WP1: Socio-economic, Demographic and Cultural Overview.
WP1 will characterize the low socioeconomic status groups (LSGs) and define the relations between governance in general and e-Government in particular and LSGs. This will be explored by a series of indicators derived from information concerning attitudes, participation and usage of e-Government services by those groups. Previous and current studies related to e-Government with special focus on LSGs will be reviewed. A comparative analysis will allow to systemize and to generalize the data collected concerning these groups. Hence, WP1 will display a comparative report, which will characterize the LSGs by analyzing demographic and socio-economic data as well as cultural aspects and other relevant information.
WP2: Policy Toolbox.
WP2 will investigate the status of e-Government - strategies and implementations - in the participating countries as well as a few selected countries (with specific ideas and/or results), particularly concentrating on policies concerning LSGs.
Furthermore, WP2 will design and establish a web-based interactive repertoire on e-Government tools (from opinion polls, elections, citizen juries to web based services). The web-based, interactive toolbox will become a tool in itself for qualitative process monitoring. Central task of the interactive toolbox is achieving a better knowledge management and distribution of e-Government tools suitable for LSGs.
WP3: Field Surveys on Low Socioeconomic Status groups.
The objective of WP3 is to gather information on LSG citizens’ needs, attitudes and expectations with regard to e-government and in doing this to also test e-government approaches and tools. A structured questionnaire will be designed and personal interviews will be carried out among decision makers in governments and local authorities as well as among representative key players representing the targeted population in the participating countries. In addition, focus groups with the targeted population will be conducted to analyze in-depth needs, attitudes and readiness for e-Government usage.
WP4: Foresight Analysis.
Main objective of WP4 is to identify emerging technologies with potential impact on innovative e-Government and to evaluate their impact and prospects by implementing a foresight process. A wide range of emerging technology areas will be scanned. Technological advancements that may affect e-Government are anticipated in (but are not limited to) so-called “ambient intelligence” (AmI), multi-channel/multimodal internet access (non-PC based), and more. After the broad initial screening, specific technologies will be identified that are bound to influence e-inclusion in general and in particular the usage of future e-Government services by LSGs. The findings of the foresight study will serve as a significant contribution to the project outcomes, and in particular will be a basis to policy recommendations with regard to future R&D efforts addressing the specific needs of LSGs.
WP5: Social and Cultural Barriers and Incentives for e-Government – Survey Evaluation and Cross-cultural Analysis.
The focus of Work Package 5 is on social and cultural barriers and incentives for e-Government. It has three overall objectives: The first objective is to analyse the data obtained by the WP3 survey in more detail. Special attention is paid to needs, attitudes and readiness of LSGs with regard to e-Government. A critical question to be discussed in this context is the perception of e-Government by the target group(s) (Is e-Government seen as something positive that creates welfare or are distrust and negative experiences dominating?). The second objective is to identify barriers and incentives for increasing awareness, participation and usage with regard to e-Government. The third objective is a cross cultural analysis which is based on all available information gathered during the project so far (WP 1, WP 2 and WP 3). The aim is to investigate if a common approach to e-Government with regard to LSGs is possible in Europe. In this case the regional diversities which may prevent a common approach and call for tailor made solutions instead are a critical issue.
WP6: Recommendation for future policy and research priorities for the EU.
Policy analysis processes include 4 phases: data integration and problem definition, policy design, policy formulation, and policy evaluation. The first phase consists of integrating all relevant data and definition of the problem including identification of the major barriers for participation in e-Government. The second phase (policy design) includes several activities, such as researching options to eliminate barriers, defining policy attributes that may be desirable to LSGs, searching for policy alternatives, analyzing and ranking alternatives. In the next phase, policy formulation takes place.
WP7: Dissemination and exploitation
The project findings and results will be disseminated to broad targeted populations, through the project website, national or international conferences/workshops, and professional publications. For exploitation of results, the project's outputs will be distributed among governmental ministries, local authorities and relevant organizations.
