Policy and the information age : the case of electronic government in Malta

Abstract

When thinking of Government, many times the first thoughts that come to mind are related to policy. In fact, apart from the many duties that Government has, it also has to engage in the process of policy-making. Technology today has become an important factor in the operations of Government and also in the well-being of countries as a whole. Apart from the many benefits that information and communications technologies (ICT) have brought to the operations of Government, they are also serving as a means of bringing citizens closer to Government. Nowadays, the term e-Government is synonymous with the provision of services using ICT. Malta has not lagged behind and in fact one can say that today Malta has advanced considerably with regards to ICT take-up. The aim of the Maltese Government is to attain an information society that will have the capabilities of improving the standard of living of all the citizens. ICT is a topic that functions in a sphere that is constantly changing due to new and improved technologies. Therefore, I feel that it is important that any policy related to ICT must have an architecture that is capable of satisfying the dynamic trends that exist. This thesis analyses some policy-making models, and tries to identify some policy design models related to ICT together with some aspects of policy measurement. The aim then shifts towards the policy design, implementation, and evaluation of e-Government in Malta, and tries to pin-point the main ideas and highlights of the overall policy.