Mohamed Shareef

A readiness assessment framework for e-government planning: design and application

The availability of information on electronic government readiness is a critical factor in developing effective e-government policies and strategies. Although there are many readiness assessment instruments in the public domain, there are no clear guidelines on how these instruments can be reused as frameworks in carrying out assessment in specific contexts, such as in e-government planning or implementation. The design of readiness assessment frameworks requires clear specification of the assessment purpose and the design of concrete instruments explicitly based on the information requirements. Usually, these information needs are modular and can be satisfied by any instrument composed from the required set of assessment components. In this paper, we examine the requirements for a readiness assessment framework to support e-government planning and propose an assessment framework consisting of a set of assessment perspectives. Each of these perspectives is mapped to a corresponding set of concrete assessment components (partly derived from other major e-government assessment frameworks) satisfying the information requirements of these perspectives. The componentized framework allows for easy substitution or specialization of specific components to suit different contexts or assessment scenarios. As an example, we show how this framework can be used for developing a readiness assessment instrument to support e-government planning in Maldives.

E-government: case study of a referendum in Maldives

In this paper we describe the concepts of government, governance, reform, e-Government and development of e-Government. We present a case of a referendum in Maldives and the use of ICT by the Office of the Commissioner of Elections (OCE). We found that the OCE was in the initial stages, of e-Government development which was exemplified by publishing of information and simple communication. We noted that the lack of human and financial resources and limitations of national ICT infrastructure were the main challenges in the development of e-Government for OCE. We also noted that the currently e-Government project to provide a shared services platform and national connectivity has the potential to help the country leap frog through the stages of e-Government development. The opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of NCIT, OCE or the Government of Maldives.

Government on the web: a comparison of United Kingdom to the Maldives

This paper compares the status of w-government in the UK to the Maldives, by focusing specifically on central government provisions on the Web. It explores how online government services have evolved in the UK to reach the current status and provides a snapshot view of online provisions in Maldives. This paper is based on finding from a comprehensive literature review, which focused on research reports measuring progress by UK Government in delivering public services online. The state of Maldivian Governments web services was measured using a website assessment survey and user experiments. Compared to the UK, the Maldivian Government was discovered to be far behind in its online presence, with only two thirds of the central government agencies online, providing between 31 to 40 percent of the features present in UK government websites. In addition, users found it difficult to navigate and find information on the Maldivian government websites. Based on these findings, a number of recommendations are made for the development of Maldives Government on the Web.

Exploring Digital Divide in the Maldives

The central role of ICT in development and its ethical implications have kept the longstanding discussions of the Digital Divide active in the international development and research communities, with new perspectives on how to measure and interpret this inequality. In this paper, we examine the nature of the Digital Divide in the Maldives – between the nation’s capital and the Atolls, between the Atolls and across the nation, and the evolution of these divides over time. In order to inform more effective policy interventions, we also attempt at identifying clusters within the country that share similar Digital Divide concerns. The results show significant disparities in the penetration of digital technologies. While we can observe the narrowing of the Digital Divide over time, the divide remains significant between the capital and the rest of the nation. Finally, we discuss the implications of these results to ICT development of Small Island Developing States.