第一章 经济刺激、行政公开与公共信任（Stimulus funds, transparency and public trust）

 

1）经济危机加剧了公众对各国政府，包括央行的信任危机。图1是1999－2009欧盟央行公众信任度的变化图，2009年首度出现负值，即不信任超过了信任的比例（trust in central banks dramatically decreased in the six months following September 2008，图1所示）。但电子政务对改善这种状态有一定贡献，信息服务、知识共享和参与与协作工具可以缓解公众对政府行为的不确定性和紧张状态（“E-government has much to contribute in addressing such a situation. Information services, knowledge-sharing, and tools for participation and collaboration may all serve to reduce uncertainty and assuage public unease.”）。证据表明，在美国和加拿大，政府通过Internet与公民互动，与公民对政府的信任感和对政府责任的认知之间有正向相关关系（“Research in Canada and the United States, for example, suggests that using the Internet to transact with government has a positive impact on trust as well as public perceptions of government responsiveness.”）。同时，公民参与决策越多，满意度也越高，政策的可接受度也越高。

图1

2）危机应对网站：刺激资金追踪（Tracking public funds）、低成本方案、部门间协作（Coordination across agencies）

政府应用GIS系统跟踪投资的使用情况，如交互式地图定位投资、项目的情况（Kazakhstan’s crisis response website, for example, offers an interactive map and with just a few clicks the user is able to localize the areas where investments are made, along with detailed descriptions of projects (e.g. amount of resources allocated, name of contractor, how to contact the person in charge of the project, time for the realization of the project, number of jobs created by the project).）。方法有按地区查询、按邮编查询，或通过手机查询等（下图2是澳大利亚的危机应对网站），危机应对网站的功能如图3。

 图2

 图3

目前还没有证据表明在ICT上投资的多少与行政透明度之间存在明显的关系，但的确能降低行政公开的成本（..., yet, there appears to be no correlation between the resources invested in technology (e.g. in website costs) and the quality and quantity of transparency that is achieved. Moreover, there is widespread evidence that expressive results can be achieved at very low costs）。另外，应用e-gov对政府投资加强监管与引导带来的受益也远大于在ICT上的投入。数据表明，政府的IT应用能力是影响政务公开的效果的一个因素。

部门间协作，如中央政府提供公共（统一）平台、软件标准（数据、通讯协议等），包括web2.0的应用（Web 2.0 applications provide decentralized patterns for data submission and analysis, and provide a platform for the provider-user interaction）都能促进政府职能部门间的协作，案例有the United States geographic information systems、the Lithuanian economic stimulus plan website、the French website for business development and employment。它们的成功与e-Gov应用的“用户中心”原则有关，与其复杂性、先进性无关。

3）从行政透明到公共参与

Web2.0及其工具为公民参与提供了更多的机会（A range of opportunities for citizen participation are offered by Web 2.0, a term that refers to web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centred design and collaboration.A range of opportunities for citizen participation are offered by Web 2.0, a term that refers to web applications that facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centred design and collaboration.）成功的应用有the Twitter account of the Governor of California，In Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and La Plata, Argentina；Heathcote, Australia等，图4。而非营利性公共组织（NGO）相对于政府而言对Web2.0的应用更多一些。

图4

4）数据获取与公民社会（Data access and civil society）

数据公开有助于提高政府所占有公共数据的效益（Open data enhances public sector efficiency by transferring some of the analytical demands of government to NGOs, research institutes and the media, which have been found to combine data from various sources in original and inventive ways）。

政府作为平台。NGO、科研机构、媒体都可以利用这些数据，并提供增值服务，且它们在增值最大化方面可能会做得更好（Crowe and Meade believe that if governments provide data in a non-proprietary and predictable format, third parties are more likely to maximize the value of this information, hence providing services that better respond to users’expectations and needs.）。于是，government2.0产生了（图5）！即更多地与社会组织合作以及通过非营利组织，发挥政府所掌握数据的作用。

图5 Web2.0在政府中的应用

这也对政府提出了新的要求，对公共数据制定统一的标准，并要求各级政府机构在数据收集和上报时遵循这一标准。对发展中国家而言，这更是一项长期而艰巨的任务，它涉及人力、物力、财力的多项投入，并以此建立符合这一标准的制度与结构（The deployment of human and financial resources to create the structure required for open data is a particularly sensitive matter for governments in the context of an economic downturn and tightening budgets, and it is a major issue at any given time for developing countries.）。

数据开放的经济学。数据开放的经济学意义是降低政府提供在线服务成本的同时再降低政府占有数据的成本（The economics of open data is about releasing governments from the costly delivery of services online while decreasing marginal costs for the provision of government-held data.）具体而言，政府以数据供应者的身份出现，第三方机构以发布者的身份出现，以更具创新性、创造力的方式向公众发布信息（The economics of open data, with governments as data providers and third parties delivering the information to the public in more innovative and creative ways, has an inevitable resemblance to economic models that privilege market efficiency with the least governmental intervention.）。这在美国得到了证明，图6.

图6 美国数据公开尝试

尽管第三方组织在面向社会提供数据服务上更经济，但在发展中国家却被局限于某些有限的领域内（Third parties have proven their ability to innovate and deliver, yet their range of action has been generally restricted to certain sectors of government activity and mainly concentrated in developed countries.）当然，第三方组织本身也存在技术力量不足的问题。不过，很多国家已经进行了成功的尝试，例如阿根廷（Argentina, the website Dinero y Politica）、美国（United States,  Open Congress website）、巴西（Brazil, the development of MeuParlamento）、乔治亚（Georgia）、印度（ India）、约旦（Jordan）肯尼亚（Kenya）、黎巴嫩（Lebanon）、立陶宛（Lithuania）等，都通过第三方公共组织向公众提供政府数据。

甚至更为开放的尝试都取得了很好的效果，如2008年在美国哥伦比亚特区进行的“Apps for Democracy”（The initiative Apps for Democracy）。它通过设立开放式奖金，发起自由参与者的应用程序开发竞赛活动，进行到第三天，发出50，000美元奖金后就成功建立了47个应用程序。如果这些程序交由专业公司开发的话，则需要260万美元。

同理，国际合作亦可以拓展公共数据的价值空间。

谁为信息安全守卫底线？第三方公共组织提供数据会增加公众的信任度，在公众信任的前提下不管是政府还是第三方都不会遭受破坏了。（这可能有点理想主义，因为社会中不光是需要政府提供未被破坏数据的公众）

5）结论

电子政务被空前重用来消除经济危机的影响，在提高危机应对措施的透明度、向公众/企业传递信息、获得公众对经济低迷的反应方面发挥了重要作用（E-government tools have been used in an unprecedented manner as a means to support policies to alleviate and cope with the effects of the recent global economic crisis. They have played a major role in providing transparency of crisis-response measures, conveying relevant information and support to citizens and businesses, and encouraging feedback from citizens on alternatives for addressing the effects of the economic downturn.）。

但要使e-gov充分发挥作用，公众信任是前提之一。于是，通过应用开放数据标准，第三方机构（比如NGO）可以在协助政府提供公共信息上发挥重要作用。

另一个前提是以公众为中心的原则（The extent to which user-centricity is a component of each of the initiatives is a factor in its success.）。通过设计良好的公共参与，可以准确掌握公众的需求（Participatory practices, when appropriately designed and implemented, can address users’ needs.）

以上增加行政透明度、引入第三方机构、以公众为中心等措施，均可以在准确把握经济危机中存在问题的同时，使得公众信任得到加强、重建，同时使得行政透明度进一步提高（The capacity of governments to address the issues
that emerge as the economic crisis continues to unfold constitutes the core element through which trust can be renewed and reinforced, while transparency is also enhanced.）

总之，经济危机对政府而言，对e-gov而言，是政府改变运作模式和与社会交流的机会（The current environment should be regarded as an opportunity for change in the way governments operate and interact with society.）。

最后附上一些危机应对网站的特征分析表（表1）。