Summary Assessment of egovernance Projects in the State of Uttarakhand
The Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India commissioned a summary impact assessment study in month of December 2006. The study aimed to conduct a rapid citizen-centric Summary Assessment of e-Governance Projects across India, being implemented at the State and National levels, besides collating a baseline database of existing projects which were listed in a prescribed format.
Objectives
The objective was to obtain feedback on specific projects, from users and beneficiaries,to also conduct a statistically relevant and valuable study, the results of which can be normalized, benchmarked, and ranked for their user impact. Since e-governance projects are varied, provide a range of services and could be G2G, G2B or G2C, there are other aspects that affect the performance of the project, besides efficient project management. Changing attitudes and user behaviour, impact on cost and savings, improving/changing livelihoods opportunities, etc, are some aspects covered in undertaking a citizen-centric Summary Assessment.
Methodology
The framework was developed by IIM, Ahmedabad. The proposed framework focuses on the idea of measuring the total value delivered by a project and takes a balanced approach between case studies and quantitative analysis. Each project is analysed using a case study approach and quantitative data is collected from clients through structured formats and surveys. The framework aims to measure the impact and understand processes that can explain the nature and quantum of impact.
The framework was used to make summary assessment of three egovernance projects in the state of Uttarakhand, each at a different stage of maturity and scope. The assessment involved a systematic survey of users. For two of the three projects, computerisation of the Transport department and computerisation of the Sub-Registrar’s department, data from 650 randomly selected respondents from five and six stratified locations respectively, was collected.
For the third project, in Devbhoomi, computerisation of the Right of Records including the Revenue Department and State Unite, data was collected from 800 respondents from four stratified districts and further 16 delivery centres. The responses clearly encapsulated the experience of respondents with the use of the computerised system as well as the manual system.
Outcomes
The survey covered about 100 questions grouped under three dimensions on which impact is being assessed. The dimensions are:
- Economic: Direct & Indirect
- Governance: Corruption, Accountability, Transparency, Participation
- Quality of Service: Decency, Fairness, Convenience, etc.
Difference between the computerised and the manual system was analysed for each dimension and statistical significance of the difference was evaluated. The results indicated that there is an overwhelming preference for the computerised system based on the response of the users who have used both the manual and the computerised systems.
