Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Time to Prepare for Level 5 in the eGov Maturity Model

For those who are really interested in where e-Government should lead, it is time to engage in a more thoughtful period of research and debate linked with heavy transitional activities. Thus far, there has been a rush to put content and services online. This is all very useful and productive, but it should not be the end goal for egov advocates. It is time to explore the multidimensional and paradigm-changing potential of digital government. I'm not sure where this will start and where it will end, but it should include concepts such as multidimensional variability, intelligent agents, context awareness, collaborative design, virtual reality, paraverse vs. metaverse, platform independence, and semantic transactions. In the correct political environment, it would involve looking at the very structure of government itself and reengineering to meet 21st century capabilities and realities. I won't get around to discussing many of these concepts today or why they are important and relevant, but it is time to define and plan for a 5th level in the egov maturity model. The discussion is occurring more in earnest in Europe than in the U.S. currently I think.

Here are a few references for you to look at while I continue to formulate our 2009-11 strategic plan that will begin to explore some of these concepts.

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