The United Nations E-Government Survey presents a systematic assessment of the use and potential of information and communication technologies to transform the public sector by enhancing efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, accountability, access to public services and citizen participation in the 193 Member States of the United Nations, and at all levels of development.

The 2016 E-Government Survey is issued at the moment when countries are launching the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  It provides new evidence and new analysis to reflect on the potential of e-government to support the implementation of the Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are at its core. The 2030 Agenda itself recognized that “the spread of information and communications technology and global interconnectedness has great potential to accelerate human progress, to bridge the digital divide and to develop knowledge societies, as does scientific and technological innovation across areas as diverse as medicine and energy” (United Nations, 2015, paragraph 15).
The General Assembly has recognized on several occasions the role of information and communications technology in promoting sustainable development and supporting public policies and service delivery.1 It has underscored that ICT have enabled breakthroughs “in Government and the provision of public services, education, healthcare and employment, as well as in business, agriculture and science, with greater numbers of people having access to services and data that might previously been out of reach or unaffordable” (United Nations, 2015c, para 16). The General Assembly has also specifically affirmed the “potential of e-government in promoting transparency, accountability, efficiency and citizen engagement in public service delivery” (United Nations 2015b).  Resolutions adopted earlier by the General Assembly also provided the basis for the Survey. 

(Source: United Nations)