eGovernment research

1
eGovernment research implementation sketches
of the breadth and depth of a growing
multidisciplinary field
Maria A. Wimmer University of Koblenz-Landau
Institute for IS Research, Research Group
eGovernment wimmer_at_uni-koblenz.de
2
Overview

• eGovernment a broad field of research and
  application
• Holistic approach to eGovernment developments
• Challenges of enriching simple standard
  eGovernment solutions
• Ontologies for eGovernment
• Interoperability

3
Three main functions of the public sector
Policy making
4
eGovernment many fields of research and
application

• eGovernment in a narrow sense (eAdministration)
• Public services in the sense of policy
  implementation
• Public sector internal ICT-diffusion and usage
• eAssistance
• eDemocracy
• Democracy services in the sense of policy making
• eParticipation
• eCouncil / virtual townhall
• Five application areas
• eConsultations, ePetitions, eVoting, Web
  castings, Information

• eGovernance / ePolicy
• Management of State and Administration
• eLaws
• Legislative process
• eJustice
• Implementing/applying the laws
• Jurisdiction
• eHealth
• Medical care
• eEducation
• Schools
• Distance learning

5
From sectoral investigations to the overall
discipline
eAssistance
eX
eServices
eHealth-insurance
el. medical care
eCouncil
eProcurement
eProcedures
eJurisdiction
eLaws
eConsultation
eVoting
Sectoral approaches solutions
eY..
eDemocracy / eParticipation
eAdministration
eHealth
eJustice

• Multidisciplinary eGovernment research -
  Concepts and methods
• Basic infrastructure

Different domains of eGov research
implementation
6
Overview

• eGovernment a broad field of research and
  application
• Holistic approach to eGovernment developments
• Challenges of enriching simple standard
  eGovernment solutions
• Ontologies for eGovernment
• Interoperability

7
Overall aim supporting a smooth transformation
from traditional to innovative, smart governments
8
Factors impacting and forming eGovernment
Society / democracy /public value expectations
/ environment culture
ICT innovations, new emerging technologies
Economics, efficiency and effectiveness / good
governance
Public sector responsibilities and duties
/ policy making policy implementation
9
Multidisciplinarity and integration role of
eGovernment as a research discipline
Organisational and economic sciences
Political and legal sciences
eGovernment as a research discipline
Social and human sciences
Computer sciences
Information and knowledge research sciences
10
Holistic reference framework an attempt to
structure eGovernment for eService delivery
11
Overview

• eGovernment a broad field of research and
  application
• Holistic approach to eGovernment developments
• Challenges of enriching simple standard
  eGovernment solutions
• Ontologies for eGovernment
• Interoperability

12
what we urgently need

• a common understanding of the field and how its
  aspects and projects relate to each other.

• Ontologies as the underlying concept of
  structuring parts of a knowledge map

13
Ontologies examples from eGovernment service
provision (1/3)

• Building ontologies for the life-event concept /
  business situations structure

14
Ontologies examples from eGovernment service
provision (2/3)

• Linking single ontologies via relations of any
  kind (e.g. temporal, causal, conditional,
  hierarchical, etc.)

Conditional relations
15
Ontologies examples from eGovernment service
provision (3/3)

• Distinct sub-ontologies linking to the same
  objects

Conditional relations
16
What ontology concepts can serve for integrating
scientific concepts and implementation projects

• eGovernment ontology and knowledge map
• Common understanding and shared definition of
  knowledge objects of the domain
• Shared understanding of concepts and methods
• Processes, services, projects, public sector
  information and knowledge
• Intelligent service provision across
  organisations
• Interoperability among systems and services
• eGovernment projects linked up with one another

17
yet the ontology development is just a starting
point and a basis for enhanced knowledge maps

• Intelligent services can be offered with the help
  of semantically enriched knowledge nets and with
  machine computable inference rules ...

18
Semantic modelling as a basis to create
comprehensive knowledge nets

• Knowledge maps
• Serve to visualise knowledge in a way human
  beings think and in this way support human
  thinking
• Serve to structure and store knowledge
• Serve to demonstrate interrelations among
  knowledge objects
• Base on semantic modelling concepts and allow
  simple and affordable navigation
• Advanced knowledge nets allow automatic machine
  computation

19
another challenge

• Solutions for interoperability among systems,
  services, (human) agents and organisations.

• the semantic web as a means to reach
  semantic, technical and organisational
  interoperation

20
Interoperability in eGovernment currently of
highest interest

• EU defines interoperability as
• the means by which the inter-linking of
  systems, information and ways of working, whether
  within or between administrations, nationally or
  across Europe, or with the enterprise sector,
  occurs
• http//europa.eu.int/information_society/activit
  ies/egovernment_research/doc/interoperability.pdf

21
Many initiatives on interoperability

• EU/international standardisation initiatives
• EIF IDABC, MODINIS framework, ISO standards on
  Records Mgmt, UN/CEFACT, OECD, LegalXML, etc.
• National standardisation initiatives
• E.g. SAGA DOMEA XÖV XArchiv (DE), ELAK
  EDIAKT (AT), OIO (DK), FAST ADELE (FR), MoReq
  e-GIF (UK), etc.
• EU-projects on interoperability
• Athena, Terregov, Guide, Qualeg, eMayor, BRITE,
  R4EGov, etc.

• Interoperability can, however, only be reached,
  if the activities are being coordinated
  among each other .

22
Integration vs. Interoperation

• Integration forming of a (temporary or
  permanent) larger unit of government entities for
  the purpose of merging processes and/or sharing
  information
• Interoperation information systems controlled by
  different jurisdictions/administrations or by
  external partners smoothly and effectively work
  together in a predefined and agreed upon fashion

R. Klischewski J. Scholl, HICSS 2006
23
Interoperability Standards

• Interoperability basic principle of any
  eGovernment service or system to interact among
  each other without developing a single integrated
  solution
• Standards prerequisite and key methodology to
  realise interoperability
• Based on international standards (XML, Web
  Services, SOAP, XPDL, DAMLOIL, OWL, etc.)
• Independent of platforms
• Coordinated development of organisational and
  technical specs

24
Scenario of interoperable eAdministration
applications interfaces
S1 Intake structure S2 records structure
S3 delivery structure S4 notification of
delivery S5 payment structure
S3
S3
25
Methodological concept for interoperability
Organisation Process Content Data Components Proto
cols

Local National International
eInformation eIdentification eForms eSignature
ePayment eInvokation eWorkflow Domain
app. Databases eNotice eDelivery eArchiving
Seamless eGovernment
26
Can the semantic web be a means to realize fully
interoperable seamless eGovernment solutions ???
Semantic Web Technologies and Concepts ???
27
Can the semantic web be a means to link
eGovernment research and sectoral implementations
???
Semantic Web Technologies and Concepts ???
28
What is further needed

• Exchange of knowledge and lessons on semantic web
  used in eGovernment contexts
• Efforts to develop semantically enriched
  knowledge resources are very high
• eGovernment solutions are still built with
  traditional technology, even if their limits are
  known ...
• Learning cycles and widespread research for
  creating an eGovernment semantic web

29
Lets exchange and widen the scientific dialogue
on SWEG concepts and solutions ...
Thank you for your attention !
Network of Informatics Research in Governmental
Business

• wimmer_at_uni-koblenz.de
• http//www.uni-koblenz.de/FB4/Institutes/IWVI/
• http//www.egov-network.org/