In a nutshell:

eGovernment has primarily been considered as a smart means to achieve economical benefits and reduce the administrative burden. Higher-order objectives of eGovernment have however begun to emerge such as government transformation, yielding to more transparency and accountability.

eGovernment is considered a key driver for economic and social growth, as well as a means to establish transparent policy making and public transactions.

In recent years, many comprehensive efforts have been made in eGovernment. In particular, many governments have worked to increase openness and transparency in their actions, by using ICTs as cost-effective and convenient means to promote openness and transparency, while reducing corruption and enabling freedom of information.

This event will aim to address the subject of transparency and openness of governments relating to their interaction with citizens. Emerging technologies and services currently allow users to trace their personal data stored by public administrations. Technology acts as an enabler for users who can check who accesses their administrative files thus giving them an insight in the process of decision making; one of the most demanded eGovernment services.

Some Member States have set transparency targets. The EU eGovernment Action Plan states that Member States will work towards setting voluntary transparency targets at EU level and exchange experiences.

This event will also contribute towards these aims. Redesigning governance and promoting public understanding and participation in government activities will be among the potential topics of the event. Presentations that aim to showcase specific good eGovernment practices promoting greater government accountability and transparency, and electronic services that provide cost-effective means are also welcome. Potential benefits and barriers to ICT-enabled transparency efforts will also be discussed The presentations will focus on practical examples and case studies of implemented transparency practices and the impact of current experiences in the field of eGovernment and citizen life.

Apart from these topics, this event is intended to raise awareness, emphasise the crucial role of good governance and multi-stakeholder partnerships in the advancement and further potential of ICT development.

This event is supported by the European Commission and will be held in Brussels, Avenue de Beaulieu 25, on 8 December 2011.

Event topics:

Topics of interest that may be considered, but not limited to are:

• Transparency and openness: how can they be measured?
• Redesigning governance to foster transparency and openness
• Public understanding and participation in governance activities
• Good eGovernment practices against corruption
• eGovernment as a cost-effective means to promote openness and transparency
• Examples of transparent procurement processes monitored by the public
• Potential barriers to ICT-enabled transparency efforts
• Initiatives building trust in eGovernment
• Use of ICT to create a sustained culture of transparency

Speakers/Audience:

This is an open event intended for policy-makers and practitioners interested in “Transparency and Openness” at European, national and local levels and anyone interested in the area of public administrations as well as businesses and/or citizens who interact with them: eGovernment project implementers; stakeholders in FP6 and FP7 research projects; researchers; businesses; European Commission officers; ePractice members etc.

Registration:

To register for this event, please create an ePractice account if you are not a current member. Subsequently, kindly login and once you are in the workshop announcement page, simply click on the yellow button that reads ‘Participate in this event’ to activate your registration. ePractice members can simply login and click on the same page as described above.

Submission of summaries/PPT slides:

To be considered for a speaker placement for this event, kindly submit a summary of one page and three PPT slides of your intended presentation to events@eurodyn.com.
Regarding your summary, please download and complete the "Proposal form" that may be found in the ‘presentation and documents’ section below. Final presentations should not exceed 6 power point slides and should be concise and factual.

Deadlines to remember:

• Submission of summaries/ presentations: 27 October 2011
• Speaker confirmation: 11 November 2011 
• Submission of final presentations: 18 November 2011
• Workshop date: 8 December 2011 
• Publication of workshop proceedings: End of December 2011 

Networking:

This event is all about networking. A few selected speakers will set the scene with a 15 minute presentation and the rest of the programme will be dedicated to roundtable discussions and networking purposes.

Contact:

Please, direct all queries to the above events@eurodyn.com. The event officers will assist you promptly.