Geo-information infrastructures (GII) are widely promoted as the geographic realm of public electronic governance (e-governance). Although GIIs have been hailed as a resounding success, researchers and others seem to agree that 85% of e-governance initiatives in developing countries are either a complete or partial failure. So it is pertinent to challenge the use of geo-ICT in public-governance processes. We asked this month’s interviewees to reflect on this and received in return clarification on the open issues.
Much effort has been invested over the past decade in establishing geo-information infrastructures (GII) at (inter-)national, regional and local level to support processes of governance. What are your comments on the present status, especially in developing countries?
That is an easy question, but a difficult one to answer. Governance refers to the processes, rules and rationality that affect the way in which power is exercised at different levels of jurisdiction, particularly regarding openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness and coherence. Governance processes include inter-governmental processes, public-policy formulation, and provision of relevant information services to citizens; it is well known that these processes include a geographic component. When governance is mediated by flexible information infrastructures it becomes electronic governance (e-governance). GII, properly embedded within the overall information infrastructure, is assumed to be crucial for improved electronic governance. Building a geo-information infrastructure in such a context is a Herculean task. Despite the failures of GII initiatives in the developing world to provide citizens with relevant geo-information services, some GIIs have been hailed as a resounding success. However, researchers and leading development officers seem to agree that 85% of e-governance initiatives in developing countries are either a complete or a partial failure.
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