# Blockchain Technology and Its Potential to Benefit Public Services Provision: A Short Survey
## 5 Applications  
### e-Government, e-Voting, and Other Governmental Applications  
The all-encompassing term \"e-government\" refers to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance citizen participation and the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of public services provided. In [21], the authors observe that, since 2018, there has been a rise in interest in blockchain technology, as confirmed by the increasing number of papers and articles. However, only a small fraction of the proposed solutions have reached the prototyping stage. There are still issues concerning data protection and integration with other technologies in the context of public services provision that have to be addressed. Estonia is mentioned in [65; 69] as being one of the forerunners of blockchain adoption in the public sector. All Estonian organizations rely heavily on a \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l} \hline \hline
**Functional Area(s)** & **Keyword(s)** \\ \hline digital records management & land registry/civil registration/census records/property registration/ \\  & public records management \\ e-government services & e-government/e-voting/remote governance/public services provision/e-participation \\ taxation & tax collection/taxes and refunds/tax system \\ e-learning & education/digital academic credentials/training and education \\ e-procurement & public procurement \\ digital identity ownership & personal identification/digital signature/digital identities/identity management \\ assistance to those in need & healthcare/social welfare/social protection/asylum process management \\ sustainability & urban planning/environment/agriculture \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Functional areas and their respective keywords. Figure 6: Distribution of the sources according to their functionalities. data exchange infrastructure that allows them to communicate and exchange sensitive data safely. Blockchain could be used as a tool to move beyond an outdated framework based on isolated silos by leveraging its immutability to reduce accountability and auditing costs. Furthermore, blockchain has advantages in terms of disintermediation, process streamlining, efficiency, cost reduction, and trust. All these features make it a suitable choice for public administrative bodies, as the increasing number of implementations, projects, and tests confirm. According to [62], from 2020 to 2022, blockchain adoption has moved from an initial phase of hype to a mature stage, as evidenced by the growing number of initiatives. The majority of solutions are aimed at \"notarizing\" existing processes, making them more secure, verifiable, and transparent. The authors in [74] discuss electronic voting systems as one of the main areas of potential blockchain application and present the technology as a database management solution that can facilitate public service provisions while still ensuring security and data integrity. In [27], the authors present \"Crypto-voting\", an e-voting system based on blockchain technology that aims to safeguard vote privacy against cyberattacks. The system relies on sidechain technology, which consists of a main permissioned blockchain and a subordinate blockchain that communicate with each other according to synchronization criteria. The two sidechains serve different purposes: the first is used to store eligible voters and their votes, whereas the second is used to count votes and publish results, and smart contracts are used to manage voting procedures. The Italian Municipality of Naples conducted its own trial with the aim of evaluating blockchain in the context of e-voting. As explained in [29], the task force responsible for the implementation proposed a system based on a permissionless blockchain, separating the voter's identification by the polling station's president from the preference expressed in the polling booth.