ABSTRACT
This chapter is a selective and critical re-elaboration of insights from several policy studies that the authors have conducted on the topic of E-Government and current challenges and possible future needs and scenarios for the Directorate General Information Society and Media of the European Commission.1 Due to word limitations this chapter only partially reflects the detailed analysis of a report we wrote on the needs for future E-Government services.2 The chapter examines the supply and demand of E-Government, identifying gaps that we feel need attention. It then goes on to identify differing groups of users and their divergent needs. We feel that for too long users have been thought of as a homogenised group when, as we show, nothing could be further from the truth. The chapter concludes by examining the needs for future research and identifying areas of research, not just those specifically designed for E-Government purposes, but also others that may contribute to a more holistic research effort in the pursuit of better governance.
