Synopses & Reviews
The e-governance revolution is said to be changing everything, but will all the modelling tools, electronic meeting management systems and online consultations really change political judgement in policy formation? Using case studies from local and federal government in the US and Europe, Perri 6 examines these claims and presents a new theory of how policy makers use and reject information and do and don't trust each other with information in using the new tools, before analyzing the implications for democracy.
Review
"This is a path-breaking work on the actual and potential use of electronic tools in public sector decision making. It combines fascinating case studies on leading edge applications with a thought-provoking model of institutional styles of policy making, and challenges us to imagine how the various players in the model would incorporate these electronic tools into their work. It should be required reading for anyone concerned with the future of e-governance."--Sandford Borins, Professor of Public Management, University of Toronto
About the Author
Perri 6 is a Senior Research Fellow at the Health Services Management Centre at the University of Birmingham.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements * Introduction * The Scope of E-Governance * Examples and Initiatives * The Forward March of E-Governance Halted? * What Difference Could E-Governance Make? * Fears, Aspirations and Theories * Conducting Policy Judgement Through Information Technologies: Three Cases * Policy Making: The Work of Governance * The Organization of Policy Makers and the Use of E-Governance Tools * Institutional Styles and E-Governance Tools * Ways Forward * Conclusion *Notes * References