for Western Europe is 47.6% This encouraging for the development of e-government in Switzerland. ³

EVOTING AND THE CENSUS IN SWITZERLAND
The 2000 online census sent electronic census forms to more than 100,000 household on its first day. The EIU reports that 8,000 households per day responded causing the server to be overwhelmed. This response shows the great potential for e-government applications in may areas of routine interaction between the government and its citizens. This response also shows the willingness on the part of the Swiss to take advantage of technology that positively impacts their quality of life and offers greater convenience.⁴