Abstract

Emerging trends in Europe suggest that current thinking on e‑Government, focusing on greater quality and efficiency in public services should be reviewed, especially when taking a European and prospective approach. The paper proposes a prospective view, which defines e‑Government in the EU as a tool for better government in its broadest sense. It places e‑Government at the core of public management modernisation and reform, where technology is used as a strategic tool to modernise structures, processes, regulatory frameworks, human resources and the culture of public administrations to provide better government, and ultimately increased public value. According to this view, e‑ Government needs to be more knowledge‑based, user‑centric, distributed, and networked.