E-Governance and Government On-line in Canada: Partnerships, People and Prospects

The objective of this paper is to examine the capacity of the Canadian federal government to effectively harness information technology (IT) as an enabling force in its efforts to meet the present and emerging challenges of a digital age. The main thesis of this paper is that this necessary transformation in public sector governance and accountability is likely to be blocked by an administrative culture that may be ill suited for a digital world. In terms of how governments respond, our two sets of explanatory factors will be determinant. First, partnerships, and the emergence of new collaborative dialogues within government, between governments, and across sectors are a critical dimension. The second, and quite related variable lies in the necessary leadership of people -new skill sets, and new leaders will be required to both empower knowledge workers and defend experimental action. Yet, it is not only the skills composition of workers altering in a digital era, but rather the broader transformations of both everyday and organizational life that are also at play. In this sense, digital government must reposition itself to become an engaged and constructive partner in shaping the new governance patterns that will otherwise render it rudderless. Government must produce a new "culture" in order to harness the enormous potential of digital government. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.