Information and communication technologies are outstanding tools for carrying out administrative reform. Apart from raising administrative efficiency and improving the quality of public services, the use of new technologies can also break through barriers of time and space and enable new ways of utilizing human resources and reviewing and simplifying administrative procedures. In the future, brand new ways of working and innovative outlooks will revitalize administrative reform and extend the positive results of information technology to new dimensions. Thus the newest challenges to the promotion of public service reform are the questions of how to best use information and communication technologies, how to integrate existing "imformatization" efforts in separate agencies, and how to develop innovative working procedures that can break through restrictions on service format.
As charged in the "Items Concerning the Overall Planning and Coordination of the Development of Administrative Information Systems" and in accordance with the declaration "The integration of information tasks will take population, land, health insurance, and financial service systems as a core, implement innovative services employing inter-agency links, and expand the scope of service and extend the capability of government service locations by utilizing various types of information equipment to benefit the people through more flexible queries, applications, and approval and issuance of documents and certificates" contained in item 5 (4) of Article 3-- "Implementation Items for the Fiscal Year" of the Executive Yuan document "Administrative Reform Plan (FY 1995)" (deliberated and passed by 2397th session of the Executive Yuan on Sept. 8, 1994), and further in conjunction with the Executive Yuan National Information Infrastructure Task Force's mission of "designating groups to carry out the automation of administrative management and public services," the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC) of the Executive Yuan has accordingly been made responsible for planning and carrying out automation to make public services more convenient. Numerous focal areas have been designated in conjunction with the implementation of this plan, and in order to encourage agencies at all levels to fully carry out the automation of public services, it has not only been necessary to seek positive results in the short term, but also to instill a new administrative outlook in the mid term in order to open a brand new era in government service to the public.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is conducting the ongoing computerization of population and conscription administration tasks, and on-line services are now available throughout the Taipei and Kaohsiung areas; residents currently need only go to a single residential administration office to obtain domiciliary registers, make domiciliary information queries, or conduct change of domicile procedures when they move. Residents no longer need to visit two or more government offices, wasting much time in the process, and no longer need to fill out many complicated and tedious applications; as long as they have provided their name, national identification number, and the item they are applying for, computers can swiftly print out an application form.
As far as land administration services are concerned, the Taipei and Kaohsiung municipal governments and fourteen land administration offices under the Taiwan provincial government have already completed the computerization of services. Besides greatly simplifying land title registration, the new system also allows citizens to obtain copies of land titles from branches other than the one they are at. The Kaohsiung government has gone further and now offers on-line queries concerning land title information, allowing citizens, financial institutions, and attorneys specializing in writing legal documents to obtain information without leaving their home or place of business.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has already completed the installation of a second-generation road management system in conjunction with provincial and municipal governments, and in October 1994 the Taiwan provincial government began the three-stage implementation of inter-district on-line services throughout the province. Thanks to this progress, the users of 13 million cars and motorcycles can apply for motor vehicle- related services at any point connected with the on-line network. During the current first stage, the issue, renewal, and replacement of driver's licenses and vehicle titles can be freely conducted at any suitable location. The scope of inter-district services will expand in the future, and it is anticipated that with the completion of on-line links to motor vehicle agencies in Taipei and Kaohsiung in February 1997, full service will be available to citizens throughout Taiwan.
The Council of Labor Affairs has already integrated jobswanted and employees-wanted information collected by provincial and municipal governments, allowing citizens to obtain employment information and arrange for meetings with prospective employees or employers from throughout Taiwan at a single location.
As far as grassroots-level administrative agencies are concerned, county and city governments are currently implementing service information systems in conjunction with central government departments, and the governments of Taiwan Province and municipalities directly administered by the central government are also planning and carrying out the computerization of administrative services at the county and city level. In the case of the lowest- level township, town, city, and district public offices, these units are gradually proceeding to computerize services in conjunction with the Taiwan provincial government's "Plan for the Full-scale Implementation of Administrative Informatization in Township, Town, City, and District Public Offices," using model case studies from the Office Automation Demonstration Development Center, whose establishment was coordinated by RDEC. At present 110 public offices have computerized their services, and it is projected that full automation will be completed by June 1998. Computerization has been completed for public services in the areas of agriculture, construction, and civil administration, and citizens and communities are already enjoying tangible benefits in these areas. Such computerized services include land use zoning, the fallowing or conversion to other crops of paddy fields, non-application of the 37.5% rent reduction, the copying of land title information and the issuance of low-income certification, etc.; in all cases the one to three weeks formerly needed for processing has been reduced to three hours or even as little as five minutes in some cases. The computerization of government services is proceeding from the central government down to grassroots-level town, township, city, and district public offices, and point-to-point on-line connections are gradually being linked together to form complete coverage of all of Taiwan. In order to enhance service quality and open new territory in public services, the development of service systems that bring benefits to the public has been given priority.
At present the focus of the government's "imformatization" effort is being placed on establishing computer networks. In order to meet the information needs of citizens, private groups, and academic and research organizations, RDEC is staying abreast the worldwide trend towards the use of computer networks by setting up the "Government Public Service Electronic Window" and coordinating the entry of service-related information by various agencies of the central, provincial, and municipal governments. This information will be available at all times for public query and retrieval; at present approximately 2000 electronic documents can be accessed through this system. At the same time, RDEC is coordinating the creation of major national databases with information on population, land, laws and regulations, credit, trade, trademarks, patents, business matters, and published materials by various agencies, and is also planning to take advantage of private addedvalue services to assist with promoting the widespread use of government information. As the Internet continues to grow at a rapid pace, government agencies at all levels are reviewing the experience of Taiwan's own "Tanet" academic network and actively setting up their own network sites. At present major salient areas of government agencies and departments' efforts are electronic bulletin boards, e-mail, databases, on-line information services, and global information network systems.
Looking at the computerization of government services from a broad perspective, the continued drop in the prices of computer hardware and software together with the ever higher level of computer knowledge among civil servants has enabled the use of computer terminals by a small number of specialists in the past to evolve towards the universal use of personal computers; the computerization of a small number of government services is developing into full office automation; the use of computer files by a single individual is changing to the use of computer databases by many individuals; the universal use of computers has spread from central government agencies to grassroots-level units; the provision of services at fixed office locations is expanding to include mobile service locations; and point-to-point connections are expanding to encompass an entire surface.
Thanks to several years of hard work by many agencies, the above developmental trends are already bearing their first fruits. On the other hand, some agencies' investments in information technology have been intended only to add automation to the status quo and do not represent an attempt to rethink what kinds of work are needed, how the agency can attain its administrative goals, how work can be simplified, or how procedures can be streamlined or combined with the tasks performed by other agencies. Because these agencies' planning lacks foresight and only attempts to employ computers to replace human labor, they are unable to fully bring into play information technology's ability to break through the limitations of space and time via innovative reform measures. On top of this, the computerization of individual agencies has traditionally been constrained by the agency's work procedures and organizational structure. In the case of types of services that involve various functions and locations and can only generate single-point benefits, innovative methods employing information and communications technologies can be used to gradually establish new systems largely based on information processing procedures and integrated with the operational procedures of multiple agencies; in this way it will be possible to address the needs of the public, process public application information in a single session, and complete service in a timely manner.
Just think if the day came when government services were universally distributed, comprehensive in content, and citizens could obtain information at any time and did not have to leave their home or place of business...only this can truly be considered convenient service. In fact, in the case of many services originally the responsibility of different agencies, a particular agency can now complete service procedures by using computer links to immediately check information during the course of an application process or review and examine computer files afterwards. Citizens often need not make trips back and forth to different specialized agencies, but can enjoy a complete range of integrated services at a single agency. In the case of relatively simple services, as long as the agency personnel involved are able to operate a personal computer, they can rely on clear standard working procedures to obtain an on-line connection from any location and perform inquiries or swiftly approve and issue licenses or certificates. In the case of relatively complicated services, the swift and sure exchange of electronic documents and information can enable the close coordination of information handling procedures, not only increasing administrative efficiency, but also providing "one-stop service" enabling the public to avoid the trouble of attaching documentation issued by other units to a particular application case. This is just an application of "reengineering"; involving a customer-oriented outlook and the application of information and communications technologies, reengineering has recently become a major issue for modern organizations.
Consequently, from the current state of attempts to make services more convenient and the developmental trend of government service computerization it can be seen that the key to whether or not it will actually be possible to enhance service quality and increase administrative efficiency is "the application of information and communications technologies to improve public service methods in order to enhance the convenience of services." Accordingly, as far as the service systems of various agencies are concerned, there need to be appropriate promotion strategies for implementing innovative service procedures involving networked computers. Apart from this, consideration must be made by government agencies whether or not to utilize already-universal fax machines, digital voice systems, and automatic teller machines, as well as newly-emerging information kiosks. Finally, under the current government policy of financial restraint and manpower cutbacks, it is imperative to link up with private resources to achieve optimal results from the automation of public services in the shortest possible time.
In order to achieve the long-term goals of "making optimal use of information and communications technology, imbuing government administration with a new outlook, and providing the public with automated services that are convenient, quick, accurate, and economical in terms of time, money, and effort," as government agencies gradually proceed with public service automation in accordance with existing plans, the present plan has been drawn up adopting the guiding principles of "placing a priority on service," "integrating information," "innovative improvement," and "consolidating change at the grassroots level." In conjunction with the adoption of uniform objectives and strategies by agencies at all levels, these principles will serve as a basis for efforts to coordinate service automation work both within and between individual agencies.
This plan's overall objectives consist of:
(1) Enhancing service quality.
(2) Raising administrative efficiency.
In the long run, accomplishing these objectives will involve government agencies at all levels directly and indirectly utilizing information and communications equipment to provide the public with faster, more up to date, and more accurate automated services.
B. Current Objectives
Private enterprises take their customers to be of the utmost
importance and universally provide convenient automated services. In
order to insure that the objectives of the current plan are realized,
government agencies must likewise have the highest respect for public
needs. According to large-scale public opinion surveys taken by RDEC
over the years, together with the views obtained from many parties at
the time this plan was being drawn up, during the present phase,
agencies' efforts to make their public services more convenient
should achieve the following objectives, as stated from the public's
point of view:
(1) Before entering an agency: It should be easy to acquire plentiful
relevant information.
(2) Conducting business involving a single agency: Questions should
be answered immediately; business should be completed immediately and
the resulting documents issued promptly.
(3) Conducting business involving multiple agencies: It should be
possible to submit materials and receive service from beginning to
end at a single location.
(4) It is not necessary to go to an agency: On-line application and
processing help eliminate obstacles of space and time.
From the point of view of the agencies implementing this plan, in
order to satisfy diverse and steadily increasing public needs, an
effort should be made to accomplish the following current-phase
objectives:
(1) Application procedures should be simplified.
(2) The processing of applications should use time efficiently.
(3) The time services are available should be lengthened.
(4) The locations at which services are offered should be
increased.
(5) The scope of services should be expanded.
(6) Innovative services should be offered.
C. Relevant Plans for Accomplishing the Stated Objectives
The formulation of the present plan has been based on the "Plan to Step Up Promotion of Office Automation Among Government Agencies" promulgated by the Executive Yuan, and since various individual agencies already have existing plans for implementing office automation, this plan will accordingly focus on setting up computer networks between different agencies and thereby providing innovative integrated services. In addition, the implementation of the current plan will pay attention to the administrative reform concepts of "efficiency" and "public convenience," will emphasize specific trial projects, and will coordinate with many agencies in devising specific tasks. A number of these tasks were included in the implementation items of the "Administrative Reform Program," and had already proven feasible and effective at the time that the present plan was being drawn up. In addition, agencies were also requested to formulate more tasks in line with the content of this plan, and consideration was given to the basic strategies of "promoting the exchange and utilization of government administrative information," "creating a sound basic environment for the mutual transfer of information," and "promoting innovative applications of information technology" as stated in the Executive Yuan document "The National Information and Communications Infrastructure." Finally, in line with the concept of "using the flow of information to replace the flow of manpower, physical resources, and funds," this plan seeks to enhance the government's service efficiency and thereby support Taiwan's bid to become an "Asia- Pacific regional operations center."
Strategies addressing the aspect of service system integration are presented first:
Strategy One---"Lessening Trips to Agencies by Promoting Interorganizational On-line Applications"
With the gradual completion of automated service systems in agencies concerned with taxation, police administration, motor vehicle oversight, health care and sanitation, residential and conscription administration, land administration, and other grassroots-level services, besides being able to enjoy at individual "points" convenient services including the processing of applications, automated on-line queries, and the immediate printout of attractive and accurate documents and certification, the public can also utilize on-line connections with agencies at different levels in the same overall organization to obtain, for example, tax vouchers, certificates, vehicle licenses, driver's licenses, domiciliary registers, and land titles, etc. from other districts. This system provides citizens with convenient and nearby service (making it unnecessary to return to the district of one's registered domicile, for example), thereby making a positive contribution to increasing the government's service locations and expanding its service scope. At the same time, all agencies connected with population, land, financial oversight, and health care must make consistent use of basic information technology and make use of network connections or media exchange to provide computer data files for the use of other agencies insofar as this would not violate the principle of protection of personal information. Therefore, after inter-agency services have been implemented, anyone who goes to a particular agency to conduct an application and needs to attach documentation issued by another agency may entrust the first agency with obtaining the needed documentation through such network connections (when the person involved has given authorization, on-line verification and approval can be substituted for obtaining documentation in person from a different agency). This system can greatly reduce the time needed in processing applications and efficiently raise the quality of public services.
Strategy Two---"Integrating On-line Handling of Administrative Information and Updating Service Procedures"
Thanks to the efforts of agencies at various levels, among various tangible accomplishments are the issuing of licenses between different Motor Vehicle Department offices in response to distant applications; the acceptance of customs clearance documentation at a single location followed by automated transfer and processing; and electronic transfers between accounts at financial agencies in different organizations. These successes, however, should not hold back further efforts; with core service systems already or soon to be completed in the areas of taxation, residential administration, land administration, and health care, far-reaching planning should be conducted to develop and expand innovative "one-stop" services involving network links either between these core systems or between an individual core system and other public service systems.
Because operations employing computer networks may cause conflicts with existing work methods, while devising innovative information services, consideration should be paid to rationalizing work procedures, simplifying the filling out of forms, revising relevant laws and regulations, drawing up standards and norms, redrawing spheres of authority, and readjusting the utilization of manpower -- in short a thorough review and reform effort that will consolidate the positive results of automation.
Strategy Three--"Strengthening the Participation of Local Government in Planning so as to Enhance the Effectiveness of Implementation"
Residential administration offices, land administration offices, tax offices, public health offices, department of motor vehicles offices, local police stations, and city, town, township, and district public offices represent the front line where government agencies come into the greatest contact with the public, and are also the source of much administrative data and documentation. In order to insure that information systems delivering convenient service actually become a reality, during the planning stage the selection of tasks should incorporate study and discussion proceeding from the central government down to low-level agencies and focussing on feasibility under real conditions. During the implementation stage, because of the fact that it may be necessary to install automation systems in as many as hundreds of workplaces, a pilot project approach may be adopted: First conducting trials in several low-level agencies and then proceeding with large-scale implementation after an evaluation of results from the trial project. On the other hand, if the implementation of an automated service involves providing universal and uniform service to the entire public within a short period of time, in such a case it would be appropriate to implement the service broadly on a large scale in the shortest time conforming to the principle of economy of scale.
Strategy Four---"Establishing an Interactive Network Connecting Government and the Public and Enhancing Two-way Communication"
A pluralistic society requires diverse channels of communication; modern government should therefore take two-way communication with the people as its mission, and as a way of demonstrating its sense of responsibility, responsiveness, and trustworthiness. Traditional channels of communication between government and the people including television, newspapers, and magazines are always impeded to a greater or lesser extent by time and space. It is certainly possible to increase the use of computerized information systems and provide such instantaneous services as voice-activated queries, automatic fax-backs, electronic bulletin boards, and Internet sites; in addition, the widespread installation of e-mail and electronic forums within government agencies can provide government service information using an open electronic format and simultaneously allow the rapid collection of public comments, thereby establishing diversified channels of two-way communication.
The following three strategies involve the utilization of service equipment and facilities:
Strategy Five---"Employing Various Data Service Channels to Accelerate the Flow of Information"
The channels employed for the transmission of data have ranged
from the telegraphs used in earlier times to the much-talked-about
Internet currently in use. Because all these channels have the
characteristic of being limited by the service provider's environment,
many such channels have always existed simultaneously as they
increased and declined in their r