Ethical dilemmas and PD as important steps towards critical e-government design

Abstract

The delivering of public services to citizens through the internet -- also known as e-government - has gained serious momentum, driven by political ambitions of improved efficiency. E-government, however, is considered complex and e-government failures are well known from media. Research of how e-government is enacted inside government is sparse. Technology mediated public services in real world entail ethical dilemmas. By extracting ethical dilemmas from a qualitative e-government participatory design study, this paper shows how ethical dilemmas may inform future e-government design and design processes. The case, adoption of digital post in a local e-government setting, showed that design flaws, staff's concern for citizens and political fear of citizens' critique had an impact on e-government adoption.