Ivanov V.V., 
doctor of economics,
PhD in tech.,
professor,
The Russian Foreign Trade Academy of the Ministry for Economic Development of Russia, Moscow Institute of  Electronic Technology
(Technical University)
            Korobova A.N.,
PhD in Economics,
presently working for doctor’s degree at Moscow Institute of  Electronic Technology
(Technical University)

This article represents summary of the book "Public Administration & management with ICT" released in July of 2010. The authors reveal up-to-date information communication technologies that enable public and municipal employees with effective    decisions to achieve modernization of economics and to improve living standards.  Abstracts from the book were published in the Management in Russia and Abroad Journal.

The global information network, Internet speed, mobility of working people and capital offer entirely new conditions and requirements for comfort living and the ease of doing business, international investment and competition. These factors became unprecedented challenges for Public Administration & management. Authorities operate in interconnected global economy environment to compete for investment resources and talents.  In order to maintain competitive advantage & economic growth, develop common approaches to the delivery of electronic public services and decision making it is necessary to reduce the gap between bodies in technologies management.However, despite the opportunity of sharing information through  Internet, occasional communication during various meetings, conferences and alike are the most common access to modern models of governance still. This status quo  does not allow to absorbe global information space (GIS) wider & systematically to find a better experience and to choose the most appropriate instrument for implementing duties.

The scientific-practical actuality of implementation the above mentioned idea to authorities comes from their origin.

Thus key features of SMG are monopoly, stable, reluctant of professionalism, financing functions, cross of multiple collective and individual interests, often conflicting, political and business cycle activity, high complexity and uncertainty effect indicators. Specific factors encourage the significant level of passivity and inertia towards innovation. Every successful government has its strategies and techniques to overcome these limitations which creates a favorable investment climate, motivate initiatives and active production processes among state and municipal employees. So bodies should take into account the decisions which have already been implemented in other regions and countries with positive or negative experiences and use only the best practices and tools. Structuring and knowledge management technologies can increase efficiency and provide focus for interregional and international exchanges in the field of Public Administration & management. Create self-reproducing knowledge system to identify and disseminate best practice at all levels of government is the most important task of innovation finding and effective use. This requires data bank of  best practices for decision-makers creativity. The special system is needed to move from the random search for successful tools through Yandex, Google or Yahoo with an unpredictable result. The global knowledge search would require processing and structural components (Figure 1). Processing part specifies how to search and structural what to look for. The improvement of the search quality should contribute to the rapidly evolving search technologies being developed in the Web 2.0, data mining programs, special content analysis of unstructured data. For example, in a social network built on the principles of Web 2.0 such as Live Internet (www.livejournal.com), the user indicates his or her interests then network searches automatically for users & communities & forms the appropriate news bulletin.  Data mining allows you to use the lower-level characteristics describing an information resource to map consistency between the values of similar characteristics of higher level. Examples of intellectual search engine is a project of knowledge for U.S. Government agencies www.govmine.com, content analysis of mass media in real-time systems Medialogia www.medialogia.ru. During the processing of data obtained as a result of the primary search, combination of artificial and human intelligence  is to identify and analyze relationships, filter and avoid duplication, highlight the main. The identification and analysis of links includes an examination of their nature, analysis of multi-level relationships, time characteristics (attitude towards the past, present, future), relationships (line object hierarchy, horizontal linkages, independence), character references (positive, negative, mixed, neutral), a graphical representation (in the form of matrices, charts, tables, histograms, geo informational reports). For example, geographical analysis on the world map in the form of parametric and gradient analysis (grid-files) reveals the international distribution of interests that characterize the trends, problems and technology solutions, identify countries and regions where the object is located in the heart of the scientific and public attention. Such maps can help you determine the geography for further research. The system analysis of the information space is important to identify the most innovative and active objects in generating new technologies, trends of development. Key objects are reflected extremely wide in the information space in the form of intensive discussion, the high quantity of quoting. This will help to choose topics for subsequent communications, regional and international assignment to study best practices. In the next stage of process component development the level and technologies interaction with a source of knowledge should be selected. You can continue to study over public Internet tools or use interstate level contacts through the inclusion in the agenda of meetings at national, regional, local, corporate and/or personal levels (e.g., inviting foreign consultant, contact via video conference, instant messaging tools such as Skype, MSN, etc.). The intermediary levels in communication channel and possible interference must be taken into account.

Processing component fills the necessary block tools (the structure of the model). For easier search tools and examples of international expertise should occur in cells or facets (the term "facet" was borrowed from the library). However, the same tool can appear in various facets. Thus, the facets with flexible structured expertise make it easy for you to find what you're looking for a specific task.

The search is a passive direction of integration into the international space. The other side should be active direction. The process of obtaining new knowledge does not end by search and selection of new instruments at the international space. The result of search is to be a usage of new tools to develop more effective ways  for authorities. In turn, new approaches are implemented through streamlined business processes, which provide information and personalized services back to the international space (Internet). As a result we have an universal closed cycle that you should use when searching and introducing new technologies (Figure 1). Each of these three facets dictates the principles and requirements for selecting tools for the preparation, making and control of administrative decisions, building system of Public Administration & management.

Proof of the three-stage cycle is a positive correlation between maturity government Internet presence and performance indicators, quality of state regulation, investment climate, corruption perception index by sample of 148 countries around the world. Positive correlation between these indicators (0.75) confirms the correctness, functionality and relevance of this approach (table 1).

TABLE 1. Correlation of maturity government web-presence with performance indicators, quality of state regulation, investment climate, corruption perceptions index

For the solving actual problems of Public Administration & management the initial input of base & special facets is to be developed  (fig. 1). These new models should not be static. Every employee should have an opportunity to add and expand the best practices and proven hosting models.

Particularly for the synergy of federal, regional and municipal levels of government the usage of  ICT special tools is required to identify common goals, projects and programmes. For organically whole economic and information space there is a need of public IT-architecture which includes shared services and components, a unified data and basis tools for decision-making. Using new tools authorities can operate as a unified, integrated, flexible system compliant to any threats by promoting its own reform and modernization in the private and public sectors.

Interdisciplinary interaction between the three levels of government should be taken into account in the early stages strategic planning. On the federal level it should formulate simple and clear goal with the purpose of searching for synergies in the strategy and the operational activities of the government bodies. The goal is the motivating factor to mobilize energies of human & other resources. General goal should be focused on external indicators, provide a comprehensive assessment of the authority performance in regard to living standards and the ease of entrepreneurship. Federal goals should be coordinated, detailed at regional and local level. For assessing the synergy the universal tool is the computation of strategic fits between projects at federal, regional and local government level. Joint projects co-financing, the federal, regional and municipal guarantees, etc. are also tools for motivation to achieve strategic correspondence.

A strategy, a clear common understanding of the development direction and use of resources is a factor of attracting investors. Strategy coordinated at all levels and targets of development backed by financing and tactical plans are strong engines for all over the country modernization process. Special motivation system created by the authorities at all levels (investment policy, tax incentives, the budgetary credits and guarantees, foreign economic regulation, etc.) should help to the strategy implementation as well. Thus, mixed and sometimes competing interests will transform to a unified vector of development sustainable combinations for resources and a motivational support to achieve long-term goals and objectives through consolidation of three levels efforts by common goals, calculating strategic fits of strategic plans and projects.

The most difficult problem is carrying out strategy with motivation of   officials to identify and implement new knowledge and innovations, to optimize processes. Simple building state portals with electronic public services without transformation changes of motivation systems will not result in significant improvements. Electronic fragmentary non-optimized public services will not be widely used. To overcome these limitations we suggest to use a matrix of transformation governance strategies based on ICT.

Transformation matrix allows selecting a strategy for implementing ICT to solve the main problem of state and municipal structures – goals on process, document, report, rather than the outcome. This strategic problem is related with unqualified vertical hierarchy. Government structure is a result of rigid hierarchies and subordination inside each body from federal to municipal level. Officials' days are full of routine execution of instructions, they don't want success really and there is no energy and initiative in this system. Every solution requires authorization in the written form of a assignment, instruction, confirmation that helps to insure from reproaches on failure. Accordingly information and work flows have adjusted for decision-making. For processes effectiveness of this system the most important factors are the skills and personal qualities of the boss who takes the decision. This person is the angular point of each hierarchy. Requirements of supervisors are the only impulse for all actions in the hierarchy. In conditions of hard subordination, iterative flow of information leads to overload top-managers current affairs to the detriment of strategic initiatives. Even with adequate strategic planning goals remain declarative. The regulation of all processes also reduces motivation for flexible implementation of the strategy, i.e. to the innovations and optimization processes, generating projects and ideas. In such hierarchy a strategy requires a tight control system and sanctions for violation of deadlines. The problem is that the plans and timelines are only formal meands of control without evaluation of implementation quality of strategic follow-up. Cause of the last is overload by operational issues while the chancellery or another control office has no possibilities to assess of the actual execution of the strategic plan. Thus, the implementation of the strategy is doutable.

On the other hand, bureaucracy is a hierarchical structure within the State and need for long-term strategic program & as a stable organization is able to adapt to external changes. The political process is a unity of discontinuity and continuity.  Periodic updating of the legislative branch is combined with the relatively stable executive. Bureaucracy helps to maintain the continuity and stability in the governance. In addition, tight vertical hierarchy is needed in times of crisis when it is necessary to make decisions and there is no time for a long coordination.

To overcome these limitations in the implementation of the strategic plan administrative system should be transformed into the horizontal hierarchy. New hierarchy provides flexible processes formation regardless of industry, functions, or entity level, i.e. "seamless" processes. The formation of each process is determined by environment (from bottom). Using kernel (analytic centre or an automated information system as a meta-system, bots, etc.) information shall be sent directly to responsible official making the decision in accordance with its competence and information base. Information doesn’t flow longer hierarchical chains “top-down” and “bottom-up” for the preparation of the impact on the environment. Horizontal hierarchy means balance of local autonomy in ongoing operations with centralized strategic management. Operational managers are given leeway, delegate powers so that they are responsible for everything that goes on location or area of work. It enables employees to use their actual performance, energy and enthusiasm, teamwork of state and municipal government.

Strategy for the transition towards a horizontal hierarchy corresponds with new principles – network, flexibility and integration. These principles should be attributed both to build information systems and to create institutional structures. When you implement the strategy according to the above-mentioned the principles of vertical and horizontal hierarchy is it helpful to select the tools of information. On terms of vertical hierarchy information infrastructure creation is focused on search for solutions that meet requirements of the internal environment. There is shared environment based on World Wide Web at the opposite side. ICT-tools from the earliest stages of development are selected for personalized service.

Another important aspect for strategy transformation is the choice of indicators for the automated control of efficiency. On the one hand there is the internal and technical efficiency such as following deadlines, cost reduction, etc. Today these indicators are the foundation focuses on public administration & management. Number of documents executed in time, produced documents and so on is calculated thoroughly. For financial indicators there is a volatility plan – fact, savings volume. Despite the importance of these indicators in terms of external constraints (legislative requirements, the superior authority), the subject cannot reach strategic objectives to ensure living standards, the maximization of fiscal benefits. Therefore, on the other hand there are indicators of outcomes (intended and unintended). 

Measuring of the ICT-impact has specific features for dedicated two poles of a indicators spectrum also. For the technical performance it is selected indicators relating to internal efficiency, i.e. the quality of the IT infrastructure. The demand of information systems evaluates as the usage of it from state and municipal employees’ side. The key objectives are to optimize the time and cost criteria for executive body. From the opposite poles there are indicators of outcomes, indicators of external effectiveness of process and services (government web-sites visitors, replacing traditional services, service-delivery comfort, feedback, etc.).

Choice of IT-strategy depends on the current process characteristics of the authority. Unoptimized internal processes lead to impossibility to optimize external ones such as without learning how to self manage there is no way to manage the team. On the other hand without identifying performance indicators you cannot delegate power to under level and design to a horizontal hierarchy. Thus, each strategy transformation has a certain result and its performance approach determinant the choice of management technology (table 1). Within strategy of internal processes optimization the most important thing is search for and choice of instruments for the ultimate budget investments output (priority IT tools for the management of financial flows, investment attraction). On the next step of factor-centric strategy it should choose tools for training of highly competent managers capable for measuring intended and unintended outcomes of regulatory impact. Priority should be given to controlling tools that allow you to move from measuring the technical efficiency to management of outcomes. The shared environmental strategy makes important IT-tools for ex-engineering that increase efficient in terms of process cost and time. Service-centric strategy makes a focus on searching for new services for living standards and optimizing of existing ones.
Table1. GIS tools for information management strategies

The model is useful to assess the possibility of outsourcing processes. If results are measured then processes can be efficiently transferred to outsourcing for budgeting, alternative choice and greater fiscal benefits. Therefore, if performance of internal infrastructure elements defined initially you can choose certain services, maintenance of information systems to outsource. In a shared environment, after ex-engineering the whole chain of business processes are available for outsourcing. After performance indicators defining with taking into account the indirect effects processing the results and performance database can be passed to knowledge outsourcing. 

In general, the transition to the next step in the transformation and respectively to the next tool facet is due to the characteristics of top-officials, maturity of processes and public organizations. Model allows you to determine the tools sequence on the phases of transformation strategy towards the horizontal structure. This model is universal for the management scope and applies both as for local municipal level and the system of state government. Important effect of levels subordination per process is a single point of view – living standard needs. It allows reversing of civil servants motivation’s vector from supervisor opinion to comfortable environment making self-organization process, flexibility to organizational structures, supporting creative processes, innovations, timely adjusting plans by taking into account the real situations. And backwards initiatives at the federal level supported by regional and local levels  will bring to  a multiplicative resonance effect. Then, on the one hand, the strategy for each region, municipality relies on the unique strengths of the territory, taking into account the opportunities and threats that can be specific as well as national in scope. As a result, top-down and bottom-up information flows of hierarchy tree have been reduced. Under the new model processes will get upward until supranational communications. Model transformation will encourage network strategy implementation based on IT in order to achieve comfortable living conditions.

The choice of specific software in the state and municipal management is emerging problem. It requires considerable financial investment and special technical specifications. Moreover, existing developments are dependent on level of technical and economic awareness of official, hard and software of workstation and server equipment. In order to introduce modern technology quickly and efficiently, we have created the universal road map. Technological road map is divided into five phases and includes analysis of emerging issues, interactive simulation of management impacts on socio-economic processes; measuring the effectiveness of the use of impact models, knowledge management and electronic databases exchange. There are primary accumulation of international examples of IT to meet the challenges of the housing industry, public health and other areas through the use of IT and mobile communication.

In order to organize anti-corruption campaign, there is a need to put necessary filters. With the help of IT tools mentioned in this book officials can get more transparency at  decision-making, checking bills and systematic approach to living standards and ease of entrepreneurship.

To effectively use new opportunities offered by electronic government procurement, IT should cover gradually the full cycle of contract management from the first stage of budget planning to guarantee expires. Special roadmap for development the procurement website based on domestic and international experience is presented in the book.

To manage the income component of the budget we define tax system’s performance indicators both in terms of tax output and indirect costs such as tax administration cost of business. Using these indicators in automated simulation models each level of government would be in a better position to decide on preferences, investment projects, the ease of doing business measured in terms of taxes and fees.

Crises are caused usually in any system by the accumulation of domestic problems whereas external international crisis act as a trigger for first one. Using IT for anti-recessionary management is aimed at understanding the scope and the vector of emerging crisis developing, preparation of  proven organizational and budgetary plans, taking their timely correction by handling a vast amount of information from international, regional and local Internet space.

Special antitrust tasks, promoting competition and innovation requires modern IT for determining dominance and monopoly control taking into account the requirements of the international competitiveness of national producers. There are the tools of information policy in the book.

If fighting for the innovativeness of the region's economy is an agenda, model formation of competitive economic clusters will help. The importance of this task was proven by world data demonstrated positive correlation between clusters development and standard of living. Specific arrangements for the practice should make it possible to develop innovation in conjunction with the task of creating a comfortable living environment. Model result is the realization of national projects targets in the innovative zone, the interest combination of different budget levels and all beneficiaries to attract the necessary resources to improve quality of living, internal demand for domestic clusters. Necessary legal, marketing, consulting infrastructure will provide transformation from idea to innovation, i.e. new market product or technology. Also the intellectual assets, innovation capital and support services will connect. It is important the support for cooperative research, integration of small, medium and large-sized innovative companies in the chain of value, development of a cooperative network of science and education – innovative small and medium-sized businesses – large business, dissemination of knowledge from the research and development to  their capitalization, stimulate research and knowledge-based outsourcing. Development of sustainable and productive networks, innovation activities of enterprises will support update, economy diversification and non-dependency on imports of innovative technologies and products. National priorities and goals of the socio-economic development of the region will be associated with the target incubator processes, corporate innovative strategies of SME & corporations. On this basis it will insure combination of scientific, technical and social interests at the federal, regional and local government level.

For infrastructure projects generation book compiled a wealth of factual material associated with the initiation of infrastructure projects, managed immovable abroad. The experience of Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Ireland and some other countries is interesting particularly Strengths and successes of public-private partnership (PPP) of developed countries, especially Canada, determine a range of participants closely involved. Special techniques to generate ideas, evaluation, selection and their execution monitoring have developed to activate the PPP. A set of tools for project financing will serve three missions simultaneously - (1) developing resource base for the State and municipal government (2) analyzing extra budgetary resources (3) the implementation of socially significant problems.

Most simple user interfaces, well-developed telecommunications infrastructure afford a ground for new possibilities for modeling and decision-making. Whereas previously you had to hire analytical or consulting firm which dealt in the data, set dependencies and trends scenarios modeling, today you can find a lot of ready-made solutions with analytic processing data and presenting them in a convenient human-readable form. Moreover, with the help of modern models of public-private partnerships such as the system as a service (SAAS), cloud computing, governments can avoid the purchase of hardware and software. Centrally typical software allows minimizing of IT-budget necessary for the management of digital data on the region or country level.

Challenge in building management system is the choice of the most important indicators for the modeling. At the same time integrating goal is comfortable habitation. This goal should be a measure of the effectiveness of IT- implementation. Objectives of birthrate, living standard, education and health services are clear and understood by all levels of government, parliament and the

general public. People including the state and municipal employees, should have interesting and worthy gainful jobs, safe and comfortable accommodation, good infrastructure (roads, transportation, consumer market, communications), an opportunity to give their children a qualitative education and health service, opportunities for recreation and entertainment, in a stable political, social, economic and ecological environment. Quality of living involves directly providing the easy of entrepreneurship, favorable investment climate. It is a prerequisite for comfortable living environment. Firstly, the business provides employment, self-realization opportunities to employees, effective demand for goods/services, secondly, a tax base for the development of infrastructure, and thirdly, produces goods and services for living standard. In global economics international differentiation of living standard effects on location of offices, production and research units of multinational companies – vendors with the most modern technology. Therefore, developing economies try to create the most business-friendly environment for attracting vendors and “dealing for a fall”. It should be noted that not every economic growth improves the quality of living factors, e.g. rapid and extensive economic growth may have serious damage to the ecological environment. Recent studies have shown that increasing levels of consumption does not always correspond to increasing levels of happiness and life satisfaction measured by polls. It’s important to create the infrastructure of communication including development of social networks. The book presents a hierarchy of indicators for the government officials’ dashboards.

Thus public & municipal administration is the most difficult task for modern management as it is directed to multilayer, multielemental and internally inconsistent object - municipality under influences of the extremely instability environment. Using modern ICT it is possible to structure huge amounts of data, create the knowledge base of up-to-date tools for effective governance system. At the same time, the most complex and urgent problem is to set up information systems to measure the outcomes of public administration which is the basis of feedback, motivation, technology choice, effective modeling and decision-making at all levels. The book reflects the views of authors at these problems for promoting innovation development, the most important areas of tax, antitrust, crisis management, infrastructure projects development (Figure 1). Every tool and criteria was subordinated to creating a comfortable living environment as the primary objective. We've gathered the best tools from international experience and numerous references for further study.

Every day our life creates provide us with new knowledge, tools and techniques, improve regulatory system. So the book can be supplemented and adapted. So we are looking forward to feedback from our readers.