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+++E-GOVERNMENT BULLETIN
- ISSUE 149, 17 NOVEMBER 2003.
The email newsletter on electronic government,
UK and worldwide.
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++ISSUE 149 CONTENTS.
01: Largest open source deployment imminent
- decision due on 5,000 Newham desktops.
02: Logistical headache for ID cards
- advance warning from Europe.
03: Role of internet in democracy 'unclear'
- international report finds open government no simple matter.
04: Disaster plans advised for major web projects
- lessons learned from 1901 census site.
News in brief: Community service - project reports; Case dismissed -
lessons from Libra; Market leaders - technology sector report; Go-
betweens - consultation on intermediaries.
Section two: Seminar report - information sharing.
08: Reading the social danger signals: Sharing information with other
agencies could help the fire service identify risks before it is too late.
Mel Poluck reports on the barriers that stand in the way.
Section three: Seminar report - e-participation.
09: Storyteller or pub bore? Government needs more dialogue with
citizens if it is to halt falling voter turnout and civic engagement. The
internet could be the answer, but as Derek Parkinson finds out, it needs
to be used sensitively.
[Contents ends].
++SPECIAL NOTICE: 'ELECTRONIC SAFETY NETS'
- TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS TO SAFEGUARD CHILDREN
- This special report from E-Government Bulletin is a unique
information resource for practitioners and policy-makers to track and
anticipate developments in this complex and highly-charged field.
Against the backdrop of the Climbii Inquiry and the new green paper
on children's services, the publication draws on progress reports and
opinion from over 50 leaders from social services, health, police and
education.
Along with new analysis and factual background from the report's
independent, specialist team, it also presents and analyses the results of
an exclusive poll of social services directors conducted with the
Association of Directors of Social Services.
To order this report at 105 pounds (95 pounds for a pdf version), email
Mel Poluck on [log in to unmask] or see:
http://www.headstar.com/esn .
[Special notice ends]
++SECTION ONE: NEWS.
+01: LARGEST OPEN SOURCE DEPLOYMENT IMMINENT.
The largest ever deployment of open source software for desktop
computers in a public sector body is set to begin this week, with
Newham Council due to consider a report tomorrow on software for all
its 5,000 staff computers.
The plan is expected to be approved, following a six-month study by
IT consultancy netproject (http://www.netproject.com) that created a
blueprint for migrating to free 'Open Office' desktop software
(http://www.openoffice.org) running on the Linux operating system.
Like almost all other public sector bodies, the council currently uses
Microsoft Office software running on the Windows operating system.
The changeover process is likely to take several years, but will slash
the cost of Newham's desktop software, according to netproject
director Eddie Bleasdale. "Savings will be at least a third, but that's a
cautious estimate, we expect slightly more," Bleasdale told E-
Government Bulletin.
Newham's leading role in the North East London councils' partnership
(http://fastlink.headstar.com/nelondon), which includes Barking &
Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and
Waltham Forest councils, could make this the public sector
breakthrough that supporters of open source have long awaited. "These
and other councils will be looking closely at what Newham does,"
Bleasdale said.
Netproject has also recently drafted open source migration guidelines
for public sector bodies (http://www.netproject.com/docs/migoss) on
behalf of the Interchange of Data between Administrations (IDA -
http://fastlink.headstar.com/ida), an EC-funded body that promotes
best practice in e-government across the EU. According to Bleasdale,
"in the three weeks since release, there have been around 90,000
downloads."
The guidelines, which are aimed at IT managers and directors, were
drafted by netproject on the basis of previous work for West Yorkshire
police, the UK Police IT Organisation and the regional government of
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northern Germany.
The previous largest public sector open source migration was at West
Yorkshire Police, where 3,500 desktops moved to open source.
Penwith Council in Cornwall and Central Scotland Police have
overseen smaller deployments. But an even larger migration than
Newham's could soon be underway at Nottingham, where a decision is
pending later this year on whether to move some 6,500 desktop
computers to open source.
+02: LOGISTICAL HEADACHE FOR ID CARDS
In looking to develop a citizen ID card scheme, the UK government
must learn from logistical problems currently being faced by two other
European countries introducing schemes, according to one leading
analyst.
Developing the technology needed to produce the cards is not in itself
a problem, says Jan van Arkel, co-chairman of E-Europe Smartcards
(http://www.eeurope-smartcards.org), an EU-funded organisation
promoting European co-operation on smartcard projects.
The technology for creating electronic identity cards which contain
biometric identifiers, such as iris scans or fingerprints, is well
established, van Arkel says. But what might cause difficulties, aside
from any cultural and privacy issues, are problems of card distribution
following rows between tiers of government elsewhere in Europe.
Electronic identity card projects in Italy and Belgium have had to be
postponed until 2004 because of continuing uncertainties over
distribution, according to reports on Europa, the EU's web site
(http://europa.eu.int).
In Belgium, the federal government is facing fierce opposition from
local authorities about its plans to distribute the cards centrally through
the Belgian Post to reduce costs and speed up the process. The
communes feel it should be their responsibility to distribute cards to
local citizens, but the government has refused to provide funding if
councils decide to do it themselves.
In Italy there is similar uncertainty about the distribution mechanism
for cards. In early pilots cards were sent by post, but the government is
now investigating issuing cards through local commune or central
government offices. Distribution, which had begun through the
communes, has been put on hold.
Home Secretary David Blunkett currently favours an ID card scheme
to be phased in gradually in the UK, but become compulsory in 2013.
+03: ROLE OF INTERNET IN DEMOCRACY 'UNCLEAR'.
The ability of the internet to address a democratic deficit in Europe's
major institutions is questioned in a new book by a group of Finnish
academics which says the impact of the internet on international
decision-making is unclear.
"The lack of legitimacy of international organisations in general and
the European Union in particular has long been recognized as a
political problem," the book says. "To address [this], scholars
increasingly advocate access to information rights and more intensive
use of information technologies. In many cases, the impact of the
internet, however, is far from clear.
"Further research is necessary to determine its impact on decision-
making procedures and the quality of decisions. Scholars who
investigate the ability of the internet to solve policy problems have to
face the challenge of separating the effects of increased availability of
information from other influences."
'E-transformation in governance: new directions in government and
politics' studies examples of e-government and e-democracy in
Australia; Canada; Finland; Germany; the Netherlands; Scotland and
the US.
The book highlights the potential for conflicts of interest between
government, citizens and private sector publishers of official
information as online publication models become ever quicker and
more open.
"Increased internet presence of governments and the creation of new
information products by the commercial sector do not exclude each
other," it says. "However, questions of rights and costs for accessing
and reuse have to be negotiated between citizens, public, and private-
sector bodies. None of the parties might feel that their rights are
sufficiently safeguarded, and this might become a new source of
conflict."
The book, by Matti Malkia, Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko and Reijo
Savolainen, is published by Idea Group:
http://idea-group.com/books/details.asp?id=4166 .
+04: DISASTER PLANS ADVISED FOR MAJOR WEB PROJECTS.
Independent assessment of the system and a post-launch disaster plan
are two possible ways in which the ill-fated launch of the Public
Records Office's 1901 Census web site in January 2002 could have
been better handled, a new report finds.
The National Audit Office report examines the circumstances around
the creation, launch and subsequent shutdown of the site after far
greater numbers of users came to the site than were predicted. By noon
of the launch day, 1.2 million users were accessing the service every
hour compared with a predicted peak of 1.2 million users per day. The
site was subsequently withdrawn, though it was relaunched on 21
November 2002 and is currently running without hitch.
'Unlocking the past: the 1901 census online' (see HC1259 at
http://fastlink.headstar.com/census1) says that, with the results of other
early UK censuses between 1841 and 1911 due to be put online by
contractor QinetiQ (http://www.qinetiq.com) over the next few years,
lessons from 2002 have to be learned.
"Earlier completion of service development is needed to allow for
independent assessment of the system pre-launch," it says. It adds:
"Advance agreement on a post-launch disaster contingency plan would
optimise the chances of rapid recovery from any future system failures
arising at launch."
On the positive side, the report finds that the 1901 census site
(http://www.census.pro.gov.uk) has generated some 4.5 million pounds
up until 31 October 2003, through users that pay to look up additional
details on their ancestors. The service currently receives around 9,000
visitors a day.
++NEWS IN BRIEF:
+05: COMMUNITY SERVICE: An online guide to planning, setting
up and running community-based internet projects has been made
published by the Department for Education and Skills. The guide
draws on experience gained by the department's now-completed Wired
Up Communities initiative, which saw internet connections offered to
people in seven disadvantaged communities:
http://www.intelligentcommunities.org.uk .
+06: CASE DISMISSED: Lack of a coherent implementation model
was one of the major causes of the failure of the Libra computer
system which aimed to link up all magistrates' courts, according to a
report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee. The
report recommends that in future government departments "consider
breaking up large IT projects into "manageable pieces that can be
delivered incrementally":
http://fastlink.headstar.com/libra2 .
+07: MARKET LEADERS: Most public sector technology business is
still going to a few major market leaders despite the government's aim
to open up procurement to smaller companies, according to new
research by analysts Kable:
http://fastlink.headstar.com/kable2 .
+08: GO-BETWEENS: A summary of issues raised during May's
public consultation on delivering e-government initiatives through
intermediaries such as private sector and voluntary bodies has been
published by the Office of the e-Envoy. Further guidelines for use of
intermediaries will be published by the end of the year:
http://fastlink.headstar.com/inter1 .
[Section one ends]
++SPONSORED NOTICE: EGOVERNMENT INTERNET TV
- FREEDOM OF INFORMATION SPECIAL REPORT.
Last month saw the launch of eGovernment-Vision.TV, the internet
television channel to help local authorities address the modernisation
agenda.
eGovernment-Vision.TV has been created by GBTV in association
with IDeA, SOLACE, SOCPO, Socitm and the ODPM, with E-
Government Bulletin as an editorial advisor. The launch programme
featured 'Question Time' style debates examining the key issues
affecting councils, and on Wednesday next week, a special programme
headed 'Freedom of information - act or avalanche' will be broadcast
for the first time. The programme will feature ministerial interviews,
discussion panels and field reports on this hot topic.
All programmes can be viewed at:
http://www.egovernment-vision.tv .
[sponsored notice ends].
SECTION TWO: SEMINAR REPORT
- INFORMATION SHARING.
+09: READING THE SOCIAL DANGER SIGNALS
by Mel Poluck [log in to unmask] .
The fire service only has access to around a fifth of the data it needs to
assess which homes and families are at high risk of being the victims
of fire, according to one senior officer in charge of technology systems
for a UK fire service.
Ivan Deith, e-fire programme manager at Nottinghamshire Fire &
Rescue Service (http://www.notts-fire.gov.uk), told the E-Government
Bulletin information sharing seminar last month that there were various
'trigger factors' which acted as risk indicators for fire. These included
health and social services indicators such as drinking, violence or a
history of minor burns, combined with physical factors such as the
situation and electrical wiring of a house.
He told of one case where social services had intervened at the home of
a family and identified them as at risk of health and social problems.
But they had not picked up the much more urgent indicators of
potential fire hazards. A week later the family was killed in a fire.
However it was not possible to access the information the fire service
needed, he said, since people do not like the thought of being
monitored.
"People don't mind if you knock their door down and spray half their
house with foam when a fire breaks out. But if you knock on their door
and say "you're at risk", you're far more likely to get a hostile reaction.
People do not like attempts to get data - they see it as an unwarranted
intrusion".
Further barriers were put up by other public sector agencies which did
not want or were not allowed to share their data, he said. "If we really
want to make a difference to fire deaths, there is a need to have access
- people fail to see the risk of not releasing information".
The harsh reality of data sharing within central government was
underlined by another delegate who worked for an executive agency of
a major government department. "The problem is not the people, it is
the kit," he said. "Before we talk to other departments, we can't even
talk among ourselves."
The agency in question was the results of a merger between three other
bodies, each with their own systems, he said. The systems were
managed by separate 10-year supplier contracts with different
timelines, so they would not both come up for renewal at once, making
their integration all but impossible.
Sometimes if we have to implement a new project quickly, for example
the Treasury asks us to make a web site, we cheat by using a new
stand-alone machine. This does actually make the situation worse, but
if we have to work to a certain timescale we have no choice."
The issue of fragmentation within central government was returned to
by John Wheatley, e-government policy strategist at Citizens Advice,
the national body representing the UK's citizens advice bureaux.
A third of all enquiries dealt with by the bureaux relate to benefits or
tax credit, Wheatley said. This means the organisation is in a good
position to be "a trusted intermediary between the public and the state"
(see also E-Government Bulletin issue 144, 8 September 2003).
However one obstacle to data-sharing at present is the will to share on
the part of agencies: "When we try and talk to the government and
public services, they are very protective of their information and access
to their services".
And a second is the problem of internal fragmentation or lack of
integration, he said. "The Department for Work and Pensions can't
give an answer for the whole department; each agency within it has
different views on data sharing. You never get a common answer".
[Section two ends].
SECTION THREE: SEMINAR REPORT
- E-PARTICIPATION.
+10: STORYTELLER OR PUB BORE?
by Derek Parkinson [log in to unmask] .
More dialogue between politicians and their electorate is sorely needed
if the government is to retain legitimacy and relevance, according to
Tom Loosemore, head of BBCi Connect, the BBC's new media public
engagement team.
The internet "pulses with conversation" between individuals and
communities, and would seem an ideal medium for such a dialogue,
Loosemore told an e-participation seminar hosted last month by E-
Government Bulletin (http://www.electronic-
government.com/secrets.htm).
But how can government enter these conversations without barging in
uninvited? How can politicians talk to us online, without becoming the
internet equivalent of a pub bore?
The BBC itself is learning to listen, Loosemore said. He is currently
leading the corporation's 'iCan' project, an initiative to promote civic
and political engagement using online tools (a test site is now live at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ican/). iCan hints at a new face for the BBC,
replacing the old 'Aunty Beeb' - who told us what was best for us -
with a new model based on participation.
The metaphor his team was developing was that of the campfire,
Loosemore said - a warm and welcoming place where visitors will be
listened to if they have good stories to tell. In this model the BBC will
take multiple roles, providing the campfire and telling some of the
stories, but also listening to others.
Stephen Coleman, visiting professor of e-democracy at the Oxford
Internet Institute (http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk) , said levels of civic
engagement, voter turnout and membership of political parties follow
each other in a downward spiral that seems less and less like a transient
phenomenon. Worse, this trend could become entrenched with
demographic shifts, each new generation absorbing the lessons of
disengagement from its predecessor.
To use the internet effectively, government needs to understand how
online forums can shape conversations, Coleman said. Online forums
shift the way information is shared from an old media transmission
model to a dialogue, but the government will need to listen more if it is
to use forums effectively.
It is important to realise what online consultations are not, Coleman
said. They are not mailboxes for messages to pile up in, and neither are
they simple chatrooms. To work effectively they need a clear purpose,
a design, and moderation. In addition there are more subtle needs, such
as a recruitment strategy. Although participation in democracy is
usually voluntary, it is not a simple spontaneous activity, he said.
Online consultations should also be able to demonstrate some
responsiveness or impact to the people who take part. Finally, each
consultation needs to be evaluated. "This has been one of the biggest
weaknesses in government's approach to consultation so far," he said.
It may seem like hard work, but the outcome could be worth it. "We
could get a democracy that is more inclusive and has more efficacy,
where people know that their voice makes a difference," said Coleman.
"We could also get better legislation. Why not draw on the expertise
that's out there? Politicians don't know everything."
The law - specifically the Disability Discrimination Act - requires that
people with disabilities such as vision impairment must be included in
online forums by ensuring the technology is accessible to them, said
RNIB digital development officer Julie Howell.
Accessible design offers benefit to everyone, she said. For example,
content that is accessible to people with visual impairments is also
suited to people who have no access to a graphical interface, or who
need to concentrate visually on some other task.
According to Coleman, the most significant barriers to further progress
may be resistant civil servants and old-fashioned politicians. "The
people who are most resistant are the institutional bureaucracies. It
seems to be part of their nature to oppose change," he said. In his view
politicians and civil servants are too cautious to explore the
possibilities the internet offers for fear that organisation rule-books will
have to be re-written, if not thrown out entirely.
But there may be little choice if government is to escape the fate of
most pub bores - to be ignored or avoided like the plague.
[Section three ends].
++END NOTES.
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ISSN 1476-6310
+PERSONNEL
- EDITORIAL.
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Deputy editor - Derek Parkinson [log in to unmask]
Reporter - Mel Poluck [log in to unmask]
Technician - Pete Hall [log in to unmask]
Correspondent - Phil Cain [log in to unmask] .
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[Issue ends].
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