ENG-2003 — Page 437

COMMUNICATIONS, THE MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

E-government leadership by Accenture. In an international ranking2 of the official websites of 100 cities, Hong Kong came second world-wide in terms of 'digital governance'. In addition, the flagship E-government project the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) Scheme - was selected as a winner of the Asia Best Practice Award in the category of E-government in the World Summit Award, in terms of e-content and creativity.

To ensure the community and the Government can reap the full benefits from the E-government programme, the following principles have been rigorously applied: exploit business process re-engineering opportunities to streamline e-services; participate in joined-up initiatives across departments to deliver more customer- centric and efficient services; and deploy customer relations management principles and features to enhance user-friendliness of services. The major E-government projects outlined below demonstrate how these key principles were put into practice

in 2003:-

(a) The ESD Scheme

The ESD Scheme provides a one-stop portal (http://www.esd.gov.hk) to deliver integrated public and commercial services in a customer-oriented way. As at late 2003, the ESD portal provided some 180 online public services from over 50 government departments/public agencies. Its service scope has been broadened and service quality enhanced. Measures have been implemented to improve usage. The combined efforts of 12 departments has facilitated the roll-out of the 'Easy Change of Address' service, which is a joined-up initiative enabling citizens and businesses to notify any or all of the 12 departments of a change of address by using a single online form. The online appointment booking service for the smart identity card replacement exercise has. brought much convenience to the public and reduced queues at Immigration Department counters. The online booking service for sports facilities was enhanced to incorporate a personalised feature, helping sportsmen and women to select their preferred venue and time slot in a faster and easier way. The 25 per cent discount offer for selected statistical and other government publications has significantly increased the usage of the online bookstores.

(b) Multiple Applications on the Smart Identity Card

The Immigration Department started issuing the smart identity (ID) card in 2003. This is another joined-up project that offers a number of public services through the single interface of the smart identity card. In addition to using the card for traditional immigration functions (as a means of identification), holders of the smart ID cards may choose to use their ID cards for library services; they may also opt to embed in their ID cards a digital certificate (the personal e-Cert) issued by Hongkong Post to carry out secure online transactions. Moreover, it can be used for automated immigration clearance in the near future and can be used to replace a driving licence around 2006. There is reserved capacity in the chip of the smart identity card for an e-purse function. This initiative is creating a critical mass of citizens who are ready to

l'eGovernment Leadership: Engaging the Customer.' Accenture (a global management consulting and

technology services company), 2003

2

'Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide: An Assessment of Municipal Web Sites throughout the World' by the E-Governance Institute/National Centre for Public Productivity (an institute of a US university) and Global e-Policy e-Government Institute (an institute of a Republic of Korea university), 2003

373