Upgraders

If you are an experienced Joomla! 1.5 user, this Joomla site will seem very familiar. There are new templates and improved user interfaces, but most functionality is the same. The biggest changes are improved access control (ACL) and nested categories. This release of Joomla has strong continuity with Joomla! 1.7 while adding enhancements.

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Professionals

Joomla! 2.5 continues development of the Joomla Framework and CMS as a powerful and flexible way to bring your vision of the web to reality. With the administrator now fully MVC, the ability to control its look and the management of extensions is now complete.

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Homepage

Suggested path to browse this website:

1. Read the notes below.

2. Then go to the Left-hand side menu and browse: Digital Governance Concept, Generic Models and the 5 different models, Information Access and Flows, and the Geometry of Information Flows. Follow up with case-studies, network and other links.

3. Do not forget to sign for updates and do leave your feedback

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new! DigitalGovernance.org participates in World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR), 16 - 18 April 2012, Delhi, India.

Vikas Nath was the International Chair (Agriculture and ICT) for WITFOR and organised multiple sessions on how ICT can improve lives of farmers and transform rural landscapes.

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UPDATE: Connecting Agricultural Sector through Electronic Governance Models and 2 Lessons:

When applied to the Agricultural Sector, electronic governance refers to the use of ICTs in delivering governance products and services which are of use to farmers or those working in the agrarian sector, including livestock breeders and herders, milk dairy workers, agriculture extensionists, agricultural traders, and NGOs working in the agriculture sector. And there are a range of governance products and services that are useful for the agrarian community to fulfil common needs of all developing countries: enhancing crop productivity, efficient cattle farm management, providing for national and household level food security, and conservation of bio diversity. Read More

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UPDATE: Increasing "Public Value" of Information through E-Governance Models 

There is no doubt that governments going online through websites has positive utilities. Yet it would be imprudent to state that -maintaining an online government presence has significantly enhanced the flow of government information of "value" to the public. Thus the need to enhance the "Public Value" of information - to understand the difference between information being provided and information of "value" to the public being provided by the governments. Read More

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What is DIGITAL GOVERNANCE ?

Digital Governance is often referred as Egovernance, E-governance or Electronic Governance. In simple terms, it refers to governance processes in which Information and Communications Technology (ICT) play an active and significant role.

The role of ICT in Governance Sphere could be 4 fold:

Improve quality of governance products and services being currently provided

Provide new governance services and products

Enhance participation of people in choice & provision of governance products & services

Bring new sections of society under the governance sphere (including those who are most likeable to remain excluded - namely the poor, the illiterate, the differently abled, indigenous people, the migrants and displaced people)

In other words, it is WRONG to equate Digital Governance with simply digitalization, or automation of governance services. It is much more than that. Digital Governance has to be seen as a 'tool' for good governance and human development.

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UPDATE: KEY LEARNINGS from the DigitalGovernance.org initiative

E-governance has to be viewed as a political process dealing with reform of governance towards good governance. And governance reform is a slow process- requiring engaging with institutions & bringing about attitudinal and constitutional changes.

Where political will exists, electronic governance can significantly catalyze the reform process towards good governance.

In absence of political will, the impact of electronic governance models will be weak and may not lead to qualitative change in governance processes. In such cases, there will be far greater onus on civil society organizations to build strong citizens movement to either create a political will or to bring about a change in leadership. 

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NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER, Digital Governance Initiative:

Digital Governance aims to study, design and propagate Electronic Governance (e-governance/ egovernance) Models. The focus of the DigitalGovernance.org Initiative is on developing countries where ICT can play a significant role in building accountable and democratic governance institutions. What is required is strategic application of knowledge and innovative use of available technology to provide governance services to all sections of the society. And the focus of electronic governance has to be on those who have mostly been marginalized of benefits of good governance.

E-Governance models described in this initiative are simple and suited for developing countries. They are based on innovative application of knowledge & technology. The idea is dual:

• bring more people under the governance sphere and,
• improve the services being provided under the governance sphere.