In this article, the authors analyze the Government On-line (GOL) initiative launched by the federal government of Canada in the winter 2000. The primary objective of GOL is to allow Canadians and non-Canadians to access public information and deal with the federal government via a single Web portal. The authors argue that GOL is not a simple technological change and that its designers will have to deal with many organizational issues and challenges in order for the project to succeed. The most important issues are: integration of services difficulties, necessary structural changes, insuring performance and accountability, organizational identity issues, security and human resources skills.
References
1.
Accenture (2000) Insights for Government Executives 2(Jun.), URL: http://www.ac.com/services/government/gove_egov.html
2.
Accenture (2001) ‘Egovernment Leadership-Rhetoric vs Reality-Closing the Gap’, URL: http://www.ac.com/services/government/gove_egov.html
3.
Accenture (2002) eGovernment Leadership: Realizing the Vision. Ottawa: Accenture .
4.
Auditor-General (2000) Rapport du Vérificateur général du Canada à la Chambre des communes. Chapitre 9 — La rationalisation du régime de gestion des ressources humaines: une étude de l’évolution des rôles et responsabilités, Ottawa .
5.
Bent, Stephen , Kernaghan, Kenneth and Marson, D. Brian (1999) Les guichets uniques: innovations et bonnes pratiques. Ottawa: Réseau du service axé sur les citoyens, Canadian Management Centre .
6.
Brown, David (1997) ‘New Information Technologies in Canadian Public Administration’, in M. Charih and A. Daniels (eds) New Public Management and Canadian Public Administration. Ottawa: The Institute of Public Administration of Canada .
7.
Canadian Centre for Management Development (1998) Les Citoyens d’abord. Ottawa: Canadian Management Centre .
8.
Centre for Collaborative Government (2000a) Collaborative Government in the Post-industrial Age: Five Discussion Pieces — Changing Government. Vol. 1. Ottawa: Centre for Collaborative Government .
9.
Centre for Collaborative Government (2000b) ‘Crossing Boundaries: Management, Governance and the New Technology’, Internal document. Ottawa: Centre for Collaborative Government .
10.
Centre for Collaborative Government (2001) Opening the E-government File: Governing in the 21st Century. Ottawa: Centre for Collaborative Government .
11.
Charih, M. and Daniels, A. (1997) Canadian Public Administration and New Public Management. Toronto: Institute of Public Administration of Canada .
12.
D’Auray, Michelle (2000) GOL: Servir les Canadiens et les Canadiennes dans un monde numérique.Ottawa: Dirigeante principale de l’information, Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada .
13.
Ford, R. and Zussman, D. (1997) Alternative Service Delivery: Sharing Governance in Canada. KPMG and IPAC .
14.
G-8 Government On-line Projects (1997) ‘Information Sharing and Re-use for Improved Government Services: Vision, World Trends, and Solutions’, URL: http://www.open.gov.uk/govoline/infshar5.htm.
15.
Government of Canada (1994a) ‘Plan directeur pour le renouvellement des services governmentaux à l’aide des technologies de l’information’, URL: http://www.intergov.gc.ca/docs/fed/blueprint/indexf.html.
16.
Government of Canada (1994b) ‘The People Side of Re-Engineering’. Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada , URL: http://tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/ciopubs/TB
17.
Government of Canada (2000a) A Framework for Government On-line: Tier Two Guidelines. Bureau de gestion du Projet de Government On-line, Direction du dirigeant principal de l’information, Secrétariat du Conseil du Trésor du Canada, Ottawa .
18.
Government of Canada (2000b) Enjeux et défis de communication auprès des Canadiens et des Canadiennes peu alphabétisés. Ottawa: Canadian Information Office .
19.
Harvard Policy Group on Network-enabled Services and Government (2000) Eight Imperatives for Leaders in a Networked World.Cambridge, MA: John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University .
20.
Human Resources Council (2000) Proposed Vision For HR Management: 2010 — Results of Deliberations and Consultations by the Human Resources Council, 25 October version. Ottawa: Human Resources Council .
21.
Kernaghan, K. , Marson, B. and Borins, S. (2000) The New Public Organization.Toronto: The Institute of Public Administration of Canada .
22.
Ontario Public Service Restructuring Secretariat (2000) Transforming Public Service for the 21st Century. Toronto: Queen’s Printer .
23.
Pratt, M.G. and Foreman, P.O. (2000) ‘ Classifying Managerial Responses to Multiple Organizational Identities ’, Academy of Management Review, 25(1): 18–42 .
24.
Seidle, Leslie F. (1995) Rethinking the Delivery of Public Services to Citizens, Montréal: Institut de recherche en politiques publiques .
