Electronic Government: a Multi-Criterion Approach to Prioritizing Projects by Integrating Balanced Scorecard Methodology Indicators

Electronic Government is a term that refers to governmental policies and strategies, as well as to concrete initiatives that represent a government’s commitment to Management by means of the intensive use of Information Technology (IT). Since public managers are being increasingly pressed to find ways of reducing costs and improving results, it is important to observe that the potential benefits of Electronic Government are linked to costs and risks that must be balanced and carefully monitored. This study proposes a multi-criterion model so as to prioritize Electronic Government projects, the scope of which is to provide electronic services from Government to Citizen - G2C (initiatives on behalf of citizens and companies). Particularly in the phase of structuring a problem, the model proposed makes use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in the context of Multiple Criteria Decision-aid (MCDA). To illustrate how to apply the model, simulations using the PROMETHEE method were conducted. The study demonstrated that, in the context of the governance model proposed, some conditions should be taken into account in order to integrate the use of BSC and MCDA. The model can be applied to public and private organizations, irrespective of the area of activity, with minimal adaptation.