Our work was based on the following definition of e-government that was developed by the New York State Office for Technology's Local Government Advisory Committee.

"E-government is the use of information technology to support government operations, engage citizens, and provide government services."

While this definition is simply stated, it is actually quite broad. It incorporates four key dimensions, which reflect the functions of government itself.

• e-services - the electronic delivery of government information, programs, and services often (but not exclusively) over the Internet
• e-democracy - the use of electronic communications to increase citizen participation in the public decision-making process
• e-commerce - the electronic exchange of money for goods and services such as citizens paying taxes and utility bills, renewing vehicle registrations, and paying for recreation programs, or government buying supplies and auctioning surplus equipment
• e-management - the use of information technology to improve the management of government, from streamlining business processes to maintaining electronic records, to improving the flow and integration of information

This last dimension of e-management is often not considered e-government because it is mostly invisible to the public. But it is essential to every aspect of e-government. Without it we cannot have the services, public engagement, and high quality, low cost operations that e-government promises.