Information Society Watch
A Southern Lens on the Information SocietyEvaluation of E-government systems: Project assessment vs development assessment
2006, Rahul De, eGov
E-governance has gained in considerable importance in recent years and is touted as a panacea for a host of ills in the present system. In this light, proper evaluation of such systems are essential to assess the true impact of the projects. The paper contends that current evaluation concentrates primarily on the project design and implementation, thus ignoring the larger context of development and related issues. The author presents a case for evaluation of e-government projects by using development theory as propounded by Amartya Sen. A single e-government system, the Bhoomi system of Karnataka, India, is used as a case, and it is evaluated using both a project assessment approach and a development assessment approach. The two approaches lead to different conclusions, providing insights as to the value of each. (Adapted from author)