The average national government has 160 different departments, according to GartnerEXP analysts. Digital-government initiatives, spanning multiple agencies and possibly multiple levels of government, require more political capital, complex governance structures, multilevel funding mechanisms and relationship skills than projects contained in a single organization.
"The many levels of government -- each with its own laws, codes and policies -- add to the complexity, resulting in large and, thus, risky, e-government endeavors that try to cover too much ground," said Judith Carr, vice president and senior program director of GartnerEXP's government research. "It's critical that governments groom a new generation of 'endeavor managers' to head these complex, expensive and risky initiatives."
GartnerEXP analysts said many of these e-government failures are attributed to government agencies failing to understand and manage the differences between endeavors, programs and projects.
The critical differences between endeavors, programs and projects relate to factors such as whether the initiative is contained within a single organization; the number of organizations involved if the initiative includes various government agencies; the length of the initiative; the various levels of government participating; and the overall complexity.
"Digital government initiatives spanning multiple agencies and possibly multiple levels of government require more political capital, complex governance structures, multilevel funding mechanisms and relationship skills than projects contained within a single organization," said Chuck Tucker, vice president and research director of GartnerEXP.
Depending on how the initiative is categorized, there are different pressures and needs for each. All electronic-government initiatives are risky and complex, and GartnerEXP analysts advise that public-sector officials involved in such initiatives follow five imperatives, no matter whether it is an endeavor, program or project.
"The five imperatives that are proven key success factors in implementing major e-government initiatives are: focusing on the goal; establishing leadership; finding the appropriate skills and financial resources; investing in the building blocks; and continuing to keep the pressure on for ongoing progress," Carr said.
Gartner, Inc.
