Public sector partnerships to deliver local e-government: A social network study

This research explores how UK local authorities and their partners work together in sub-regional e-government partnerships. The paper first introduces the literature in four key areas: local e-government, partnership working, local governance and social networks. It goes on to explain the methodology adopted during the study: comparative case studies of three sub-regional e-government partnerships using social network analysis and qualitative interviews. The findings from the first case study show that the partnership is working productively and is delivering a number of projects, but that the partnership is largely IT-led and has little representation from citizen-facing directorates. The initiatives being pursued have so far been essentially administrative reforms driven by efficiency and have yet to impact directly on the citizens of the sub-region. The emphasis has been on improving existing local authority ways of working rather than advancing local democracy or improving policy making.