e-Government 2015: exploring m-government scenarios, between ICT-driven experiments and citizen-centric implications

After introducing the challenges and failures of first generation e-government (identified as e-Gov 1.0), and the rhetoric of the next generation of e-government efforts (identified as e-Gov 2.0), this paper presents an analysis of the promises of m-government, a relatively new phenomenon whose potential is largely unknown and unexplored but is already considered by many to be the most important subset of future e-government services. Discussing some cases of m-government technologies and applications worldwide, the paper identifies a number of risks and research questions to be further elaborated. In practice, are we about to go through a major adapting societal move, partly due to information and communication technologies (ICTs) but also to other co-factors likely to influence our near future (socio-political-economic and environmental trends), or are we just passing through a natural evolution (eventually faster than others occurred in the past)? Within this particular dynamic, the paper further addresses the importance of looking at what the various emerging scenarios may be, and which ones have to be considered and eventually deployed in terms of policy-relevant and favourable cost-benefit perspectives.