Do ICT Drive Governance Transformation? Trends and Research Issues
Tong-Yi Huang*
Abstract
The rapid development of information and communications technology (ICT), notably the combination of the internet and mobile device, has contributed to efficient political mobilization. Such a development not only changes the political landscapes of many countries in the world, but also poses stiff challenges for traditional governance. To face such challenges, the author proposes roadmaps of research on public administration from the perspectives of governance transformation towards participatory governance, organizational adjustment, policy management and research methods. The author concludes that the government should be more open to the public regarding information and policy making, and collaborate more closely with the academia. The author also suggests that public administration scholars should be more dedicated to the research of issues arising from the impacts caused by the ICT. To cultivate more capable students who can deal with the new issues created by the ICT, it is advisable that the public administration departments should consider updating its training programs to cater to the emerging issues that ICT brings to governance.
Keywords: information and communications technology (ICT), e-government, e-governance, transformation of governance
* Professor, Department of Public Administration, National Chengchi University, email: tyhuang@nccu.edu.tw.