ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses the effectiveness of the e-governance initiatives taken so far in Bangladesh, relying on two countrywide surveys examining the capacity of public institutions at different levels for e-service provision and the perceptions of service users. It evaluates the delivery of certain popularly used services provided in urban and rural areas and finds that although public institutions have acquired some infrastructural capacities for e-service provision, service delivery continues to be mostly traditional. Overall, the study observes that e-governance in Bangladesh still remains at the emerging stage. However, acceleration toward a nationally integrated approach of e-service provision may appear to be a little challenging. The country is now moving toward delivering public services through an integrated and interconnected approach by introducing the National E-Service System (NESS). The 'Digital Bangladesh' agenda of the ruling Awami League marked a significant leap forward in implementing e-government initiative in 2009 with a provision for integrated/connected and transactional services.
