Local government Internet sites as public policy innovations

The widespread adoption of a technological innovation, such as use of networked information transmission systems (e.g., Internet), reflects the public sector's growing acceptance of this channel for transmission of government information. The Internet has become the most commonly recognized of these networked technologies, and offers local-government a new channel for the delivery of information and services. Adoption of these technologies entails both policy and technological innovation. This study examined a range of socio-demographic, geographic and political factors influencing the implementation of local-government policy innovation, represented in this case by the implementation of an official Web site. The decision to implement a Web site can be considered a policy innovation in that it involves a potential change in method of delivery of services.; Innovation is frequently related to availability of organizational slack resources, thus implementation of this type of innovation should occur in larger municipalities with greater organizational resources. However, the occurrence of Web sites in smaller jurisdictions indicates that other critical factors are in existence. Following a review of the literature related to information networks and public sector innovation, comparative case studies of three of local-government related information infrastructures are presented to provide context for the conceptual model development. The studies include: a coalition of university, municipal, and inter-jurisdictional participants; a municipally driven, non-profit Web site; and a "virtual Web site." an inter-jurisdictional undertaking that includes public- and private-sector actors.; The great range of variance present in Web sites limited the utility of statistical analysis, as insufficient sample size was obtained to categorically assess the parameters. Analysis was limited to assessing the presence or absence of an official Web site relative to the predicted innovation factors. The model was tested using logistic regression with a data set consisting of all counties and cities in Virginia. The presence or absence of an "official" Web site was an indicator representing a "policy innovation." While a substantial amount of the observed variance (approximately 43%) can be explained by the regression model, further research would be useful in generating additional explanatory variables, particularly related to the role of policy entrepreneurs.