E-Government, Yesterday, Today and in the Future

What makes the digitization of either a government service or a portfolio of government services successful? What elements have to be in place to enable the digitization and delivery of government services? In the course of an investigation conducted in a current EU project, it wasevident that the successful interplay between institutions, the technology and the government service that makes the digitization of such a service possible. If this interplay does not succeed, then the government service will not be digitized. This feedback was revealed in archival research backed by the theory of institutions as promoted by W.R Scott. The archival research reveals initiatives ranging from the 1800s until today; and how the successful interplay of institutions, government services and technology resulted in the digitization of either individual government services or a portfolio of government services.