Information technologies: challenges and opportunities for local governments

Information technology (IT) applications in local government have been mostly used to advance the technical capacity of localities in delivering public services. As decision making responsibility moves from the U.S. federal government to local governments, academic researchers should address the need for developing intuitive decision support systems (DSS) for government managers, and senior decision makers. The task-specific models of Web-based information systems (IS) discussed in this study can help local government managers capture information in multimedia format and facilitate information sharing between their department and other agencies without dependency on specific platforms; time differences, or locations in a cost-effective manner. Consequently, research should be encouraged to develop methods that respond to questions of training in the new IS environment and to provide solutions to facilitate service and system integration despite the environmental and political complexity surrounding local governments. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.