Realizing the Promise: Government Information Systems and the Fourth Generation of Information Technology

Interoperability is more than “digital plumbing”—making sure that computers talk so that bits of data flow properly. Fundamentally, interoperability is people talking and sharing information. Sharing information reduces the “paperwork burden”on the citizen, streamlines work processes, and enriches the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policy. Building on prior theory and research, this research has developed empirically derived, practical findings and recommendations to support thedevelopment of appropriate interoperable systems.     

Joining-Up Government in the UK: Towards Public Services for an Information Age

The reform of public services has preoccupied managers for several decades. Nevertheless, it is my contention that the present reform agenda has some plausible claims to be different from much that went before. The vision that has come to the fore in the Australian federal government's Clients First Program (Information Technology Review Group 1995), in the Clinton/Gore administration's Access America report (Government IT Services 1997) andthe recent British White Paper, Modernising Government (Cabinet Office 1999) not only promotes the 'client orientation' in public administration, but also reflects a belief in the crucial contribution to be made by information and communication technologies (ICTs). This is a vision for an information age (POST 1998). It is being driven by the conviction that public management has too often been modelled on business 'as it was in the age of US Steel, not the age of Microsoft, Apple, Wal-Mart and Federal Express' (Gore 1993:xiii).     

Symposium: Exporting Government Services

To explore the prospects for exporting government services, guest symposium editor RFI Smith invites three agencies to comment on their experience. This overview stresses the need to specify carefully costs and benefits in taking operations offshore — both in strict financial terms and in dealing with perception and accountability issues.
The prospects for exporting public sector skills and services are at the same time tantalising and frustrating. After initial enthusiasm in the 1970s and 1980s, the management of export programs has turned out to be complex, demanding and not without controversy. Such programs have challenged their proponents to be at once sophisticated in business management, rigorous and transparent in public accountability, and sensitive to the capabilities and ambitions of private sector providers of similar services. Further, after approximately 10 to 20 years of experience in different Australian jurisdictions, aims, methods and estimates of results remain diverse.     

Breaking the Constitutional Silence: the Public Services Industry and Government

Analysis of constitutional arrangements has been too narrow in the past, confined to examination of explicitly governmental arrangements. But corporate enterprises perform such important public functions, especially in the age of outsourcing, that they need to be incorporated into the constitution. The article develops this argument and proposes a framework for such incorporation.     

Analyzing the Contracting-Out of Government Services: Relevant Cost-Benefit Considerations

This article reviews various approaches to analyzing the contracting-out decision and distills a set of cost/benefit considerations which each analysis must address in order to properly ascertain whether there is any advantage to contracting out as compared to performing the work in-house. The author describes an approach to analyzing the contracting-out decision that begins with an unambiguous, comprehensive statement of service goals to facilitate the measurement of outcomes and is followed by an examination of the other considerations on the cost side of the equation which are basic to the proper measurement of all direct costs, indirect costs, and social costs.     

Varieties of Participation in Public Services: The Who, When, and What of Coproduction

Despite an international resurgence of interest in coproduction, confusion about the concept remains. This article attempts to make sense of the disparate literature and clarify the concept of coproduction in public administration. Based on some definitional distinctions and considerations about who is involved in coproduction, when in the service cycle it occurs, and what is generated in the process, the article offers and develops a typology of coproduction that includes three levels (individual, group, collective) and four phases (commissioning, design, delivery, assessment). The levels, phases, and typology as a whole are illustrated with several examples. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for research and practice.     

Efficiency Measurement in Australian Local Government: The Case of New South Wales Municipal Water Services

Australian local government has experienced a series of reforms directed at increasing economic efficiency. An important element in the reform program has been the development of a number of partial indicators of local government service delivery in the states and territories. This paper attempts to augment this literature on performance measurement in Australian local government by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) with holistic indices of allocative and technical efficiency in New South Wales (NSW) municipal water services. It also seeks to incorporate qualitative indicators into efficiency measures. “Best-practice” councils are identified and the underlying causes of municipal water service efficiency are analyzed.     

Measuring Municipal Borrowing Costs: How Missing Cost Information Biases Interest Rate Calculations

A substantial literature exists on federal tax expenditures, but almost no empirical research has been done on state tax expenditures. This article examines Michigan tax expenditures, with an emphasis on comparison to findings from the federal level. Three major topics are addressed: (1) allocation of resources by policy area, (2) distribution of tax expenditure benefits by income class, and (3) tax expenditure growth over time. Only the findings on resource allocation are consistent with findings from the federal level, suggesting that simple theories may be insufficient to systematically describe tax expenditures.     

Local Government Procurement of CPA Audit Services: The Role of the States

Recent studies have raised serious concerns about the quality of governmental audits by independent CPAs. Part of the problem is that many governmental units do not use effective audit procurement procedures. This article examines current state guidelines for the procurement of CPA audit services by local governments and recommends an expansion of the states' role in this area.     

政务信息不对称的成因、后果及治理措施

政务信息在行政管理的过程中常以不对称的状态分布,这种现象的产生既有主观方面的原困,也有客观方面的原因。政务信息的不对称导致了腐败的产生,增加了行政成本,降低了行政效率,不利于行政决策的科学化和社会主义民主政治建设。因此本文运用信息不对称理论对政务信息传播和政务信息公开问题进行了研究,提出了治理政务信息不对称问题的措施。     

完善基层政府公共服务供给体系

基层政府是＂小政府,大社会＂,＂小政府,大服务＂,＂小政府,大保障＂。我国基层政府公共服务供给体系直接影响着社会公共利益的实现、人民生活水平的提高、基层政府的形象和国际声誉。我国部分基层政府公共服务供给体系还较薄弱,主要表现在：公共服务意识淡薄化、公共服务主体单一化、公共服务职能抽象化、公共服务形式逐利化、公共服务结构失衡化、公共服务过程形式化、公共服务导向扭曲化、公共服务重心偏离化、公共服务结果低效化。因此,我们必须以科学发展观为指导,进一步完善基层政府公共服务供给体系,包括：树立公共服务理念;强化公共服务职能;创新公共服务体制;加大公共服务投入;完善公共服务政策;提升公共服务质量。     

Localism in Practice: Investigating Citizen Participation and Good Governance in Local Government Standards of Conduct

This article examines how, against a background of localism endorsed by the 2010 coalition government in the United Kingdom, a key component of local integrity and governance was fundamentally altered. The Localism Act 2011 abolished the English local integrity framework, which relied on the participation of local citizens in the policy making and implementation of local government standards of conduct. The article utilizes Henrik Bang's concepts of “expert citizen” and “everyday maker” to explore citizen participation in local standards committees. Using a case study approach, the article demonstrates how standards committees shaped processes and practices in the local governance of integrity. The authors argue that standards committees were crucial in promoting local participation and enhancing good governance.     

Listening to the Government: How Information Shapes Responsibility Attributions

Assigning credit and blame in systems of multilevel government, such as federal states, requires information. This paper examines how voters respond to information about policy outcomes when attributing responsibility to multiple levels of government in a European context. Using an experimental design, we show that the responsibility attributions of British voters are affected by perceptual biases, notably their feelings about the government and the European Union (EU). But interestingly, we also find that voters, regardless of their predispositions, are only responsive to information they receive from their national government, whereas they ignore information provided by EU officials. These findings have implications not only for our understanding of attribution in systems of multiple levels of government, but also for how voters use information selectively depending on the credibility of the source.     

WTO与我国政府信息公开

随着经济和社会的发展,要求我国政府信息公开不仅体现了宪法赋予公民的知情权的要求,而且更是适应入世后世贸规则对政府行为透明度的要求。分析我国政府信息公开的状况及WTO规则对我国政府透明度提出的新要求,并提出我国建立政府信息公开制度要解决的几个问题,极具现实意义。     

北京市政府购买公共服务的实践探索与问题研究

随着我国社会公共需求全面增长以及需求日益多样化,如何创新公共服务供给模式、提高公共服务质量是当下我国地方政府需要应对的巨大挑战。相比发达国家我国公共服务购买开始的较晚且发展缓慢,取得了一些实践成果,同时也出现了一系列突出问题。以北京市政府购买公共服务的实践探索为例,通过探析其在发展中存在的问题并提出完善对策,能够为地方政府推进公共服务购买提供经验借鉴,有助于推动我国社会组织以及公共服务购买市场的健康成长。