Sending Your Government a Message: E-Mail Communication Between Citizens and Government.

• Author: Vieceli, Jeffery
• Position: Review

Neu, C. Richard; Anderson, Robert H.; and, Bikson, Tora K.

Santa Monica, CA: Rand, Science and Technology (176 pp)

As technology grows more pervasive, governments at all levels have more options for providing their constituents with services. But even though technology allows governments to communicate more effectively with their stakeholders, it also raises new questions. Namely, this book examines the use of e-mail in government communications. It covers basic definitions and practices, and it also references studies that provide useful information about the potential uses of e-mail.

The authors consider e-mail to be any electronic communication between two distinct points--whether those points are persons, groups of persons, or functional units of an organization. The central premise of this definition is the ability to address a message to a specific person or group of persons. In other words, posting a message to a Web site (under the authors' definition) does not constitute email, although it constitutes communication. By the authors' definition, documents or forms that are posted to a Web site that are completed and returned to a final destination for handling are considered e-mail.

The authors also differentiate between four different types of e-mail messages, including: free form, form based, simple, and complex. Accordingly, there are combinations of the different types of messages such as form-based simple messages.

Form-based e-mail messages are those in which the content of the message is highly structured. In particular, specific pieces of information are requested from the sender, and the sender may only enter information when and where prompted. Free-form e-mail is less structured than form based. These messages allow the sender to send open-ended responses. Simple messages convey information. Complex messages attempt to do something more than just convey a simple message, they attempt to renew a business license or pay a fine--what might be referred to as e-commerce or e-business activities.

The authors use different case studies to examine areas where e-mail could be used to increase efficiency and cut costs. One case study examines the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), which administers the Medicare Program. While the HCFA sets the policy for the program, the actual operations are highly decentralized. Several private contractors provide the day-to-day claims processing for health care facilities and health...