Whatever else it is remembered for, 2008 will be known as the year that brought what many have called the first truly global crisis of capitalism, revealing, after decades of globalisation, just how delicately the world's economic ecosystem is balanced.

Juan Domenech, the new global head of public service at Accenture, the consultancy firm, believes that the crisis calls for a “total rethink” of how governments work together.

If the 20th century brought globalisation in the corporate world, the 21stcentury will bring globalisation in government, Mr Domenech says.

Mr Domenech's views are shaped, in part, by the Global Cities Forum, an Accenture survey of citizens' attitudes towards their governments, which found that most of us expect similar things of our politicians whether we live in London or Singapore. “Eighty per cent of the way in which citizens talk about their government is the same anywhere,” Mr Domenech says.

People are increasingly sophisticated consumers who want to know about outcomes, not promises, he says. “Citizens are saying ‘don't tell me how many policemen there are in my neighbourhood, tell me how safe it is. Don't tell me how much you are investing in education, tell me how you are reducing the failure rate of school kids in my community?'”

Since we all agree what we want from governments then collaboration would seem a reasonable step forward: “We will only shorten the period of the economic downturn through true collaboration between nations,” he says. “I think we are going to have a set of global regulations [on finance].”

Harmonising national tax regimes is a growing headache for governments. “It is very difficult to understand who should be paying taxes and where, particularly in manufacturing. Design may happen in Germany, production in China and post-production somewhere else.”

Migration is another global challenge requiring international collaboration in Mr Domenech's opinion: “Immigration is a much more sophisticated problem than people moving from one country to another. It is creating tension in the social systems and the labour markets, security threats.”

Governments need to confront two things: first they have less money: “tax collection is decreasing everywhere”. Second, there is a surge in demand for their services. “Governments need to do more with less. They cannot stop providing services.” Not only can they not stop, they are under pressure to perform better. Perhaps not surprisingly for a technology-biased consultancy, Accenture says technology is the answer to greater governmental collaboration and solving some of these global problems.

He cites New York City's municipal website, which lists the performance of different agencies across the city, as a good example of how technology can be used by politicians. “Citizens want ... to know, ‘where is my money going?'”. The consultancy estimates that tax collection could improve by 10-15percent through use of technology alone.

But citizens are cautious about technology, and with reason. In the past year there have been a series of potentially devastating data breaches, which, Mr Domenech said, “are happening everywhere”. Data laws around the sharing of information are strict. But with the necessary permissions, governments could simplify their databases, saving vast sums and improving security, he said. “Instead of three separate agencies holding the same information, why not create one system which is more robust and secure? The more databases you have, the more risk you are creating,”

Yet when asked about the practicalities of building systems to handle huge tracts of information, he is less forthcoming. In 2006 Accenture, one of the major suppliers to the gargantuan NHS IT program, worth £12.4billion, pulled out of its contract after only two years. In May last year Fujitsu, another major supplier, followed suit. “In theory it is manageable. We decided to get out because we felt the conditions weren't right [for us] to succeed. And I want to stop there.”

What is certain is that financial upheaval makes citizens more likely to accept extreme change, Mr Domenech says. “There is a huge opportunity to say ‘why don't we rethink ourselves and the government that we want for the 21st century?'”

The question which remains unanswered though, is if we can't manage to implement large technology projects for one government, how do we expect to solve the world's problems with intergovernmental IT solutions? Politics and IT are a tricky mix.

MESSAGES TO GOVERNMENT

Los Angeles Increase healthcare capacity and equality across hospitals regardless of people's ability to pay for it

New York Provide affordable housing in safe neighbourhoods, address social issues to improve run-down areas

London Reduce crime and fear of crime, expand the police force, place more emphasis on crime prevention

Paris Use public communication to improve environmental awareness and set objectives, make transport accessible to all residents

Madrid Reduce city centre traffic to cut noise and air pollution; make public transport affordable

Berlin Provide high-quality basic healthcare for all, minimise bureaucracy, ensure rapid response from emergency services

Singapore Provide better employment prospects for older people, strengthen international reputation for education

Source: Global Cities Forum

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