Understanding 'development' from the perspective of E-government, digital divide and ICT4D literature: A research agenda

This paper asserts that considering the growing importance and significance of e-Government initiatives around the world and the increasing priority it has on governments' agendas and investment costs, a more comprehensive understanding of 'development' is needed to complement what we already know about e-Government initiatives. This submission makes the case for why the issue of 'development' should be studied in more detail in e-Government research and aims to clarify the conceptualization and understanding of 'development' as it pertains to the use of ICTs in the digital government domain, drawing upon literature in two related research domains: Digital Divide and ICT for Development (ICT4D). E-Government research currently cuts short at understanding factors that affect the adoption and implementation of e-Government initiatives and tends to converse around the concept of 'development' at a general level. The literature in Digital Divide and ICT4D overcomes some of the perceived shortcomings of the e-Government literature, largely the issue of development in relation to citizens and the importance of considering context in more detail. By undertaking research using a case study approach within the UK and Tanzania, the proposed study will help to understand the impact of e-Government initiatives on citizens' development and what this actually means over a longer period of time beyond the implementation stage. Such understanding is important to ensure that the very goals of e-Government initiatives are realised in relation to the context in which initiatives are deployed. By understanding from the e-Government perspective what development equates to and how it could possibly be measured can help in the design and rollout of future initiatives and can be considered to be positive steps towards achieving the UN's Millennium Development Goals.