THE COSTS OF GOVERNMENT THIRST FOR INFORMATION

Governments often seek information that will never be converted into knowledge or understanding, and in doing so, cost their constituents a lot of resources.

This study provides suggestions on measuring costs and benefits to constituents of use of e-government portals. The paper's examples are taken from U.S. experience, but the approach and methods should be generally applicable.

Citizen Advantage : Enhancing Economic Competitiveness Through e-Government
Abstract: “E-government isn't usually the first thing that comes to politician's minds when they're debating what government can do to enhance constituent value, make compliance with government rules and regulations easier, or create a favorable business climate. However, by minimizing the amount of time and effort it takes to comply with government red tape and complete government transactions, e-government can have a positive impact on both business productivity and people's quality of life. This study introduces a new model of Return on Investment (ROI), which we call Citizen Advantage. By measuring the benefits to businesses and citizens – as well as those to government – it provides decision makers with a fuller picture of the costs and benefits associated with IT investments.” By WILLIAM D. EGGERS, Deloitte Research Public Sector Study, 2003.


Consultant News provides an article based on the Deloitte approach:

Note also:

BusinessLaw.Gov
BusinessLaw.gov is an online resource guide designed to provide legal and regulatory information to America's small businesses. It has more than 20,000 links to federal, state, local and legal organizations throughout the United States and was put together in a combined public and academic effort. It is described in this article by Jason Miller in Government Computer News. The site was cited in the Consultant News article above as saving "US businesses about $526 million a year by helping them find, understand and comply with regulations."