Are e-Government investments delivering against expected payoffs? Evidence from the United Kingdom and South Africa

Government agencies are currently experiencing increasing fiscal, public and political pressure to increase payoffs from their e-Government investments. Although the literature is replete with reports of what government agencies should use in terms of e-government investment evaluation and benefits realisation approaches and methods, there is a lack of thorough accounts of actual practices, specifically regarding what works well and what are the practical problems associated with current approaches and methods. A preliminary survey of 37 United Kingdom and South African government agencies reveal that while formal benefits management prescriptions are generally being adopted, relatively less formality is applied to managing and realising e-government benefits. Irrespective of the developmental context, this research unveils many issues in exploiting e-government benefits, with a majority of the South African and United Kingdom (UK) survey participants acknowledging substantial benefits losses. Addressing how e-Government investments can be managed more effectively, to predictably realise intended payoffs remains a top concern for these government agencies representing both the developing and developed country contexts.