Assessing and evaluating value and cost effectiveness of e-government initiatives: focusing the step of the financial evaluation

We propose a framework to assess the value and cost effectiveness of E-Government; the instrument supports lead and management of E-Government initiatives and programs. Furthermore it takes different stakeholder perspectives into account. The process for analysis consists of four steps: with an initial measurement framework we raise context and goals of the specific E-Government decision making. In a second step a financial evaluation takes place and in a third one a qualitative analysis completes the data collection process. In the last step of the methodology we consolidate the findings of the previous measurements and develop a line of argument respectively—when comparing different projects—we make a ranking. In this paper we focus on the elements of the financial evaluation for measuring the economic value for the society: we propose a traditional Net Present Value (NPV) methodology enhanced by real option analysis, a module on risk management and sensitivity analysis. In the closing remarks we assess chances and challenges of the financial evaluation in the E-Government field and draw a connection to the other elements of our framework.