Singapore has topped the 2009 Waseda University International e-Government Ranking , making it the first time an Asian country has taken pole position in the study. This is the fifth year that the Waseda University Institute of e-Government has been monitoring the development of e-Government worldwide. Singapore was ranked second in 2007 and 2008, and third in 2005 and 2006.

Professor Dr Toshio Obi, Director of the Institute and Head of the research team, said e-Government was becoming increasingly important in a scenario characterised by the global financial crisis, as well as growing concerns over environmental issues. ICT can be used as tools to address these issues as governments work towards a citizen-oriented state, he said.

Singapore ranked within the top three for almost all the research parameters including the quality of the national portal.

The Waseda ranking covers 34 countries. The study analyses the development of web sites and ICT at governmental level, as well as the relationship between governments and their stakeholders.

Singapore ranked within the top three for almost all the research parameters including network preparedness, the availability of user-friendly and secure electronic services, the integration of ICT to facilitate management, the quality of the national portal, and how well the role of Chief Information Officer in Government is defined and developed. It fared less well in e-Government promotion, where it ranked 7th – top for this indicator was Sweden, followed by Japan and Korea.

Commenting on general e-Government trends over the past five years, the Waseda study noted that Governments have become aware that it is not enough to introduce ICT to their existing internal processes; they have to use ICT together with other e-Government initiatives to re-engineer processes within their organisation.

The focus of e-Government initiatives is also shifting from the public agencies to the citizens, as governments seek to provide e-services which deliver greatest convenience to their citizens and other stakeholders. At the same time, there has been a gradual change in the way governments interact with their citizens – from merely providing services to establishing virtual spaces where citizens can have a voice and are given the opportunity to participate in policy-making.

Despite these developments, there are several challenges that governments will have to address in earnest in the coming years, said the Waseda report.

One of these is the need for e-Government initiatives to proliferate to the municipal level, a process which will require horizontal and vertical collaboration and the upgrading of local capabilities to maintain e-Government initiatives at that level.

Take-up of online services is also generally low, implying that more effort is required in the "marketing" of these services. Policy-makers have to engage more closely with users as they develop, promote and seek to enrich their citizens' online experience, it said.