When it comes to executing E-government initiatives, we're #1!. For the fourth straight year, Canada topped the annual list issued this week by the management consultant and IT outsourcer Accenture of most mature international E-government offering.
Canada does something that U.S. federal, state, and local officials can easily emulate. Most notably: ask citizens what E-services they want. Unlike many countries, Canada's E-government action plan is built on a foundation of facts based on known information from its customer base. How does the government know what its citizens want? It asks them. Canada regularly surveys citizens and businesses about their attitudes and needs--more so than any other country. The federal, nine provincial and territorial, and five municipal governments--through the Institute for Citizen-Centered Services--recently sponsored a study querying 9,000 Canadians about E-government, using online surveys, usability interviews, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews. "The idea is to reach out to customers and to proactively see what they want," says Steve Rohleder, Accenture's group chief executive for government.
Canada also actively markets its E-government services. It advertises on TV and radio, ad in airline magazines and newspapers to get citizens to use its portal, canada.gc.ca.
Top of the World, Ma!
