E-Government Development in Serbia: Challenges, Issues, and Opportunities

E-Government Development in Serbia: Challenges, Issues, and Opportunities

Sanja Bogdanovic-Dinic, Nataša Veljkovic, Leonid Stoimenov
Copyright: © 2013 |Pages: 26
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-4090-0.ch012
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Abstract

Attaining highly efficient e-Government in developing countries is a true challenge. These countries are struggling with many internal issues that are preventing them from providing budgetary resources for investing in ICT infrastructure, staff education, developing strategies, and enacting laws and policies. However, realizing the benefits that e-Government can bring, both to citizens and administration, these countries are working hard towards implementing e-Government and are achieving great results. As one of the developing countries, Serbia has been struggling for years with e-Government ideas. It started with humble implementations nearly ten years ago by publishing only a few informational services, but quickly made significant progress. The efforts made are worthy of recognition while experience gained is of considerable importance not only for Serbia’s further advances in this area but also for all other developing countries as an example and guidance to solving similar problems. This chapter provides an overview of the current state and history of e-Government development in Serbia and presents important issues and challenges influencing Serbian adoption of e-Government, which can be recognized in other developing countries as well. The chapter also addresses other issues and challenges that are now facing developed Governments, but which are on the way to developing nations as well. Even though these countries are not currently setting their focus on them, they should not be ignored nor neglected—indeed these should be included in developmental plans and strategies in order to successfully overcome them when the time comes.
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Introduction

The importance of e-Government has been increasing during the last few decades. With the emergence of Internet and high achievements in processing capacity over the 1990s, following the radical and innovative technology advances in 2000s, a comfortable environment for ICT usage has been created. The term “e-Government” was introduced in the late 1990s where part “e” of the term implied technology driven government (Office of the Vice President, 1997; Grönlund & Horan, 2004). The invention of the term was influenced by the Internet and ICT driven communications. However, the concept of using IT in government places its roots long before the Internet revolution. Kreamer (1977) speaks about “faith in technology” that will extend local governments in a sense of technology driven data transfers, implying technology usage within government for the purposes of internal business operations. Modern “technology driven government” concept is more citizen oriented and is focusing on technology usage for implementing and deploying external services that will enable citizens to accomplish administrative work, which would normally require addressing public offices, without leaving their home or work place. Since the first appearance of the initiative of introducing IT in government until today, the concept has drastically evolved from a simple idea to a whole e-Gov field of practice that has its goals, purpose, is legally arranged and represents a key feature that every Government strives to.

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