E-Government Challenges and the Role of Political Leadership in Indonesia: The Case of Sragen

In general, developing countries are lagging behind in e-government adoption compared to developed countries. Within Indonesia, there is a huge disparity in e- government implementation between districts. This study presents e-government challenges and the role of political leadership in the rural district of Sragen, one of the leading districts in implementing e-government in the country. The study focuses on the supply-side of e- government, and categorises the challenges in three main areas; management, infrastructure, and human factors. Initiatives taken to deal with these challenges are presented and strong political leadership is found to play an important role.