Measuring and Evaluating E-Government: Building Blocks and Recommendations for a Standardized Measuring Tool

Abstract

In this chapter we describe research we have conducted on measuring e-government in the Netherlands. This research was commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior in the Netherlands. There are many aspects and benefits of e-government which are missing in existing measuring tools and concepts. Existing benchmark studies lack a theoretical basis and merely look at the supply side of electronic government: the availability of electronic services. Actual use or the impact of electronic public services is not captured. We therefore have developed a new concept and measuring tool for e-government. This tool is being used in a benchmarking study, the results of which will be published by the end of this year.* For this reason we have only described the methodological aspects of our approach here. We believe our experience in this research project and this measuring tool can contribute to the discussion on new ways to measure and evaluate e-government from an international perspective.