What Lessons Can We Learn for “Good e-Government” From a User-Centred Evaluation of the Websites of European Capitals?: Research-Based and Genetic Learning in the Study of Administration and Law

From an E-Government perspective, modern public administrations require a high degree of accessibility, simplified modes of communication, transparent processes, and services that are available electronically. This article addresses the issue of whether, in a Europe-wide comparison, the websites in question offer products and services in a way that is not only intelligible and transparent for users but also efficient and functional. The websites were analysed using the evaluation tool TEDS*MOODLE as part of a student project, whose ratings are presented, to establish research-based and genetic learning as part of the study programme of administration and law. A general finding of the websites of seventeen European capitals applying an E-Government perspective is that the main challenges are in the evaluation categories Adjustment, Further Performance Features – as there are time and cost savings as well as security and safety aspects – and Affection, as indicated by the general satisfaction factor in the user evaluations. The article discusses the transferability of the student results to citizens. Moreover, the article discusses the fitness for purpose of the evaluation tool, and its utility for learning processes, in particular for research-based and genetic learning among students.