Research in progress: a preliminary theoretical framework for understanding e-governance initiatives

A critical component that has been missing from the e-governance literature in general is theorising about the design of the information system itself. Since information systems used by governments “encapsulate the structures, routines, norms, and values implicit in the rich contexts within which they are embedded,” [1] they must been seen as a development project shaped by social (key stakeholders, conflicts, power moves, symbolic acts, etc.) and technological factors (existing technology infrastructures, technical know-how, skills). The development trajectory of such a project is not pre-determined but contingent upon broad social contexts. To highlight the dynamic relationship between the way in which information systems used by governments are designed, the manner in which they are institutionalised and the impact of these two processes on governance practices and structures, I present a theoretical framework that combines social shaping of technology theories (from science and technology studies) and institutional theory (from sociology) and social movement theory.