1. Step2
Leadership and Vision of the Mayor
OpenCityPortal
Delta Nigeria, November 2008

2. Contents
1. What is Vision from the Top?
1.3. The e-government plan
1.4. The goals of the vision
2.4. Universal access
2.5. Participatory approach
1.1. The importance of leadership
1.2. The message to the citizens
2. Creating the Vision Statement in OCP
2.1. Broad goals
2.2. Benefit to citizens
2.3. Initial priorities
3. Remarks about the Vision

3. Contents
1. What is Vision from the Top?
1.3. The e-government plan
1.4. The goals of the vision
2.4. Universal access
2.5. Participatory approach
1.1. The importance of leadership
1.2. The message to the citizens
2. Creating the Vision Statement in OCP
2.1. Broad goals
2.2. Benefit to citizens
2.3. Initial priorities
3. Remarks about the Vision

4. 1. What is “Vision from the Top”?
Creating a City Portal requires a political decision at the top level.
The mayor or the top official of the municipality should announce a short strategic
vision explaining to citizens why the municipality needs a Portal and setting out the
long-term goals.
The vision should include the principle that the Portal will be developed in a
participatory and inclusive manner.
We will call this document the “Vision Statement”

5. 1.1. The importance of leadership
All significant social/economic changes ,as e-government is,
require strong leadership to successful transformation
Leadership made the decisions balancing the interests of both, the Public
Administration and the Citizens and solves the arisen disputes.
The leader accompanied by his/her staff, must develop and apply the new and
integrated processes and procedures using modern technology tools.
e-Government means modernizing the Public Administration structure
Main objective of the e-Government initiative:
Providing an excellent customer service
The cost savings comes as well when achieving this primary goal.
Methodology to achieve its objective:
Government becoming service-oriented instead of process-oriented
Integrating services and establishing and maintaining high service-level quality
The requirement of a leader to perform the methodology and achieving the goal

6. Why is leadership important for the success of e-government:
1.1. The importance of leadership
Leadership
articulates a
vision of e-
Government
The leader must
encourage
citizens to
participate
through his vision
Leadership
establishes a
political will
Political will is
needed to gather
resources and
overcome
obstacles
Leadership
creates an
enabling
environment
The right
environment is
key for success,
only leadership
can create and
sustain it
Leadership
overcomes
resistances
The biggest
obstacles are
social, not
technical;
leadership must
overcome them
Leadership from top management is one of the critical success factors for e-
government initiatives. Therefore, commitment to the development of e-Government
must begin with the top management team of the government.

7. 1.1. The importance of leadership
Properly training and equipment for the staff is critical. People working on the
modernized administration must count with the necessary experience and
knowledge to achieve the highest service delivery quality and productivity gains.
Investment in people is as important as in technology.
A strong leadership and a well-trained staff
assures the success of the e-government project.
Not only the leader, but also his or her equipment

8. 1.2. The message to Citizens
The vision should clarify the role of the City Portal in relation with higher objectives
stated in the basic city development strategies:
– the city's long-term goals of economic and social development
– the necessity and means of attracting and generating business opportunities
in the city
The vision should also include information and communication strategies:
 the pursuit of open and transparent city information policies
 the creation of efficient information management systems
 the involvement of the citizens in the policy-making processes

9. 1.2. The message to the Citizens
e-Gov plan follows the strategic principle: ”Think Big, Start Small, Scale Fast”
Think Big
- Before any single and concrete e-Government initiative is implemented,
an overall picture of e-Gov should be sketched out
Including: short- and long- term objectives, plans for funding and all
connected issues
- "Think Big" does not mean a very large-scale e-Government plan
Start
Small
- The portion selected must be: simple, easy to carry and achieve, with
limited investment required and the least risk
- Purpose: ensure the success of the first steps
The project team will be given credit, gain substantive experience, learn
lessons and win support from users and top management.
Scale Fast
- Anything achieved should be applied to the entire government agencies
promptly, so as to enlarge the 'victory' and obtain as much economic and
social benefit as possible
-By starting on a small scale, all the problems, resistances and obstacles
will be exposed and this will benefit the entire e-Gov plan
- This also means keep pace with advancing technologies

10. 1.3. The e-government plan
1. A vision and insight of the potential of e- Government will be formulated by the
top government teams
2. The short- and long-term objectives and goals of e-Government development
will be clearly defined
3. The priority areas for e-Government development will be identified and a
development plan worked out
4. The funds for the planned e-Government projects will be in place at the right
time
5. All the issues connected to the e-initiative will be given proper consideration;
issues such as legitimacy, regulations, norms and standards and organization and
management.

11. 1.4. The Goals of the Vision
Emphasize direct benefits of e-gov to the daily life of citizens
Explain easily how the City Portal will benefit the "daily life" of the citizens:
providing better access to information on schools and hospitals, shortening
transaction times, increasing the efficiency of the government, etc.
Identify initial priorities and time lines
- Some initial priorities to achieve in one or two years
- Simple but useful promises for example giving all the contact information and office
hours, will be on the portal within a certain time
Explain how all the people can gain access to the Portal
People with no personal computers or internet connections can access the Portal, for
example, through public information centers located in the city offices, schools,
libraries and post offices.
Invite and encourage citizens to contribute contents to the Portal
Include all citizens not only in accessing information but also in sending it. Benefits
and importance of this should be explained as well.

12. Contents
1. What is Vision from the Top?
1.3. The e-government plan
1.4. The goals of the vision
2.4. Universal access
2.5. Participatory approach
1.1. The importance of leadership
1.2. The message to the citizens
2. Creating the Vision Statement in OCP
2.1. Broad goals
2.2. Benefit to citizens
2.3. Initial priorities
3. Remarks about the Vision

13. 2. Creating the Vision Statement in OCP
When creating the OCP platform for your municipality,
you will be requested to write the vision of it
1. Broad goals and long-term strategy
how IT systems will be used to achieve the goals established
2. Direct benefits to citizens
translated in improvements in their daily lives
3. Initial priorities
that will be address in the first one or two years
4. Universal access
for people not having their own computer or Internet access
5. Participatory approach
involving citizens in taking part in the development of the platform
This vision statement will be published in the City Portal’s “Goals” page
VISION STATEMENT Items

14. Open and transparent city information policies
2.1. Broad Goals
Long-term goals of the project of the creation of the Open City Portal:
Efficient Information Management systems
Ability to attract business opportunities to the city
 OCP enables all citizens to control and monitor local policies
 Need ot the Government to be trustworthy
 Information Technology need efficient Information Management
 IM benefits for citizens and businesses alike
 Transparent policies + efficient Information Management system
generates business opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
 This makes the region richer, which attracts even more businesses

15. ICT initiatives not well understood by citizens with no ICT/Internet knowledge
The Vision should explain in a plain language how the City Portal will benefit the daily
life of the citizens:
• better access to information
• shortening transaction time
• increased government efficiency
• …
2.2. Benefit to Citizens

16. Area Impact on
Financial Current/anticipated income, asset values, liabilities, entitlements…
Citizens profit from the increased regional wealth, as well as better services due to new
businesses opening in the area
Political Personal or corporate influence on government policy, political affairs and
political parties or prospects
Citizens have better information on the local policy-making and know more
Social Family or community relationships, social mobility, status, and identity
OCP creates opportunities for new social ties and relationships
Strategic Economic or political advantage or opportunities, goals, resources for
innovation or planning
Favorable climate encourage valuable individuals to remain in the community and improve it
Ideological Alignment of government actions or policies or social outcomes with
beliefs, moral or ethical positions
Citizens monitor government’s activities and judge them in the light of their moral convictions
Stewardship Public’s view of government officials as faithful guardians of the value of the
government itself in terms of public trust, integrity, and legitimacy
Citizens develop more trust on their government’s integrity

17. 2.3. Initial Priorities
The vision covers the
long term objectives,
that may not be
materialized soon.
Therefore, initial
priorities should cover
simple, useful promises.
Some good starting points
• Uploading the office hours and contact information for the different city services
to the Portal
• Uploading information about the different local government officials
• Establishing a schedule of the project for the citizens to consult, so they can
follow the progress of the initiative and see their contributions

18. 2.4. Universal Access
Citizens with no access to personal computers or Internet connections must be involved
in the project as well.
So, the vision should mention how these people can access the Portal, for example,
through the public information centers located in the city offices, libraries and post
offices
E-government plan must be carried out together with a infraestructure
development strategy to provide citizens with access to e-gov tools

19. Portraiting the Portal as an
effort in which the regular
citizens have no say should be
avoided at all costs.
The Portal is the product of the
community
Emphasize this cooperative
quality in the Vision, encouraging
all to participate
2.5. Participatory Approach
Seek the inclusion of all citizens not only in accessing information but also sending
information or developing content to the Portal

20. Contents
1. What is Vision from the Top?
1.3. The e-government plan
1.4. The goals of the vision
2.4. Universal access
2.5. Participatory approach
1.1. The importance of leadership
1.2. The message to the citizens
2. Creating the Vision Statement in OCP
2.1. Broad goals
2.2. Benefit to citizens
2.3. Initial priorities
3. Remarks about the Vision

21. 3. Remarks about the Vision
When finally writing the Vision of your OCP Proyect,
Keep in mind the following tips
To see a video about how to include the Vision in your OCP Platform,
Click Here
The Vision says what your objectives are,
and what you want to achieve with this project.
The target are the citizens.
Therefore, it should be written shortly and easily to be understood by all.