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INTRODUCTION

The fast pace of technological innovation is contributing to major changes in governments, societies, and the world economy. Innovations like web 2.0 and semantic web, cloud and grid computing, pervasive broadband access and ubiquitous services, software as service, global digital identity and others have reached a level of impact that goes well beyond the use of computers and the Internet. In particular, the impact of technological innovation on government has been profound, with increased collaboration between agencies to deliver seamless services, increased participation of citizens in policy- and decision-making, delivery of location-aware public services, and new paradigms like connected governance, ubiquitous and ambient public services, knowledge-based administration, participatory budgeting, government chief information officers, and local electronic governance, among others.

The International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV) series focuses on the use of technology to transform relationships between government and citizens, businesses, civil society and other arms of government (Electronic Governance). The Series looks beyond the traditional focus on technology-enabled transformation in government (Electronic Government), towards establishing foundations for good governance and for sustainable national development.

The Series, established by the Electronic Governance Programme at UNU-IIST in 2007, aims to bring together practitioners, developers and researchers from government, academia, industry, non-governmental organizations and UN organizations to share the latest in theory and practice of Electronic Governance. Following its first three editions in Macao (ICEGOV2007), Cairo (ICEGOV2008) and Bogota (ICEGOV2009), ICEGOV established its identity as:

  • A Global Conference - ICEGOV consistently attracts submissions from more than 45 countries, including over 60% representation from developing and transition countries.
  • A Multi-Stakeholder Conference - ICEGOV is well attended by all major stakeholders of technology-enabled innovation in government: government, academia, industry and NGOs.
  • A Networking Conference - ICEGOV brings participation from across thematic, national, and development borders, with common interests in transformational use of technology in government.
  • A Research and Practice Conference - ICEGOV includes a healthy balance of research-, practice- and solution-related work - looking at technology, at the processes surrounding its implementation and management, or at the wider context of Electronic Governance.
  • A Capacity Building Conference - ICEGOV features a rich program of invited talks, invited sessions, tutorials, workshops, panel discussions, posters, demos, etc. all taught, moderated or organized by leading researchers and practitioners in the area.
  • An International Development Conference - The focus on Electronic Governance helps consider how government investments in technology, resulting in expected social and economic benefits, contribute to the fulfillment of the national development goals.
  • A UN Conference - With international development focus, with United Nations University as the founder of and the main force behind its editions, and with several UN organizations being actively involved, ICEGOV exhibits a strong UN character.

In addition, ICEGOV promotes close interactions between government, academia, industry and NGO stakeholders so that each group can contribute to as well as benefit from the interactions with others:

  • The stakeholders from government can share the knowledge of concrete initiatives as well as lessons learnt and challenges faced when carrying them out. In return, they can learn about the latest research results, and how they are implemented by industry, non-governmental organizations and other governments to address the challenges they face.
  • The stakeholders from academia can share the models, theories and frameworks which extend the understanding of Electronic Governance and upon which concrete solutions can be built. In return, they can learn about concrete challenges faced by governments, gain access to concrete cases, and identify opportunities to implement and deploy research prototypes.
  • The stakeholders from industry and NGOs can share technological and socio-organizational solutions to be used in government practice. In return, they can learn about the challenges faced by governments, and the latest research findings available for developing solutions.