E-Governance Service System Readiness Assessment Framework from CSCW’s Perspective

Growing E-Participation services compel democratic governments to re-examine their E-Governance service system readiness assessment models with respect to their usability, effectiveness and participatory governance. In practice, the open government data, E-Participation initiatives, and their integration levels, are essential ingredients of E-Governance service systems. The debate about what constitutes E-Governance success, their quantifiable and qualitative variables, their divergent socio-technical dependencies, etc. is still on-going. E-Governance has emerged as a large-scale socio-technical and human centered problem space. We, therefore, assert that HCI (Human Computer Interaction) based system modeling and its supporting socio-technical tools and technologies can effectively be used to design and develop E-participatory governance systems. The research gap analysis highlights a stark paradox by showing a weak correlation between UN (United Nation) provided E-Participation Index and a perceived governance index. As a result, the authors in this paper propose an exclusive human centered and socio-technical design of E-GovSSRA (E-Governance Service System Readiness Assessment) framework by redefining E-Participation model in HCIs CSCW (Computer Supported Cooperative Work) perspective that aimed to present relatively strong correlation with a perceived governance index.

Whereas, E-Governance is understood to extend the scope of E-Government by adding E-Participation services in decision making and in policy making using the emerging and human centered technologies of social networking [3][4][5][6]. E-Participation sustainability is greatly dependent on organizational development and implementation of open and connected governments thus requiring a holistic engineering approach [7][8][9]. Hence, E-Governance is mostly about connectivity, connected people and connected systems; that is why E-Governance system has emerged as a large-scale, socio-technical and human centered problem space. We, therefore, assert that HCI based system modeling and it's supporting sociotechnical tools and technologies can effectively be used to design and develop E-participatory governance systems.
Waseem et. al. [10] elicited that E-Government can support transparency and accountability to some extent by providing online services directly to the citizens. If our main purpose is to combat corruption from public sector agencies by using participatory governance, then E-Participation services is the best tool to be inducted as a collective intelligence besides online service delivery of E-Government.
Waseem et. al. [10] also reviewed and analyzed literature from the key survey reports and articles on the theme of perceived E-Governance indexes and their measuring indicators. After testing the data of existing E-readiness and participatory indexes of their various editions specially the data of EGDI (E-Government Development Index) and EPI (E-Participation Index) provided by UN, it was found that their relevance with CPI (Corruption Perception Index), a perceived governance index, were not strong enough while EPI was more lagged behind in correlation with corruption control. The authors concluded that there is a need to improve existing measuring indicators of EpartM (E-Participation Maturity) model presented by United Nation [11], and their weights to increase its relevance with perceived governance indexes. Thereby, design of an E-GovSSRA framework from HCI's CSCW perspective is required to make it strongly correlate with Good Governance.
To fill this gap, authors, in section 3 of this paper, are suggesting an enhanced and redefined E-PartM model in a collaborative workspace of CSCW and hence proposing a human-centered and a socio-technical design of E-GovSSRA framework for the development of interactive applications related to participatory governance and citizen-sourcing. This aims to improve the scores of existing E-Participation assessment index and thereby improves country's economy through efficient, accountable and transparent business pr ocesses an d tran sactions.Finally, a r elevant conclusion is drawn in section 4, and the requirement of some case-specific toolkits is discussed as our future work in section 5. In this connection, the authors have also proposed a readiness assessment toolkit, for a continuing and an indigenous case-study associated to public procurements as a prototype implementation of E-GovSSRA framework.  [13][14][15] that enables the recognition of collective intelligence in their business activities and in decision-making processes [16][17]. In this connection, we characterize the organization of E-Governance model and its performance measures in CSCW's perspective, preferably when working with socio-technical tools and technologies of social networking [18][19][20].

CSCW'S PERSPECTIVEOF E-GOVERNANCE
CSCW framework is providing a comprehensive collaborative workspace to support group working in the time and space coordinates [21]. It also characterizes tools and technologies used in its collaborative and pervasive environment as well as their psychological, organizational, and socio-technical impacts. It can encompass both the technical and social challenges encountered when supporting crowd sourcing [22][23]. Crowd sourcing is used to utilize the notion of human-computation for collecting and processing complex heterogeneous data to produce insight and actionable knowledge [24]. Thus for expressing participatory design as citizen sourcing, authors suggest that CSCW time/space groupware matrix is a useful notion to consider for a sociotechnical and human-centered design of E-Governance model.

FRAMEWORK
At this stage, the authors are able to discuss an E-GovSSRA framework and its components from CSCW's perspective.

Measuring Indicators of E-GovSSRA Framework
Researchers have so far captured several complex and multi faceted dimensions of governance and measured them on some predefined criteria.
We concentrate here only the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) specific key performance indicators of E-Governance environment. From research study and from our gap analyses and implications discussed in [10], it is revealed that E-Participation shall be the major indicator for E-GovSSRA framework while Open-Government and Connected-Government be its logical precursor s for effective functioning of participatory governance system [25][26][27]. A detailed discussion on the influence of Open and Connected Government on E-Participation can be seen in section 3.1.2.
Now E-Participation is emerged as citizen-sourcing, agent a subset of crowd-sourcing, as citizens have rich knowledge in their concerns [41]. Citizens interact with authorities and groups, collaboratively and actively, using various E-Participation stages and their supporting tools and technologies [28].
As Government is advancing in ICT, the participation processes are easier to implement. The EC (European Commission) funded various E-Participation projects under the E-Participation readiness action. The setting up of ICT infrastructure, its connectivity, andthe latest development in social networking were the common features of the projects [18].
By the expansion in e-community, many researchers are relating E-Participation directly to E-democracy, focusing on C (Citizens) and G (Governments) as two major stakeholders in the E-democracy interaction processes.
The maturity of E-Participation stages is also crucial for maturity of E-Governance model. But, as it is demonstrated by Waseem et. al. [10], the potential of existing E-Participation maturity model provided by UN, up to the last edition [30], is still in its early stages of development.
Thus there is a practical need to re-address the stages and their related performance measures of existing E-Participation maturity model(s).

E-PartM Model
Traditionally  where lower levels must be all-inclusive.
We believe that in our proposed E-GovSSRA framework, these four stages of E-PartM model will form a more coherent and well-defined E-Participation initiatives by using HCI's CSCW groupware matrix of citizens' engagement that focuses on interactive, participatory, and collaborative citizen sourcing which is largely driven by the E-Governance directives and supported by emerging Web tools and technologies.

Importance of Four Stages of E-PartM Model
All E-Participation maturity models have one thing in common; they start with information level, followed by (1) By validating the four stages of E-PartM model, Wimmer [49] claimed that there should be an ecollaborating stage before e-empowering stage in the models mentioned by [52][53], to ensure that citizen sourcing can efficiently be provided in an advanced two-way communication.
(2) The UN, in its E-Government survey report-2016

FIG. 2. SUPERIMPOSITION OF E-PartM MODEL ON A 4-STAGED GROUP OF INTERACTIONS OF STAKEHOLDERS AS
A 4-QUADRANT MATRIX [12]

Mapping E-PartM Model with Stakeholder's Group of Interactions
Stakeholders are primarily the actors of initiatives. They play active role in their functions, for example, subjectmatter experts/representatives, target citizens, decisionmakers, etc. Waseem et. al. [12], have discussed two primary interactive stakeholders, which are distinguished in E-Governance concept as Citizenand Governmentitself, so that E-Governance readiness assessment plan can effectively be executed by their all possible 4-staged group of interactions that is G2C, C2G, C2C and G2G. This is also acknowledged by Linders [9], presenting a typology for ICT-facilitated citizen coproduction initiatives.
Waseem et. al. [12], also suggested that E-PartM model,    Certainly, this ratio will improve smoothly for best performing countries.
The developed countries, those are good in E-Governance initiatives are also playing well in all stages of E-Participation [55]. Hence, it is found that E-Participation services up to the last maturity stage are essential for a total readiness of E-Governance service systems.

Mapping E-PartM Model with CSCW Groupware Matrix
The expansion in e-community, through the use of Web 2.0, Web 3.0 and so on, seeks to optimize E-Participation by enhancing collaboration among the systems of stakeholders [56]. This raises the inspiration for creating socially enabled and human centered processes of citizensourcing in order to engage a broader community, known as a crowd-ware, in the creation of awareness and involvement on the process outcomes of E-Governance [57]. Whereas, the crowd-ware members as compare to The interaction of stakeholders is also extending in this framework as we move along the stages of E-Participation from one-way to multi-way channel consultation that is from G2C to G2G.
It has been observed that the job of citizen (C) is also varying during E-Participation stages, from passive  4. SUPERIMPOSITION OF FIG. 2 AND FIG. 3 information consumer to active decision-maker [25,33].
Hence the 4-stages of E-Participation can efficiently be divided into Passive and Active Participation areas as represented in Fig. 5, categorized as: Further discussion about the framework is in section 3.2.

Influence of Open and Connected Government on E-Participation
Open Government requires maturity of OGD (Open Government Data) policies and regulations as prerequisite performance measures of E-Participation [9,25].OGD also brings up challenges of data accuracy, data protection and privacy concerns [31]. Other instruments are also desired to support effective public accountability, such as well-defined code of conduct, effective supreme audit institutions, human resource development, etc. [30].
Whereas, Connected Government requires maturity of ICT-infrastructure, connectivity, ICT usage, and other likewise indicators for backend automation and process re-engineering of various interoperable systems of government agencies [26,30,39,55,60]. The concept of connected government is derived from the whole-ofgovernment approach that is centralizing the entry point of service delivery to a single portal where citizens can access all government-supplied information and services ubiquitously, regardless of which government agency provides them.

To validate the relationship of E-Participation with Open
Government and Connected Government, we analyzed here following two applicable indexes, latest so far, to find any significant correlation with a currently available EPI-16 provided by UN [30].
(1) ODB (Open Data Barometer) 2015 [31], which is, in our context, better example of describing Open Government Data index.
(2) ITUIDI (International Telecommunication Unit-ICT Development Index) 2016 [60], which is, in our context, better example of describing Connected Government Data index.

Design of E-Gov SSRA Framework
The diagrammatic representation of all this discussion on E-GovSSRA framework is illustrated in Fig. 5.

CONCLUSION
We We should note that the purpose of this paper does not provide an exhaustive review of E-Participation theories, methods, and possibly tools and technologies nor it covered the complete scope of human cognitive analyses of such domain. Indeed, our key contribution is to suggest a participatory E-Governance model by using the strength of CSCW framework so as to promote a socio-technical approach for the development of interactive applications related to participatory governance.

FUTURE WORK
In order to test the scalability, usability and reliability issues of E-GovSSRA framework, some more set of readiness assessment toolkits or case tools, consisting of some related E-Participation servicing tools and techniques, are needed. The test data shall be collected from these specially designed toolkits. It can be used as government servicing web tools of the country specific case-studies. Such toolkits are needed to address the: (i) Scalability issues ranging from demonstrational prototypes to real-size applications of the E-GovSSRA framework.
(ii) Usability issues by using usability-evaluationmethods for tracking any structural problem in the framework.
(iii) Reliability issues to find ways to guarantee the correct functioning of the framework. Actions such as verification, validation, and exhaustive testing are possible ways to address this problem.
This will enable us to refine the framework, if needed, by reducing or removing the identified problems and obtain more accurate results thereof.