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This article examines the way in which leaders/managers of UK e-Government projects think about the implementation of ICT to support their sector’s work, a process which may require significant organisational change. This examination is conducted using interviews with leaders of “best practice” UK e-Government projects and with local authority project managers carried out during the Framework for Multi-Agency Environments research programme. The methodology employed is qualitative and interpretivist in nature, an approach that is common in studies concerned with examining the broad implementation frame and the factors that shape technology experiments. To assist with “making sense” of the initial findings and to provide a sound theoretical base whilst providing practical implementation tips to e-Government practitioners, the key themes identified are framed in terms of the Social Shaping of Technology (SST), Technology Implementation (TI) and Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) literature. Five key themes emerge from the interview analysis: problems with technology-driven visions; the large scale of change required; the management of expectations; development of skills in negotiation, communication and collaboration with a wide range of technology players; and the development of a learning organisation.
So-called ‘slow’ adaptation to technological change is actually a characteristic of major innovations, particularly those requiring significant organisational change. As the research reported in this article discovered, the implementation of ICTs to support government sector working is no exception - the implementation of major e-Government projects is thus likely to be much slower than that predicted by government visionaries and technology producers. The key overall lesson for government visionaries is that complex technological change programmes take a long time to implement effectively owing to the disorientation they cause to practitioners and users alike – there is no such thing as a “quick-fix” solution. E-Government experiments require the transformation of local authorities into learning organisations. This important cultural shift can be assisted through partnering with universities that have a track record in the social sciences and informatics disciplines.
Keywords:
e-Government leaders, organisational change, ICT, socio-technical practice, FAME
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