The application of Information and communication Technologies (ICT) to governmental operations and administration has acquired special importance in Latin America and the Caribbean . Many of the region's countries have achieved important advances in modernizing their operations in their tax, registry, licensing, permit, etc. transactions. Together with the associated reduction in costs and the increase in revenue for national, state and local governments, these electronic government tools are also supporting the creation of small businesses, to train human resources, to provide better health services, in general, to improve the quality of life.

The electronic government tools have proven their capability to:

• Modernize governmental operations
• Increase transparency and reduce corruption
• Increase citizen participation
• Improve the quality of government services

All these elements are the basis of democratic governance on which Latin America and the Caribbean must build their social and economic progress. This issues has prompted the Office of the Executive Secretary for integral Development to devote a large part of its cooperation efforts to the development of electronic government.

The Electronic Government Program from the Office of the Executive Secretary for Integral Development catalyzes e-government initiatives and offers comprehensive support in each of the stages of implementing one such strategy to governments.

In response to the needs and demands of the Latin American and Caribbean countries, SEDI with the financial support of the U.S. and Canadian Missions to the OAS as well as that of other international organizations has been developing a series of e-government development initiatives throughout the region.

SEDI provided technical support during the negotiation process of the “Government and Development in the Knowledge Society” of the Santo Domingo Declaration and the Support Resolution , both approved during the OAS General Assembly held on June 4 to 6 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

SEDI's electronic government activities are designed around three methodological approaches:

•  Promotion of horizontal cooperation , facilitates member countries to share their solutions and experts and to collaborate

•  Private sector collaboration , promoting the creation of alliances through which the region's governments can take advantage of experiences developed by the private sector and benefit from corporate social responsibility initiatives.

•  Capacity building , training public officials from all levels in key aspects to advance electronic government efforts in the region

Within the context of electronic government, SEDI has placed special attention to the needs of municipalities and with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency ( CIDA ) and the Andean Development Corporation ( CAF ) has designed and implemented the MuNet Program (Efficient and transparent Municipalities)