eGov. (Book Reviews).(Douglas Holmes)

Douglas Holmes

London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing (330 pp.)

Reviewed by Keith Campbell, senior staff consultant, GFOA Research and Consulting Center, Chicago, Illinois.

Public finance professionals are often agents of institutional and technological change within government. As Internet and Web-enabled technologies become more pervasive in public sector entities and among government stakeholders, government finance officers have an important role to play in the adoption and use of these technologies. eGov gives public sector officials and those who work with governments a strong vision for the promise of e-government. It includes many cutting-edge examples of how governments around the world have successfully utilized the Internet and related technologies. The book also describes how technology has fundamentally changed government and describes the challenges it presents to both public managers and policymakers.

The book is organized into three distinct parts. Part 1 describes how the three fundamental channels of governmental relations--government to citizen, government to business, and government to government--are being improved through e-business strategies. Part 2 explains how e-government principles can be used to improve education, social services, workforce development, health administration, the environment, law enforcement, and national defense. Part 3 discusses the challenges to government posed by the Internet, including privacy concerns, Internet taxation, economic development, and universal access to emerging technology.

Pervasive throughout eGov is the notion that information should be shared among departments by (1) moving from paper to electronic information storage and improving workflow procedures, and (2) interagency cooperation. For example, Holmes advocates for the sharing of patient ...