Hungary Training Course on Local E-Government
From the European E-Government News
July 31
The Hungarian government has organized eGovernment training courses for some 4 500 civil servants from 700 different offices.
'A practical guide to eGovernment for municipal government employees’ is an e-learning training course targeted at government employees. Participation was unexpectedly high for an e-learning program. The success rate among students who completed the course was more than 90%.
The three-month training program was organized by the Ministry of Informatics and Communications. It was preceded by a careful survey of demand: more than 100 local governments and close to 200 local government employees provided data about their skills and capabilities. The questionnaires also enquired about the learning preferences of the employees.
The course covered various eGovernment topics, such as the sort of broadband electronic communication necessary for their work. Subjects included: e-administration, electronic signatures, certification, client portals, tools for improving the e-efficiency of local government, communication, monitoring, negotiation techniques, distance learning over the internet, and broadband.
The knowledge gained from this course is likely to be an important factor in ensuring that graduates of the program can help implement the government’s eGovernment strategy.
posted by James K. Scott @ 8:35 PM
3 Comments:
I think this program sounds really beneficial and very promising. I'm surprised at the high percentage of participation, I don't think in the United States this sort of program would get the same response. I like that it was voluntary and that they actually took a needs assessment before they implemented the program. Here the higher ups develop programs and then mandate them on everyone with no regard as to who actually wants or needs it, with more concern for their own agency rather than the other agencies. Homeland Security for example, has too many executive orders and directives to count, that are mandated on every level of government, regardless of their willingness or capability.
I wish there were a little more willingness to take on IT projects in this country. It always seems to be the lowest prioirity in governmental organizations. Organizations are too bureaucratic and unwilling to change, or maybe it's just a slow process and I'm too impatient.
http://etraining.unl.edu/egov.html
Nebraska and Minnesota Extension has also created and offers egov training to government employees and elected officials.
It sounds like they have had good luck with them and high participation. I think most are looking for better ways to do old tasks.
You can't put new wine in old bottles. By training U.S. government workers who have an expectation of how things are "supposed" to work, on a new system, you are basically setting up the system for failure. To make the system successful, first you have to change the mentality and expectations of U.S. government employees...and it has to start from the top.
A good example of how a government agency has changed its employees, and, consequently its operations, is MoDOT. Pete Rahn, the relatively new director of MoDOT, is a symbolic leader. He took the engineer-heavy, somewhat oppresive agency and has turned it into one of the most visible and reliable agencies in Missouri. How did he do it? He changed the attitude of his employees by giving them more responsibility and a reason to keep their jobs at MoDOT beyond the bi-monthly paycheck and somewhere to go during the day. He gave them a vision. Not many state or federal agencies give their employees that much latitude. Instead, agencies treat their employees more as trunky indentured servants who count down the days until retirement when they are emancipated from government work.
Why don't government agencies inspire their workers? Until they do, new systems will remain dormant because the humans behind them won't care if they help the public or not. Until then, it is like putting new wine in old bottles.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home