Digital transformation of the government: a case study in Indonesia

Abstract

The world’s Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Society 5.0 are massively utilising the Internet of Things, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Robotic technology to solve various challenges and social problems. The challenge for the government now is to fully utilise these technologies to improve public services and government administrations. This study focuses on the transformation process of an e-government to become a digital government. The study aims to analyse the current development of e-government in Indonesia and the barriers to implement it as well as to propose how to transform from being an e-government to becoming a digital government. It uses a qualitative approach supported by secondary data. Focus Group Discussion was held in May 2019 to identify e-government barriers factors. The secondary data, meanwhile, was collected through e-government surveys published by the United Nations and E-government Evaluation issued by Indonesia’s Ministry of Empowerment Apparatus and Bureaucracy Reform. Data obtained was analysed using descriptive analysis techniques. Study shows that the development of Indonesia’s e-government is slow and lags behind other ASEAN countries. The E-government index in government institutions is not on target. There is a gap between the e-government indexes and central institutions and gaps between the Provincial and Regency / City Governments. The barriers factors of e-government are: (1) Regulations are not sufficient enough to encourage and guide e-government (2) Lack of data integration; (3) Gaps in the availability of ICT infrastructure between regions; (4) Limited ICT competence and, (5) Bureaucratic culture and leadership.