New Tool to Help Governments Measure E-Gov Progress

State and local governments have a new tool for evaluating and guiding their progress toward electronic government.

The National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council Dec. 13 released a self-assessment questionnaire that government officials can use to determine areas of strengths and weaknesses in their efforts to move services and operations online.

The questionnaire, "E-Government Readiness Quiz," measures progress in five categories: leadership, legal, governance, competency and technology. The government organization receives an overall score based on its responses to questions in each category.

The quiz could be used by any government official responsible for budgetary or funding aspects related to e-government, according to NECCC board members. These officials might be a state legislator on a budget committee, a governor's chief of staff or a chief information officer of a large city or county.

For technology companies, the report "will provide insight on where governments are likely to go with e-government," said Bill Kilmartin, a vice president of American Management Systems Inc., Fairfax, Va., and affiliate member of NECCC.

Connecticut, Nevada and Texas have used the checklist on a trial basis, said the board. Those states on average scored 80 points out of a possible 160, said NECCC.

"The brilliance of the self-assessment quiz is its simplicity," Kilmartin said.

NECCC, an alliance of eight national state government and industry associations dedicated to the advancement of electronic government within the states, released the readiness quiz at its annual conference in Las Vegas. The quiz was contained in a larger report, "E-Government Strategic Planning: A White Paper."