What is E-Government Readiness Index

E-government, as described by the World Bank, is the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) to transform government by making it more accessible, effective, and accountable to its citizens (InfoDev, 2004). E-government involves the utilization of technologies such as the Internet to improve the services, functions, and processes of governance (Heeks, 1999, 2001, 2002; Moon, 2002). Although, the Internet is vitally important for the process, it has to be pointed out here that e-government is more than establishing a Web server and hosting government sites (Sanchez, Koh, Kappelman, & Prybutok, 2003; Sharma and Gupta, 2003). In fact, Heeks (2001) describes e-government as i-governance or integrated governance, a process that permits the integration of both the processing of information by people and the use of communication technologies in achieving the objectives of governance. The United Nations Division for Public Economics and Public Administration and the American Society for Public Administration (UNDPEPA/ASPA) state “E-government is about opportunity…to provide cost effective services to the private sector…to enhance governance through improved access to accurate information and transparent, responsive, and democratic institutions” (UNDPEPA/ASPA, 2003, p. 6).