Planning E-Government As Complex Adaptive System

This paper combines insights from literature on complex systems and applies them to e-government which is treated as adaptive systems that have to match the complexity of their environments. E-government systems are complex human-computer systems. Complex systems often exhibit the capacity to self-organize or adapt, even without outside influence. The compatibility of e-government evolution with principles of complex adaptive systems (CAS´s) allows the treatment that e-government is CAS´s. It will lead to a radically different approach to planning of e-government systems that places much emphasis on enabling self-organization, learning and adaptation. A foundation and a shift for self-organization or adaptation of e-government are proposed in this paper, which can help governments become innovative and build dynamic capabilities.