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a successful outcome for the organisations examined in thisreport.Ensuring and delivering effective project managementThe importance of a structured approach to change isadvocated by the organisations we examined in this study. Atthe outset of the change process, many organisationsestablished a project steering group or employed a projectmanager supported by the senior management team toinstigate the change process. A multi-phased projectmanagement plan was implemented by most organisations,and benchmarks were either instigated at the outset or duringthe change process. These benchmarks should be related tothe organisation change targets set out in the business case.Risk management is an important aspect of projectmanagement. Also, as part of the project managementprocess, it is important that the capabilities of participantsare taken into account and plans to address limitations put inplace, through training and development supports,contracting out and so on.Building inter-agency relationshipsThe introduction of new technologies has enabled greatercommunication flows and knowledge management withinthe public sector. This has enabled co-operation between andwithin organisations at a greater pace and level thanheretofore. The management and exploitation of these newcommunication flows necessitates a re-examination ofadministrative structures and location; and may lead to a reexamination of the purpose of a number of public serviceorganisations. The efficiencies provided by the newtechnologies will engender a re-examination ofadministrative structures and location. This is important interms of regionalisation/decentralisation of organisationstructures, where communication links will becomeparamount. In managing organisation change arising frome-government, it is important to recognise that managing theinter-organisational aspects of change is at least as crucial asmanaging the internal organisational arrangements.xiii

Involving the main stakeholders (partnership internal,consultation external)Most of the cases studied involved both the internal andexternal customer in the change process from the outset.Internally, the partnership model enabled the difficult issuesof change to be monitored and resolved on a regular basis ina consensus approach. Lack of attention to human andorganisational aspects are significant factors, which canundermine ICT investments. The case study organisations inthis report underline the importance of partnership andinvolving the stakeholders at all levels in the process. Whereorganisations found difficulties related to implementation ofnew technologies or structures it was often because thechange was not communicated with staff at the outset.Providing long-term commitmentTo facilitate the successful transformation of organisationsthere is a need to ensure commitment over the long-term. Inthis context, it is difficult to sustain the momentum andcommitment of management and staff over a number ofyears unless there is a clearly laid out vision, a business planwith directional indicators, a partnership process to involvestakeholders and a drive and ‘buy-in’ by leadership to thecomplete process over the long term.Encouraging experimentationThe returns on e-government investment may not be clearlyevident in the short to medium term; indeed, a certainamount of risk may be needed to fully realise the potentialfor transformation of public services and to exploit theefficiencies that are possible through innovative structuresand technologies and to ensure real quality service to thecustomer. These risks can be minimised by experimentingwith different approaches and mainstreaming those thatshow significant benefits.ConclusionsA central message coming out of this study is thatorganisation change arising from ICT developments is farxiv

from being simply a technical issue. Introducing ICTs andjust assuming that changes in organisation culture andpractice will follow is a recipe for inertia and inaction.Rather, organisation changes arising from the introduction ofICTs must be explicitly planned for. In this context, it isnecessary that those involved in the change process be awareof the broader issues that need to be managed above andbeyond the introduction of ICTs themselves (these broaderissues are set out in Figure 6.2 in the main body of thepaper).The governance and values issues that inform the waybusiness is done set the the context for the change. Toachieve success in driving e-government in the future,several key informants advocated the need for a centre ofleadership to clearly and visibly drive the e-governmentagenda and to achieve buy-in by public service leaders. Alsohelpful from a broad governance perspective would be thecontinuance of the explicit linkage between pay andperformance established under Sustaining Progress (2003).Such a linkage can act as an important anchor for securingorganisation change, when linked with verification ofchange. Organisation change should, in this context, be anexplicit goal of ICT-enabled changes arising as part of themodernisation agenda. Similarly, it would be helpful if theInformation Society Fund were to require targets/indicatorsof organisation change in terms of measuring returns on theinvestment.A vital aspect of change is managing the people issues:the need to get the right people in place to manage theprojects and bring about change. As noted earlier, thechange agent role is a crucial one. The current supports forpolicy analysts being co-ordinated by the Centre forManagement and Organisation Development (CMOD) isaimed at producing staff with skills and competencies thatare appropriate to this change agent role. Drawing on thisexpertise in the future could further facilitate successfulchange.The management of process issues is where the ICTdevelopments themselves are to the fore. ICTs can be usedxv

to promote functional integration within organisations andalso across organisations. The planning processes needed tosupport ICT-enabled change are also vital here, particularlythe need for the development of a sound business case andeffective project management, as outlined earlier. Projectsshould be required to identify and enumerate the proposedbenefits arising from planned organisation changes arisingfrom ICT development. Rationalisation of process and datamanagement is also required, with the use of shared servicesbeing used as appropriate to enhance efficiency.Regarding policy and programme issues, ICT-enabledchange calls for more administrative and programmeintegration: improving the design and co-ordination of arange of related administrative practices and operationalprogrammes to better meet service user needs. The fullimpact of ICT developments will not be gained byorganisations if they are imposed on old policy andprogramme structures and processes.The presence of learning and accountability issueshighlights the need for tangible measurement of ICTdevelopments in terms of their value to society.Governments must regularly evaluate the progress andeffectiveness of their e-government investments todetermine whether stated goals and objectives are being meton schedule. This includes organisation change goals andobjectives. This requires, for example, personnel orefficiency savings targets to be clearly enunciated at thebusiness case development stage and clear targets set fortheir achievement during implementation.Finally, with regard to quality service delivery issues,there is a need to take a serious look at service deliverychannels and examine the opportunities for outsourcing,partnerships and the like to create empowered crossorganisation and inter-organisation relationships that moreeffectively address service user needs. The configurationand re-configuration of organisations will be affected byICT- enabled change. Such issues are particularly importantin the context of decentralisation.xvi

To summarise, transforming the organisation landscapeis a strategic challenge that involves focusing on the wholebusiness change, not just the ICT aspects.xvii

1Introduction1.1 Research backgroundThe first CPMR study of e-government (Timonen et al.,2003) explains the concepts of e-government anddecentralisation, and how the two concepts relate. The studynotes that e-government is an area that develops at a rapidpace compared to most other areas of public policy andpublic sector reform. In many ways, it can be seen as theengine that drives changes in other areas such as organisationreform and improvements in customer service. As NewConnections: A Strategy to Realise the Potential of theInformation Society (2002) outlines, e-government isincreasingly seen as a key determinant of national competitiveness.Holden et al. (2003) acknowledge that somecharacteristics of e-government (especially prescriptiveones) purport that e-government has the potential to cutacross geographic, organisation, and disciplinary boundariesand be a driver of organisation transformation and businessprocess re-engineering: ‘E-government is a major paradigmshift in the way that government and public administrationare to function’ (UNTC Occasional Papers Series, No.1,2002). Timonen et al. (2003) draw attention to the fact that:. the proliferation of many e-government initiatives andthe lack of joined-up e-government mean that one of themost urgent tasks consists of integrating and coordinating e-government in Ireland. This in turn requires1

2Introductionclear strategic vision and leadership, and presents amajor organisation development challenge for the publicsector as a whole . This organisation change isnecessary for successful application of e-government inimproving service delivery and in making internaladministration and policy making more effective.McDonagh (2002) emphasises this point: ‘the scale oforganisation change required may be beyond anythingGovernment has previously experienced’. This studyattempts to examine some of the organisation developmentissues and structural changes that e-government calls for andsets in motion.1.2 Study terms of reference and research approachAt its meeting in February 2003, the CPMR agreed to thecommencement of a new study focusing on e-governmentand organisation development with the following terms ofreference:(a) An examination of the national and internationalliterature in relation to the organisation developmentaspects of e-government-led change.(b) An update of the developing national policy andinfrastructural contexts for the promotion ofe-government within Ireland and within Irish publicservice organisations.(c) A detailed examination of instances of good practice, andleading practices, within the civil service and also thewider public sector, in relation to significant organisationchange as part of the adoption of e-government solutions.(d) A thorough review of lessons learnt in respect of how theorganisation development aspects of e-governmentmight be furthered more effectively within the Irishpublic service, so as to provide good practice guidancefor managers.

E-government and organisation development3The main focus of the study is on how the existing rangeof organisations and networks engaged in e-governmentpolicy development and implementation can be encouragedto work towards effective organisation development andchange. Three main data sources are used: Case studies. Here, a review took place of a smallnumber of e-government initiatives which have resultedin organisation change. The aim is to identify lessons ofgood practice with regard to policy development whichhave general applicability, as well as the identification ofpitfalls to be avoided. The cases studies selected are asfollows: the Civil Registration Service; the Departmentof Social and Family Affairs; the Civil Service and LocalAppointments Commission; the Land Registry; DonegalCounty Council and the Integrated Services Centres; andthe Collector General’s Office, Office of the RevenueCommissioners (see Appendices 1-6). International initiatives. Derived from a literaturereview and web searches, and from OECD literature onexperiences of other countries in developing initiatives topromote organisation change, aspects of e-governmentinitiatives are analysed. Key informant interviews. A small number of interviewswere undertaken with people involved in developinge-government initiatives that have led to organisationdevelopment in the public sector in Ireland. As well askey personnel in a range of government departments,other organisations were also involved.The study provides important insights into the way inwhich e-government is planned, implemented and evaluatedat organisation level. It also provides an opportunity toexamine theories of e-government progress and organisationdevelopment issues. Through identifying the success factorsthat contribute to transformation of services into thee-environment, the study reveals important lessons fororganisations that are embarking on similar processes.

2E-government and organisationdevelopment: an overview2.1 IntroductionIreland has performed relatively well in a number of recente-government benchmarking exercises. For example, inFebruary 2003, the recent e-government benchmark study byCap Gemini Ernst & Young ranked Ireland second behindSweden in terms of the sophistication of services l). ‘In thecontext of the e-Europe Action Plans in a fourth assessmentof seventeen european countries on electronic servicedelivery across twenty online public services, Ireland wasrated joint second with Denmark and behind Sweden on theonline sophistication of its services’ (New Connections, 2ndProgress Report, April 2004). However, these benchmarksprovide only a relatively superficial picture of the complexprocess of making public services available online. Inparticular, such benchmarking surveys do not delve behindthe headline figures to look at the consequent degrees ofimpact of information and communication technologies(ICT) on organisation development and change. At thelaunch of the e-government benchmark study, the EuropeanCommissioner Erkki Liikanen stated that ‘e-government inEurope should now focus more closely on the transformationof government authorities into customer-oriented serviceproviders’.Murphy (2002) in a working paper published by theOECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industryemphasises that organisation change is key to realising4

E-government and organisation development5benefits from ICT, while ICT in turn contributes toimplementing organisation change, necessitating combinedinvestments to raise productivity growth. Similarly, Muid(1994) outlines that ‘on the one hand the doctrines of newpublic management seek to reform the business ofgovernment: on the other hand informatization acts as acatalyst for change and enables business transformation’.Seamus Mulconry of Accenture Consultants reiterates thispoint in terms of the Irish experience: ‘e-government shouldbe seen as a catalyst for modernisation of the public service it is really not about putting all services online’ (as quotedin Smyth, 2003). Murphy (2002) further outlines theimportance for OECD enterprises of implementingorganisation changes so as to maximise the benefits ications technology (ICT) and to realiseproductivity increases from investments in both tangible(plant, equipment) and intangible (research, training) assets.The working paper also notes that the incidence oforganisation change has been highest in the service sectors.The aim of this chapter is to examine the theoreticalbackground of changes in ICT on organisation development.The chapter starts by defining what we mean by organisationchange. The drivers of organisation change are then outlined.The synergies between ICT and organisation developmentare assessed in both a private and public sector context. Thedrivers and barriers to organisation change and ICT areexamined.2.2 The relationship between organisation change andICTIn thinking about the relationship between organisationchange and the introduction of ICTs, it is helpful tounderstand the environment within which change takesplace. More realistically, it is important to understand themulti-dimensional environments that exist and how theyinfluence change. Figure 2.1 portrays the idea of anorganisation as systems operating in multi-dimensionalenvironments.The temporal environment concerns

6An overviewFigure 2.1 The organisation system in multidimensionalenvironmentsTechnological influencesThe OrganisationInformal subsystemculturepoliticsleadershipstaff skillsPolitical-legal influencesSocio-cultural influencesFormal stechnologyINTERNALENVIRONMENTEconomic urce: adapted from Senior, B (2002), p. 27historical developments bringing changes over time. Thesemay be general cyclical changes or changes associated withthe particular history of the organisation. The externalenvironment includes the political, economic, socio-culturaland technological influences (often referred to by themnemonic PEST (Johnson and Scholes, 1999)). The internal

E-government and organisation development7environment covers both formal management systems andthe more informal aspects such as culture and leadershipstyles. The key point here is that, in instituting technologically driven change, all the other factors in the differentenvironments must be taken into account in determining theinfluence of change on the organisation.Murphy (2002) defines organisation change as firm-levelmodifications of structures, work interactions and humanresource practices, affecting both internal business processesas well as relationships with customers and other firms. Shefurther emphasises that there is a mutually beneficialrelationship between organisation change in firms and ICTinvestments and also suggests that organisation change canvary in scope and intensity. Her paper points out thatinformation technology is instrumental in facilitating neworganisation approaches, from lean production to teamworkto customer relations. She also states that organisationchange is needed to realise the full benefit

Services Board), Clodagh O'Donnell (IBM Ireland), Colm Reilly (PA Consulting), Tony Smith (Centre for Management and Organisation Development (CMOD)) and Mary Frances O'Connell (IPA) proved very helpful. Responsibility for the content of the paper, however, rests with the authors. Orla O'Donnell Richard Boyle May 2004 Acknowledgements ix