Digital Capability Assessment for eGovernment: A Multi-dimensional Approach

Capability assessment can play an important role in the digital government domain in at least two ways: one is to provide a basis for judging whether agencies are ready to initiate some digital government innovation, and the other is to judge the impact of a digital government initiative in terms of improved capabilities. The problems of how to assess and enhance organizational capability are therefore central to virtually all efforts to improve government performance, particularly in the area of information technology innovation. This paper describes the approach used in developing a set of toolkits for use in assessing capability, with examples from versions developed for use in justice information integration projects and state-level digital preservation planning in the US. The paper includes the theoretical rationale for the design of the toolkits, methods for their use, and implications for use in practice.

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