ENSURING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS THROUGH E-GOVERNMENT

Modern society, often called knowledge society is highly dependent on information, with the potential to share knowledge in a more uniform manner and provide employment opportunities that go beyond the traditional barriers of distance or physical presence. Free access of citizens to information of public interest and their participation in decision-making are considered to be two of the most important premises of a democratic and responsible government. The information enables citizens to make an informed assessment of the actions of administration and to take part in the debates and in the decisions that concern them. Effective collaboration between public authorities at all levels of governance and cooperation between the latter and non-governmental actors are essential to ensure good governance and sustainable economic development. The public sector must provide, in a fair and efficient way, essential services that meet citizens' needs, economic growth opportunities, and facilitate citizen involvement and participation in public policy development to promote the participation and welfare of all people. E-governance and innovation can provide significant opportunities to turn public administration into a sustainable development tool. The aim of this article is to study the benefits of eGovernment in the process of innovation and transformation into the economy and governance of public institutions. The methodology of this paper is focused on literature review and analysis of the main international studies and surveys in the field. Furthermore, it was performed a comparative analysis on the world e-government leaders from the past five years, emphasizing the number of countries grouped by E-Government Development index (EGDI) level and geographical regions.