Tanmay Bose
Title: Present Status and Implementation Barriers of eService in the Local government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Supervisor: Morten Nielsen Meyerhoff, MA
Opponent: Maarja Toots, MA
Defense: 8 June 2018
Abstract: The thesis presents an overview of the current situation of eServices at the local government level in Bangladesh. The objective of the thesis is to identify eService implementation barriers from the point of view of three different actors: citizens, union council information centre employees, and local government experts. The author uses a survey method and semi-structured interviews for primary data collection, in addition to data collected from secondary sources. Similar questions were presentedtothe threetarget groups: what kind of barriers have been faced by citizens when receiving eServices and what kind of problems have been faced by the Union council’s employees when delivering theservices; third question was targeted at local government experts concerning their observations about eService delivery in the localgovernment level. Based on the interviews, the study identifies barriers faced by the citizens such as harassment by and lack of professional attitude from government employees, slow internet speed, third party intervention, and power crisis in the rural area. The union council information centre’s employeesemphasized issues such as lack of training, political pressure, lack of infrastructure, lack of motivation, and internal grouping. The local government experts indicated obstacles such as lack of effective policy support from the government, lack of financial support, artificial and excessive bureaucracy, and lack of skilled project managers. Based on these results, the thesis offers recommendations to local government officials, and serves as a basis for future research on finding solutions to the barriers identified.
Keywords: Union council information centre, Local government expert, Rapid Action Battalion, Motivation, Digital literacy, eService
