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Whitepaper

Consolidation – From Southern Urbanism to Southern e-Governance

3 Min Read

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Centralised service delivery has been a long-standing approach in urban areas, with historical scholarship advocating for its effectiveness and efficiency. However, here, in the global South, merging existing socio-technical systems and infrastructure is a more practical and feasible solution for improving public service delivery than building new centralised systems. In Southern Urban Theory, this phenomenon is referred to as Consolidation. This paper argues that much like Southern Urbanism, Southern e-governance also utilises this phenomenon of consolidation and develops a framework to understand this with various cases from India. This framework embodies the placeness approach, recognising that consolidation is a process shaped by the unique characteristics of the place in which it operates. This framework raises critical questions about the nature and preference for consolidation that can advance research and practice. Further, the paper highlights the intrinsically sustainable nature of e-governance consolidation and how this can be better manifested in design and implementation.

About Authors

Aditya Batra is an Associate with the Policy Initiatives team at eGov Foundation and is interested in the intersection of technology and public policy challenges. He actively works with eGov’s civil society and non-profit ecosystem to build new partnerships and manage such co-partnered projects. Currently, he is focused on building a coalition of partners for expanding adoption of online municipal services across the digital divide. Aditya completed his MBA from MICA, Ahmedabad and undergraduate in commerce from Delhi University. Ameya Ashok Naik is a Senior Manager with the Policy Initiatives team at eGov Foundation. He works on developing frameworks and partnerships to assess and improve the impact of eGov’s work. He holds a BA and LLB from Mumbai University, and a dual MA & LLM from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy. Krishnakumar Thiagarajan is Vice President at eGov Foundation. In his journey with eGov, Krishnakumar has focused on creating and deploying solutions seeking profound outcomes in urban governance. He has more than two decades of experience spanning leadership roles such as at Tech Mahindra where he spearheaded new practises in the company. He began his career as a strategic consultant. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt and holds an MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research.

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