In a world that is becoming increasingly virtual — in which what we write disappears into a series of digital codes — it is reassuring to find that individuals continue to publish the kinds of books — like this one — which we can feel and touch.

It is a pleasure when the book in one's hand is the result of the productive collaboration of three renowned institutions: from Canada, Laval University and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC); and, from Morocco, Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane.

It is an even greater pleasure when the main author of this book is the product of two systems of education — Canadian and Moroccan — and has been able to draw the best from both cultures.

As the Canadian ambassador to Morocco, prefacing this book is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the depth and breadth of the relations between our two countries, and to demonstrate the excellence that our cooperation can produce.

Through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), this book addresses the fundamental question of how services are delivered by a government to its citizens — and, more profoundly, the obligation of a government to respond to the needs and expectations of its people.

More broadly, it looks at the questions of good local governance, the role of citizen participation and the lynchpin of real democracy.

Morocco has been engaged since its independence in an ambitious effort to decentralize and modernize its state structures.