Abstract
This chapter explains the purpose of the book, which is to examine the state of e-government in the Pacific Islands, and how information and communication technology is changing the practice of government in the region. It outlines the structure and scope of the book, which covers the Pacific Island countries and territories which are members of the Pacific Community, and provides some background for later chapters by describing the dominant cultural groups (Melanesian , Micronesian and Polynesian ) and the role of traditional forms of governance in the Pacific. It also describes the characteristics of Pacific small island developing states and how their geographical and economic environment impacts on their development. The role of telecommunications and the development potential of affordable and reliable telecommunications is also outlined. The concept of e-government, how it is appropriately defined in small island developing states and how Pacific Island countries can benefit from e-government is discussed. Their limited resources and dependence on development partners and international investment are also discussed as factors affecting the adoption of e-government. Finally, some conceptual frameworks that have been found useful in exploring e-government in the small island developing states of the Pacific are outlined: Bekkers and Homberg’s ‘information ecology ’ approach; Heeks’ ICT4 2.0 Manifesto; and elements of public policy that can usefully be applied. Factors in the ongoing sustainability of e-government projects, including the role of leadership , are identified along with questions and issues that will be raised in the chapters included in the volume and addressed further in the conclusion.
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Notes
- 1.
The former Secretariat of the Pacific Community was recently renamed the Pacific Community (SPC), a form used throughout the volume. Australia, New Zealand, France, and the United States of America, are four of the ‘founding members’ of the Pacific Community, although as industrialized countries, development partners and colonial powers in the region are not actively served by the SPC.
- 2.
- 3.
The inhabitants of islands lying between the Philippines and Hawai’i, which includes Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Gilbert Islands, the Marshall Islands and Palau.
- 4.
Atolls, which are ring-shaped coral reefs surrounding a lagoon, have little soil and no minerals.
- 5.
Funded by the World Bank.
- 6.
Construction of the Hawaiki cable (hawaikicable.co.nz) commenced in 2016.
- 7.
- 8.
ITU-ICT Facts and Figures 2015—online at https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2015.pdf.
- 9.
The 2016 UN DESA e-government Survey is discussed below.
- 10.
OECD (2016). Development Aid at a Glance. Statistics by Region. 6. Oceania. Paris, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
- 11.
It must also be acknowledged that in some PICs the unmeasured, indigenous rural subsistence economy may be greater than the money-based economy.
- 12.
See for example the Fisheries Information Management System outlined in Chap. 9.
- 13.
Leadership, especially collaborative leadership, is highlighted in the 2016 Survey as necessary for a commitment to open data.
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Cullen, R., Hassall, G. (2017). E-Government in Pacific Island Countries. In: Cullen, R., Hassall, G. (eds) Achieving Sustainable E-Government in Pacific Island States. Public Administration and Information Technology, vol 27. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50972-3_1
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