According to the new OECD analysis released on 19 November 2009, the squeeze on public budgets in the wake of the economic crisis is driving governments to rethink their approach to online government services or 'e-government'.

As stated in the report, many countries are using the crisis to refocus and speed up their e-government programmes. Germany and Korea, for example, have increased government spending on technology as part of their stimulus packages in order to stimulate the private sector and boost the long-term competitiveness of their ICT sectors.

According to the same report Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States had increased their spending in 2009 and anticipate further increases in the years ahead. On the other hand, Austria, Hungary, Iceland and the United Kingdom cut spending on e-government in 2009 and will maintain a lower level of spending going forward. In Iceland, the e-government budget fell by 16.5% in 2009 and is expected to fall a further 18% in 2010.

The crisis has led governments to re-prioritise their e-government strategies. The US, for example, is using technology and the Internet to enable people to see more quickly and directly where taxpayers' money is being spent as part of the stimulus package. Korea and the United Kingdom also cited e-government as part of a broader initiative to improve transparency.

"The challenge for governments will be to boost the take-up of e-government services," said OECD Deputy Secretary-General Aart de Geus at the 5th Ministerial EU Conference, in Malmö, Sweden. "Despite massive investment over the past decade, there remains a large gap between governments' ambitions and results. Overcoming this will be vital to achieving the cost-savings and improved quality of public services that e-government can deliver."

Further information:

• Original source - Organisation for the Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Website
• OECD's work on e-government
• Related ePractice Library item, The Impact of Financial and Economic Crisis on eGov in OECD countries