Analysis and proposal to improve the relationship between local government and citizens by the electronic administration

Abstract

The computerization of society is a fact more than evident nowadays and this has made that all areas benefit from its advantages and the Public Administrations were not going to be less. They have always been in touch with the newest technologies of the moment but it is from the sixties when automation begins. New technologies anticipated making revolutionary changes, modernizing administrations but according to Heeks (1999), managers have ignored, isolated or idolized but integrated ICT within the management of the public organizations. In the case that concerns us, local governments, there is a greater lack of resources, means, personal or knowledge of citizens is smaller. So that, this is what led me or motivated me to identify what had been the modifications that new technologies had made and see if the e-government have been fully consolidated and if it had not been done, to obtain a proposal that would be useful for local public administrations. This project presents the results of a research on e-government in Spain, taking as case studies the local governments of Castellón de la Plana and Atzeneta del Maestrat. The objective was to collect on the current situation of these local governments and their relationship with the citizens. According to his narration “Electronic Administration: Why implement a policy of management of institutional processes in public administrations,” García-González (2016) shows us that studies on e-government in Spain are insufficient and that there is no community model of this complete and finished and less of local electronic administration. First, this study develops a theoretical framework on new technologies and egovernment, the role it plays on the other. Secondly, we review the different researches on the use of new technologies and electronic administration through statistics of Telefónica Foundation, INE, studies such as García-González. Below, we provide two examples of local administrations with the aim of seeing the relationship that citizens have with their administrations telematically as well as the change that is made in its structure by having to adapt to the new modifications. In the study of the cases, we sent two questionnaires to the heads of the municipalities. The questionnaire consisted of twelve questions, related to the use of ICT (Information and Communication technologies) in the local government, the effect of the introduction of ICT in its organizational structure and in the relationship with citizens. Finally, we make a proposal for improvement after obtaining the results of the research. This is based in a good communication to the citizen, so we propose an adequate communication plan. And on the other hand the employees must be qualified and that the number of these is the appropriate one for the correct implementation of the electronic administration. The conclusions we reach are the lack of knowledge on the part of the citizen of all the formalities, procedures of the electronic administration, in general how to use the services with the administration. For this, and another of the conclusions that we obtain is that the staff of employees must be greater to establish correctly the electronic administration, to improve the treatment with the citizens and the services that lend to this one.