Many governments have refined their e-government strategies by focusing on short- to medium term objectives that are mostly aimed at achieving greater efficiency. Fewer are looking at a broader, longer-term picture of IT's role in government and society, when the public sector is likely to be different than today. This special report summarizes research that Gartner has conducted to help clients in this long-term planning process. We have developed a number of future scenarios to answer the fundamental question of how government will use and be shaped by technology in year 2020. Alternative Government 2020 Scenarios Lead to Similar Conclusions In order to test the validity of our assumptions about how government will be shaped by technology in 2020, we have checked our conclusions against scenarios developed by Shell, and have found surprising commonalities. Four Scenarios for Citizen Engagement in Policymaking Citizens and governments do not always want to be jointly involved in policymaking. Using scenario-planning techniques can help articulate the role that technologies will play in supporting citizen participation in government. Government in 2020: Taking the Long View Despite the call for more-rapid results from technology, governments should examine the long-term evolution of society, economy and the public sector, as well as technology's role in this evolution. Government 2020 Scenarios: Status Quo Development This scenario focuses on governments that display a slight degree of intervention in the economy and whose citizens are protective of their personal information. Government 2020 Scenarios: Good 'Big Brother' Government will have a strong hand in the economy, and its actions will be transparent. Citizens will consider the resulting benefits a fair trade for greater surveillance of their personal business. Government 2020 Scenarios: Governing Phantoms Citizens' strong concerns for the privacy of their personal information can collide with government's intention to exert greater control over the economy. Government 2020 Scenarios: Free-Enterprise Government Citizens that trust their governments to provide a physically and financially secure environment will show a willingness to be open with their personal information.