Digital Governance in Romanian Municipalities
Forms and Determinants of Development of Civil Dialogue, 2015
Posted: 20 Oct 2015
Date Written: 2015
Abstract
A national strategy represents the critical first step in building digital government. It provides the framework in which most digital government projects are prioritized, designed, and implemented. Effective implementation of digital government requires a well-articulated strategy. It is considered the first and most important step in securing the success of information technology projects. Critical success factors have been identified in other research, which examines IT projects at the local level. This article presents a comparative cross-country study in order to know the level of web service implementation at the municipality level (what are the public services that municipalities offer to their citizens using the electronic platforms). In order to find this, we have accessed each municipality’s Web portal from Romania (103 in total) and using a defined scale; we have rated each one very strictly. The results are presented here both as a table in which a classification of all the municipalities and their rates will be presented, and as a chromatic map, which represents the actual development of Romanian digital government by cities and counties. It is understood that the existence of very well maintained Web platforms does not imply that they are also used by the citizens or the business society. The new methods of administration do not need only innovative solutions but also “intelligent citizens”. By this study I will find out what the most critical aspects for a municipal Web site are: Transparency, E-documents management, Communication (with citizens), Content etc. Knowing those aspects will help the municipality to be more attractive and to gain inputs from the citizens making them an important actor in the decision making process. I have to mention that this study is the third one (the first was made in 2010 and the second one in 2012) and by that I will be able to present some dynamics (by presenting the chromatic maps made before) of Romanian municipalities and how this study helped IT departments from the municipality to obtain a higher rate this year, and by that, to be closer to the citizens offering multiple online services.
Keywords: Municipalities, electronic, governance, digital
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