Affiliations: [a] Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas,
Mexico Carretera Mexico-Toluca No. 3655, Col. Lomas de Santa Fe, Mexico,
D.F., 01210, Mexico. Tel.: +52 (55) 5727 9800, Ext. 2311; Fax: +52 (55) 5727
9873; E-mail: joseramon.gil@cide.edu
| School of Governance, Utrecht University, The Netherlands | Department of Statistics, Trinity College, Ireland | Department of Public Administration, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract: Information technologies (IT) can now be considered one of the key
components of government administrative reform. The potential is even greater
when working across organizational boundaries. Unfortunately, inter-agency
collaboration appears to face an even greater number of challenges than similar
IT initiatives within a single organization. The challenges include data and
technological incompatibility, the lack of institutional incentives to
collaborate, and the politics and power struggles around a pervasive silo
structure in most governments, among many others. This paper argues that there
are clear trends towards greater inter-organizational collaboration,
information sharing, and integration, which could lead, in the near future, to
what might be called a smart State. The paper starts discussing the promises
and challenges that have already been identified for government information
sharing and integration initiatives. Then it describes two trends in terms of
inter-organizational collaboration and information technologies in government
settings. The paper ends by providing reflections about the technical and
political feasibility, as well as the social desirability, of an integrated
virtual State in which the executive, legislative, and judicial
branches are actively collaborating and sharing
information through the use of advanced information technologies, sophisticated
coordination mechanisms, shared physical infrastructure, and, potentially, new
organizational and institutional arrangements.
Keywords: Smart State, electronic government, information integration, smart government, virtual state, collaboration, Government 2.0, Government 3.0, information sharing, smart city, service integration
