Building a Deeper Understanding of E-Government

Electronic government is being built rapidly and without an adequate foundation in democratic theory, public administration and management, and, in general, political and policy sciences. This is not surprising, given the rapid rate of technological change in the United States and our culture’s faith in progress through technology. But the lack of a knowledge base presents a challenge to social and policy scientists. For scholars, particularly those engaged with public affairs, have an obligation to understand and influence the fundamental, far-reaching set of changes in governance brought about by information technology.

As one step toward building understanding and expert influence, in May 2002 more than 30 experts gathered at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government for a national workshop, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, to aid in the development of a broadbased, multidisciplinary research agenda to support digital government. Experts convened for the workshop ranged in background from public administration and management to related fields such as organization studies, network analysis, and information science. Government executives at the forefront of e-government added practical experience and the constraints of real-world decision making to the deliberations.

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