Governments, and local governments in particular, can neither pick and choose their clients, nor to a great extent, the services they offer. They must serve every citizen, providing essential services that in many cases would never survive in the private sector. Helping those who need it most. Protecting privacy and rights. Providing security and defense. And all while balancing a complex mix of conflicting demands from a diverse constituency and in the face of unmatched public scrutiny.

In the private sector, the bottom line is shareholder value. In government, the objectives can be harder to pinpoint, clouded by political agendas, special interests and economic considerations. But in the end it comes down to constituent value, so one can say the basic goals are the same. Making efficient use of taxpayers' money is an essential component. To achieve this governments must apply principles of good governance, strive for continuous improvement of performance and deliver maximum value for citizens and communities. The implementation of good governance is also needed to meet the challenges of eTransformation.

For the member firms of Deloitte in Europe, serving the 21st century citizen is a significant challenge. In recognition of the importance of eGovernment in raising the efficiency of the public sector, we support the aims of the European Commission. To develop modern public services to citizens and businesses that eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy and promote cross-border cooperation and the reduction of red tape between public administrations. For the free movement of people, goods and services across Europe.

For EUROCITIES Knowledge Society Forum — TeleCities, Deloitte's Public Sector industry group provides European cities with an annual benchmark survey of eGovernment and promote the exchange of good practices through the eCitizenship for All survey. The benchmark survey conducted in 2004 reflects the eGovernment take-up by 102 cities in 23 European countries, including 18 cities in new EU member states. It is a contribution to Europe's cities facing the challenges of an EU Information Society strategy beyond 2005.

Results of the benchmark survey show that Europe’s cities recognize that eGovernment is not just an Information Communications Technology (ICT), but also a challenging transformation project. The member firms of Deloitte look forward to helping cities master the many challenges in the context of Information Society 2010, the European Commission’s new and comprehensive ICT strategy, and to most effectively serving Europe’s citizens and businesses in the 21st century.

Learn more about Deloitte, EUROCITIES and this survey by reading our press release. Or, read the entire 44-page report, which is available as a PDF file attachment below. For further information, please contact Deloitte's Peter Zimmermann of the global Public Sector group via email at: ecitizenshipforall@deloitte.com.