Mary-Ellen Gorman, "The Chicago Tech Connector", 2016
E-Governance in Chicago and Cook County
Envisioning the Next Stage in Online Government Service
Project Lead:
Researchers:
Zarek Drozda, Ekin Dursun, Jack Votava
Abstract:
Under “e-governance,” governments take a holistic and integrative approach to providing online services that fosters transparency, efficiency, and collaboration for the public. We compile the online services offered by the Chicago and Cook County and classify them by end-service, orientation, and outcome to find that the City maintains a more balanced portfolio of services than the County. Through interviews with experts, we find that navigability and scale are the two leading challenges to efficient procurement policies in the City and the County. In accordance with our findings, we recommend (1) aligning long-term goals with the potential that technology offers, (2) improving procurement with emphasis on efficiency and communication, (3) upgrading technology infrastructure including an update to the STAR, and (4) reducing redundancies through restructuring individual governments and upgrading City-County collaboration.