Communities and Evaluation of E-Government Services

In this article, I would like to reflect on a potential contribution of the theory of communities of practice to the evaluation of e-government services. Up to date, the adoption of e-government in local, regional, and national institutions could be characterized as a process guided by a need to improve efficiency and speed in the delivery of services to citizens. However, this might have implications to different groups of citizens who might like to use services, in other words, to become users. The theory of communities of practice could provide a framework by which e-government services (and, more particularly, e-government Web sites) could be assessed with a view of facilitating participation and inclusion.