Presence and activity on social media is no longer a matter of choice for most governments as these platforms are used by large parts of the population and both formal and informal interest groups. As of November 2014, the main offices of executive institutions (head of state, head of government, or government as a whole) operated a Twitter account in 28 out of 34 OECD countries and maintained a Facebook page in 21 out of 34 countries. In addition to central governments, many ministries, agencies, or individual programs have a social media presence, as do many regional and local levels of government.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) increasingly underlie all government activities. Governments in OECD countries spend up to 2% of their budgets on IT (OECD, 2013). Although the share might appear small, it includes many large and therefore risky projects.

The public sector produces and collects a wealth of data in its day-to-day activities. By making these data available, easily accessible and re-usable by citizens and businesses, governments can improve accountability and transparency, create new business opportunities and better inform both citizen engagement and their own decision-making.

Government portals that provide a wide range of information and services like the possibility to fill out and submit administrative forms electronically (e.g. tax declarations) have considerably transformed the way individuals and businesses interact with their government.