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The purpose of this paper is to develop a domain model for online community building and collaboration in e‐government and policy modelling.

The authors followed a structured approach including five distinct steps: define the domain to be investigated; collect domain knowledge from both existing online community building and collaboration platforms and domain experts; analyse the gathered knowledge; develop and evaluate the domain model.

A domain model was developed for community building and collaboration in eGovernment and policy modelling, including the domain definition, the domain lexicon and the conceptual models modelling its basic entities and functions of the domain. In particular, the UML class diagram was used for modelling the domain entities and the UML use cases diagram for modelling the domain functions.

A literature search revealed a lack of domain models for online community building and collaboration, not only in e‐government and policy modelling but also in general. The proposed model provides a better understanding of the domain. It can also be used in the development of relevant platforms, leading to the reduction of software development costs and delivery time, as well as the improvement of software quality and reliability, by minimising domain analysis errors.

The paper explores the main drivers of the regional-level digital divide in Ecuadorian cities and the extent to which the information and communication technology (ICT) adoption by citizens influences local-level policymakers' decisions to develop eGovernment services.

The paper used an exploratory approach. The authors empirically assessed the provision of eGovernment services in each of the 36 Ecuadorian local governments following the Local Online Service Index (LOSI) measurement scale proposed by the United Nations, and then evaluated the drivers of the eGovernment divide at a local level. Ordinary least squares regression analysis was used.

The findings indicate that the digital divide is driven by income and education disparities, and that eGovernment availability is driven by ICT use. It appears that proper attention to technology use by its citizens is not being given by local-level policymakers in Ecuador when they devise their eGovernment strategy.

Because the data were available at different levels of aggregation, there may be some inaccuracy of the indicators and lack of generalizability. Researchers are encouraged to test this hypotheses with data at lower levels of aggregation and from different latitudes to provide a comparative view between countries.

The paper includes implications for policymakers and local authorities regarding how the limitations on eGovernment development may be mitigated.

This study fulfils the need to assess digital development and its impact on eGovernment services at a city level in a developing country.

While information communication technologies (ICTs) are essential for social and economic development in today's emerging digital society, the problem of the digital divide persists. To close this gap, the European Union has proposed eInclusive policies. However, a general belief has emerged that this issue must be dealt with at the local level. The purpose of this paper is to report on such an effort, the Digital Local Agenda (DLA). It aims to show the DLA development in Europe and provide an example of its utilization in practice through a European initiative.

The paper explains the rationale for the DLA, and examines implementation of the DLA in pilot sites in five European countries to support civil servants in small municipalities, and empower them to develop and utilize their capacities to use ICTs and reach people most in danger of eExclusion.

Preliminary findings indicate that the DLA should be considered when looking for solutions to the persistent problem of digital exclusion in Europe. Implementing the DLA may improve public service provision and reduce the digital divide faced by disempowered groups.

Given the flexible and adaptable instruments provided for in the DLA, the paper argues that the DLA is an effective and strategic approach to translate policy frameworks into solutions that practitioners can deploy to overcome the barriers of accessing eGovernment, reduce the digital divide among marginalized groups in Europe and include all stakeholders in decision making processes.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the reasons behind the relatively poor level of implementation of e-services. To this end, records management procedures in a particular Belgian federal administration – the Belgian Federal Public Service (FPS) Employment, Labor and Social Dialogue – will be studied. Based on this concrete and relevant case study, the authors examine how cross-organizational differences in terms of the implementation speed of digital workflows can hinder the development of innovative e-services. By doing so, the authors raise relevant questions about the efficacy of digital workflows and work processes. The impact on the consultation and exchange of government records among public services and toward citizens will be examined as well.

In the context of an on-going four-year research project named HECTOR (Hybrid Electronic Curation, Transformation and Organization of Records), the study is conducted from an interdisciplinary approach, closely combining information sciences and law. Moreover, this approach also has implications on information sciences through the integration of archival principles at an early stage of conception of hybrid (paper-based and digital-based) records management strategies, instead of confining archivists to a depository and preservation role. This “integrated archival” approach is highly encouraged to anticipate best practices for the long-term preservation of records (Rousseau and Couture, 1994). Furthermore, the project adopts a bottom-up approach based on an exploratory analysis of the particularities of hybrid records management within a project called “e-PV” led by the FPS Employment, Labor and Social Dialogue to draw general conclusions that could eventually be applied to other public services. In this case study, standardized surveys were used to collect information from a manager perspective, followed by in-depth interviews with field workers.

The miscellaneous reasons for the aforementioned poor level of implementation are a continuously decreasing public budget, a strongly rooted resistance to change, the difficult but inevitable cross-organizational relations between public administrations, the legal uncertainties arising from a fast-changing digital environment and the political autonomy in the decision-making process of the different public entities. As a consequence, the substantial differences between the many public administrations lead to a lack of interoperability not only at a technical level but also at an organizational level. The many local and other non-connected initiatives that this situation has generated do not help fostering collaboration either. The absence of well-established records management policies is interpreted both as a cause and a consequence of some of the factors mentioned before.

Research is carried out within Belgium’s particularly complex administrative context, where competences are not only spread but also shared at multiple levels (national and regional) and in multiple domains (legislative and executive). Consequently, the political decision-making process is also highly complex. Nevertheless, the observations and the findings of the study are deemed to be applicable to any administrative structure (both national and international ones).

This paper outlines the constraints of an almost completely implemented eGovernment initiative which may guide other public administrations in the development of their own e-services, as well as showing them the importance of taking into account records management and archiving principles. The multidisciplinary approach represents a significant added value.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a more realistic view of innovation in local government. A key element in this is the notion of innovation value based on people, processes and technology.

The objectives are achieved by reviewing the background literature, a recent study of eGoverment achievement in the UK – VIEGO, and government assessments of innovation in both the EU and the UK. Some empirical evidence of the inherent complexity is also used.

Extant models of innovation tend to focus on the private sector values and their transfer to the public sector is questionable. This with combined with a weak approach to evaluation leaves local government vulnerable.

The political rhetoric that accompanied the introduction of eGovernment expected it to produce innovation in the way government agencies conducted themselves. It is assumed that this innovation is both “good” and inevitable. This paper challenges these simplistic assumptions and proposes a more realistic view.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between constructs of information system (IS) success in the public sector, as perceived by webmaster intermediaries, and investigate how user testing affects these relationships.

Online surveys were conducted, using questionnaires, with webmasters in Denmark and Norway who participated in the public sector web award contests organized by the government (n=1,237, n=541; response rate 44 per cent).

It was found that the frequency with which webmasters carry out user testing affects their perceptions of IS success, with those who conduct no user testing displaying the weakest associations among success variables. Findings also suggest that webmasters who do little or no user testing conveniently assume that citizen users are satisfied, while webmasters who are more knowledgeable of the user experience have a greater perception of levels of success.

The fact that the majority of webmasters do not perform any type of user testing triggers a reflection on the need for such important intermediaries to enhance their feedback channels. User involvement in assessing IS success cannot be overlooked, especially considering that user empowerment in the design, implementation, and evaluation of information systems matches a window of opportunity originating in the ongoing growth of web interactivity.

The paper is one of the few that investigates constructs of IS success in the public sector, and arguably the first one that focuses on the impacts of user testing on the relationships between constructs of IS success in a public setting.