They are often described as natural enemies. In one corner stands the government: overweight, slow moving, and hobbled by antiquated procedures and regulations. In the other stands the Internet: quick, nimble, and full of tricks.
The Internet revolution, which has shaken the private sector to its core, is now starting to rattle the vast world of public services. At first blush, it would seem as if bureaucracies could ignore the threat. After all, they don’t “compete” with other services in the way that private companies do; their “customers” generally have no option but to stand in line and wait. In theory, then, public bureaucracies have no incentive to consider how the Internet might make their services more convenient and accessible.
In fact, however, forward-looking bureaucracies around the world are embracing the Internet, in some cases more rapidly than the private sector. In Britain, for example, the government is about to launch a World Wide Web portal called UK Online that will offer a single point of access to public services. By 2005, the government intends to have 100 percent of its public services on the portal—meaning that citizens should be able to conduct virtually all official transactions on-line. In Singapore, a year-old portal known as eCitizen lets users file a police report or apply to rent a government-owned apartment, among dozens of other things.
The most basic justification for these initiatives is this: As people become accustomed to the ever-increasing value and convenience of services in the private sector, they become more impatient with the absence of such standards in government. As a result, some politicians are seeing value in getting better performance from the public sector. A government that can ease the “bureaucratic burden” of its citizens is likely to do well in the next election.
Real improvement in public services of course, requires much more than an attractive web site. Indeed, the Internet is but a symptom of much deeper changes taking place in some bureaucracies. Look in the next issue of IDBAmérica for an in-depth look at how two countries—Chile and Uruguay—are attempting to turn bureaucrats into entrepreneurs.