From: Dan Jellinek [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
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Subject: E-Government Bulletin - 28 January 2003
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+++E-GOVERNMENT BULLETIN
- ISSUE 129, TUESDAY 28 JANUARY 2003.
The email newsletter on electronic government,
UK and worldwide.
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++CONTENTS.
01: Microsoft source code initiative targets defence
- secure e-government programme.
02: Global cities dialogue to tackle digital divide
- more than 100 members worldwide.
03: Online claims for crime compensation
- new service for victims.
04: UK e-voting pilots take off
- surge of interest in local elections.
05: Dublin mobile parking payment trial a success
- city issues digital tickets.
News in brief: 06: Ethnic divides - report findings; 07: Councillor info
- self-help initiative; 08: Pointless exercise - back office
disintegration.
Section two: Focus - travel alerts.
- 09: Suitcase, passport . . . risk assessment: Personal safety is now a
serious concern for many travellers. Mel Poluck investigates
government efforts to deliver timely and relevant information online.
Section three: Education - schools.
- 10: Battle joined for future of e-learning: More government funds for
e-learning in schools is good news for publishers and technology
providers. But opinions are divided about the benefits for teachers and
pupils. Derek Parkinson reports.
Section four - Opinion - e-democracy.
- 11: Up the e-republic: Online government services are the building
blocks of future e-republics, writes Stanislaw Skrzeszewski. But e-
republics are likely to spring as much from shared cultural and social
values as national governments, he says.
[Contents ends.]
++SPONSORED NOTICE: END-TO-END CRM SOLUTIONS
FROM BT.
BT's experience and expertise in Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) can help you provide high quality service to your customers, by
responding to their needs, in the way they want. The wide range of our
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If you're looking for tangible results, CRM is designed to both help
improve your productivity and give you a solid return on investment.
To find out how BT helped Hewden Stuart reduce call handling errors
by 71 per cent see:
http://fastlink.headstar.com/bt
[Sponsored notice ends].
++SECTION ONE: NEWS.
+01: MICROSOFT SOURCE CODE INITIATIVE TARGETS
DEFENCE.
Defence and security agencies are key targets of a new Microsoft e-
government initiative that will open up the source code of key security
and other elements of the company's products to national governments.
The Microsoft Government Security Program (GSP -
http://fastlink.headstar.com/gsp) has already signed up NATO and the
Russian Federal Agency for Governmental Communication and
Information as members. It will allow governments access to
cryptographic data and around 97 per cent of the source code for
Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 software.
"Agencies do not need to be Microsoft customers, or have a certain
number of Windows seats installed, or use certain Microsoft products
in order to participate in the GSP," a company statement said.
However, ineligible countries include those subject to US trade
embargoes, such as Cuba and Iraq.
Microsoft's strategy of adapting commercial products for security and
military use appears to be successful, in the US at least. This week, the
information chief of the new Office of Homeland Security committed
to using Microsoft for document management
(http://fastlink.headstar.com/dod1). And in 2000 it was revealed that
the US Navy's next-generation aircraft carrier will use Windows to run
its communications systems, aircraft and weapons launchers, and other
ship electronics (http://fastlink.headstar.com/dod2).
The new move supplements the company's 2001 Shared Source
Initiative (http://fastlink.headstar.com/ssi), which opened up source
code for the development of supplementary applications by others.
+02: GLOBAL CITIES DIALOGUE TO TACKLE DIGITAL
DIVIDE.
The development of young peoples' skills in electronic democracy;
mobile platforms and infrastructures for e-government services in
cities; and joint financing for experiments with broadband services are
among the key points of an action plan approved this month by a
network of more than 100 cities worldwide.
The Global Cities Dialogue network (GCD -
http://www.globalcitiesdialogue.org) has members in 41 countries
from Burkina Faso to the Ukraine. Its current UK members are East
Riding, Edinburgh, Gateshead, City of London, Lewisham,
Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside
and Sunderland.
The group's executive committee this month endorsed an action plan
for 2003 and 2004 aimed at developing e-government services based
on sustainable development, to help tackle the digital divide. Other
elements include developing low cost public access internet kiosks and
exchanging experiences of public-private partnerships for online health
services.
To see the action plan visit:
http://fastlink.headstar.com/global
Meanwhile a key UK-based project to tackle the digital divide, the
Wired up Communities project from the Department for Education and
Science (http://www.dfes.gov.uk/wired), is to conclude this month with
a final assessment meeting on 22 January. The 10 million pound
project aimed to measure how access to the internet can create
opportunities for disadvantaged communities by wiring up 12,000
homes in seven communities.
+03: ONLINE CLAIMS FOR CRIME COMPENSATION.
Victims of violent crime will be able to make online applications for
compensation according to plans being developed by the Criminal
Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA - http://www.cica.gov.uk), E-
Government Bulletin has learned.
A redesigned site will be launched this summer, allowing users to
check their eligibility and the information needed to support a claim,
download forms, and estimate their compensation if a claim is
approved. A subsequent second phase will see the launch of services
allowing claimants to submit forms and track the progress of claims
online.
At present, the authority estimates around 1.5 per cent of the UK's
80,000 compensation claimants per year visit the site for guidance or to
download paper forms. CICA hopes the relaunched site will boost
visitor numbers and make eligibility criteria easier to understand. "We
want everyone who is eligible to apply, but we don't want people to be
disappointed," said a spokesperson.
The new site should also speed up the claims process because it
encourages claimants to gather all the information they need at the
beginning of the process. Currently claims are often delayed while
medical reports or police statements are sought.
+04: UK E-VOTING PILOTS TAKE OFF.
More than 1.5 million UK citizens will be able to vote electronically in
this May's local government elections, after plans submitted by 18
local authorities were approved this month
(http://fastlink.headstar.com/evote).
According to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the proposals
include voting by mobile phone text messaging, the internet and digital
TV in Malvern Hills, Sheffield, Shrewsbury and Stratford-on-Avon.
Basingstoke, Chester, Chorley, Rushmoor, South Tyneside and Vale
Royal will pilot internet voting. Epping Forest, Ipswich, Norwich, St
Albans, Swindon, Stroud, Kerrier and parts of Somerset will combine
all forms of e-voting.
The announcement reveals increased levels of interest in e-voting
among councils compared with last year's local elections, when only
five local authorities piloted new voting technologies. However, it is
unlikely that any e-voting trials will take place in May 2004, when a
poll for the European Parliament will take place alongside local
elections. Present UK law only allows e-voting in local elections.
+05: DUBLIN MOBILE PARKING PAYMENT TRIAL A
SUCCESS.
A service that allows users to pay for car parking with a mobile phone
using any parking ticket machine in 45 Dublin streets has been
launched by the city's council with software firm ItsMobile
(http://www.itsmobile.com).
The scheme works by dialling an 'mPark' number, which is printed on
the ticket machines. Users then wait for a voice prompt and type a four
digit ID number into their mobile phones along with the required
parking time. The customer's name appears on the parking machine for
confirmation and a ticket is issued. Mobile companies O2 and
Vodafone have made their networks available to the scheme.
First launched in June last year, a survey of a 1,000-strong user group
trial generated positive feedback, according to operations director
Donal McGuinness. Of those that registered during the pilot, 97 per
cent continued to use this method of payment. "In the last week, the
level of transactions has gone through the roof," McGuinness says.
As for the future of mPark, talks with other cities in Ireland, the UK
and Europe are on the horizon. Customers who sign up can receive
their first parking transaction for free until 1 March. For more
information see:
http://www.mpark.ie
++NEWS IN BRIEF:
+06: ETHNIC DIVIDES: A government report has proposed 21
recommendations to boost access to technology by people from
minority ethnic communities in deprived areas. Among the
recommendations are the release of more funds to community project
managers and staff and to link technology provision to the wider
neighbourhood renewal agenda:
http://fastlink.headstar.com/rr
+07: COUNCILLOR INFO: The pilot phase of an initiative that allows
councillors to manage their own web sites,
'Councillor.info'(http://councillor.cust.poptel.org.uk), is due to begin
at the end of the month, when a pilot contract will be issued to 12 local
authorities. Run by the Local Government Association and Poptel
Technology, the initiative was launched in October (see E-Government
Bulletin, issue 124, 25 October 2002).
For a mock-up of a councillor web page see:
http://fastlink.headstar.com/cinfo
+08: POINTLESS EXERCISE: European e-government programmes
are set to make administration less efficient, according to a white paper
published today by business process solution provider eiStream. 'Back-
office automation in European egovernment' reveals that all
governments are pursuing a policy of building transactional e-
government portals without introducing electronic processing in the
back office. As a result, data will either have to be converted to and
from digital and paper formats, or governments will have to maintain
hybrid systems, leading to reduced efficiency:
http://www.eistream.com
[Section one ends.]
++SPONSORED CASE STUDIES: SHARING EXPERIENCE IN E-
GOVERNMENT.
Welcome to the bulletin's new sponsored case study listing service,
where companies can place links to profiles of e-government
partnerships of which they are most proud. Readers interested in
exploring issues raised here are also invited to participate in the
forthcoming Electronic Government Forum in London on 20 May.
Each study will be the subject of a special discussion group at the
forum and the sponsors are offering some guest places for public sector
readers - for details follow the case study links.
+WARWICK CHOOSES ITNET FOR MULTI-CHANNEL JOINED-
UP SERVICES.
The Open Door project, based on ITNET's OneGov solution, is
providing citizens with a range of ways to communicate with the
council through a contact centre, one-stop-shop, interactive website or
information kiosk:
http://www.electronic-government.com/itnet/warwick.htm
+PDA SOLUTION FOR WALSALL TRADING STANDARDS
OFFICERS.
Walsall MBC is deriving real operational benefits by providing its
Trading Standards Officers with portable hand-held devices and global
positioning technology to replace paper-based systems for use in the
field. Metascybe Systems were chosen to develop the software:
http://www.electronic-government.com/metascybe
+GIS IN THE LONDON BOROUGH OF HACKNEY.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are playing a pivotal role in the
delivery of on-line services. Over the past three years, Hackney
Council has carried out extensive work to develop the potential of GIS
to deliver Best Value across the whole council:
http://www.electronic-government.com/integraph/hackney.htm
+HAVE YOU GOT A CASE STUDY TO SHARE?
Readers from the private sector are invited to contact us for more
details and insertion costs. Those from the public sector are encouraged
to nominate private sector partners who may be interested in gaining
exposure. Please email John Webster: [log in to unmask]
[Sponsored case studies end.]
++SECTION TWO: FOCUS
- TRAVEL ALERTS.
+09: SUITCASE, PASSPORT . . . RISK ASSESSMENT.
by Mel Poluck [log in to unmask]
Alongside more traditional concerns such as what inoculations to have
before departure, which currency to buy, and whether or not to drink
the local water, an assessment of the threat of terrorism has now
become a part of every tourist's considerations when travelling abroad.
Information provided to people due to travel and those already abroad
needs to be easy to access, frequently updated and conveyed in a frank
manner but one that avoids stirring up panic.
Email has become an ideal medium for such warnings, and the process
of alerting nationals abroad about potential threats using digital
technologies has been facilitated by the abundance of internet cafes
that have sprung up in the remotest of regions.
Advice and threat alert systems, with graded risk-levels, are typically
publicised on the web pages of governmental foreign affairs sites, such
as that of the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(http://fastlink.headstar.com/fco). Where users once received this
information via Ceefax, Teletext, or fax, they can now sign up to email
alert services that offer the latest advice on specific countries and
inform whether the risk of attack has been upgraded or downgraded
from previous notices. Additionally, advice can be tailored as this and
similar sites let the user specify the countries on which they would like
to receive information.
The US State Department (http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html)
offers extensive online advice and warnings in addition to a section
with special public announcements and consular information sheets.
There are also fact sheets on topics relevant to specific countries such
as ways of responding to nuclear incidents or foot and mouth disease.
Warnings are generally issued if government intelligence, local
knowledge and embassy staff judge there is even a slight risk of an
attack, when attacks have taken place or when risk increases. Travel
advice on government web sites can range from warnings of potential
violence stemming from demonstrations to terrorist bomb attacks.
As well as country-specific warnings, US and UK government web
sites currently issue worldwide warnings: all-encompassing notices
that advise citizens to be aware of the risk of indiscriminate attacks in
the light of an ongoing global threat posed by international terrorism.
Other governments active in this field include those of Australia,
(http://www.dfat.gov.au/consular/advice/index.html#i) Spain
(http://www.mae.es) and Israel (currently only in Hebrew -
http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/home.asp).
While online risk assessments and warnings are mainly hosted by
government web sites, there are independent firms that analyse security
for individuals and companies based in potentially hostile
environments. Control Risks Group (http://www.crg.com) is one such
consultancy that provides daily online services such as 'country risk
forecast;' 'Iraq timeline' and advice on responding to bomb threats and
suspicious objects. In contrast to consular advice, theirs does not
always tally with that of the government. The company's director
Christopher Grose says: "when planning for a major upheaval,
companies ask 'how can we stay as safely and for as long as possible?'
rather than ask for the quickest escape route."
According to Dr George Friedman, chairman of another risk
consultancy Stratfor, the key is exposure. For tourists, exposure is low
because they can return home at a given time, but for businesses based
abroad, exposure is high because of the unmovable assets they possess.
Stratfor (http://www.stratfor.com/corp/) publishes an 'Iraq War diary'
four times a week via email alerts. However Friedman cautions against
the potential adverse side-effects of providing travel alerts: "to warn of
attacks too specifically [may] shift the focus of that attack - it's
impossible to warn 'our side' without also warning 'theirs.'"
On the other hand, recent terrorist bomb attacks in Bali caused
controversy after intelligence warnings were received but the threat
was not upgraded from 'significant' to 'high.' Similarly, the British
government faced criticism after November's car bombing in
Mombassa, Kenya, for failing to give adequate advice to travellers.
The British Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) believed that a
serious misjudgment had been made by the Security Service (who
currently measure risk by six graded threat-levels) according to their
report into the Bali affair (http://fastlink.headstar.com/bali).
The report also mentions that, since September 11 2001, the volume of
intelligence available to agencies has seen a tenfold increase.
Determining which to pass on to the traveling public and when is
unlikely to get any easier.
[Section two ends.]
+SPONSORED NOTICE: PEG 2003.
The annual Promoting Electronic Government (PEG) conference takes
place in Reading on 27 March, with a series of regional follow-up
'action learning days' scheduled for May.
Keynote speakers include Lin Homer, chief executive at Birmingham
City Council; Mike Le Brun of the Department of Work and Pensions;
and Janice Morphet from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The
action learning day themes are 'Access to service', 8 May, Wirral;
'Joining up with government', 13 May, Croydon; and 'Partnerships for
service', 20 May, Letchworth.
More details and online registration facilities at:
http://www.peg.org.uk
[Sponsored notice ends].
++SECTION THREE: EDUCATION
- SCHOOLS.
+10: BATTLE JOINED FOR FUTURE OF E-LEARNING.
by Derek Parkinson [log in to unmask]
The battle for the future of e-learning in schools has been well and
truly joined, with the BBC on one side, and an alliance of private
sector e-learning publishers on the other.
At stake is control of a market set for huge expansion, with the
government alone pumping in 300 million pounds over the next three
years to fund school access to e-learning.
The BBC landed the first blow this month following a decision by the
Department of Culture, Media and Sport to allow the corporation to
spend 90 million pounds on free e-learning materials against a chorus
of protests from private sector rivals who need to charge for their
products (http://fastlink.headstar.com/dcms). The Digital Learning
Alliance, formed to champion the private sector, has threatened action
in European courts to overturn the decision.
In the background, a debate is raging about how much valuable
traditional schooling techniques are in danger of being lost in the rush
to introduce new technologies to the classroom. In a keynote speech to
this year's education technology show BETT 2003
(http://www.bettshow.co.uk), education secretary Charles Clarke was
bullish. "Technology has fundamentally changed the nature of
relationships between pupil and teacher," he said.
However later in the conference Marjorie Scardino, chief executive of
publishing giant Pearson, articulated possible concerns about greater
use of technology. "A worry is that more computers in education could
be a distraction, absorbing the attention of our children so completely
that they fail to learn things that you can only get from novels like Jane
Austen's," she said.
Scardino also expressed concern that teachers could be brushed aside
in the rush to e-learning. "I'm a bit worried that the teacher is being
forgotten in all this. You can't just sit a child in front of a computer
and expect it to work," she said.
Of course, children in front of computers can do worse than miss out
on the subtleties of Jane Austen. Filtering software vendors were on
hand at BETT to reassure teachers that pupils aren't also surfing porn
sites, downloading huge audio and video files, or bombarding people
with abusive messages. SurfControl, a market leader, launched
upgraded email monitoring tools, and enhanced web products that
automatically categorize French, German, Dutch, Spanish and Dutch
language sites.
School Software showcased Sleuth, an application for 'recording,
analysing and tracking incidents of positive and negative behaviour.'
Basically, Sleuth provides teachers with a database for logging reports
of classroom incidents and graphical tools for displaying reports.
A significant number of exhibitors at this year's BETT show
specialised in technologies for pupils with special needs. Such
technologies are likely to feature more strongly in the next few years,
as parts of the Disability Discrimination Act relating to special needs
and education begin to bite.
Of particular interest to those teaching children with visual impairment
was a screen reader from Dolphin Computer Access programmed to
identify on-screen graphics and magnify text without blurring it, as
well as offering Braille output. Pulse Data demonstrated its Windows-
based family of BrailleNote products, small portable 'note takers' that
allow users to create documents, access email and surf the internet
using Brailling keys while on the move. New enhancements include
Scannar, which converts printed text from paper to audio output or
Braille when connected to the note taker.
Also on show was BrailleNote GPS, which has sparked great interest
in the visually impaired community. The product, which is about the
size of a mobile phone, plugs into the note taker and interprets satellite
data to give the user's exact location.
One specialist present, however, emphasised that the most useful
access technologies for children with special needs are those which
allow pupils access to everyday technologies. "Most ordinary PCs can
be adapted to be easier to use by visually impaired children," said a
spokesperson of St Vincent's School for the Blind in Liverpool. "We
have to remember that these children will go out into the real world,
trying to get real jobs. We must avoid making them dependent on
technology that only exists in the classroom. Employers are often wary
of employing people if they think it means buying expensive
equipment."
[Section three ends.]
+SPECIAL NOTICE: CLEAR PROFIT
- FREE FINANCIAL ETHICS NEWS AND ANALYSIS.
Most local authority fund managers recognise the need to integrate
ethical and green responsibilities with the obligation to deliver
financial returns.
The Clear Profit email newsletter, from the publishers of E-
Government Bulletin, provides lively, independent news and analysis
to help councils make the tough decisions implied. To subscribe to this
free monthly service simply send a blank email to:
[log in to unmask]
For more details visit:
http://www.clear-profit.com
[Special notice ends.]
++SECTION FOUR: OPINION
- E-DEMOCRACY.
+11: UP THE E-REPUBLIC.
by Stanislaw Skrzeszewski [log in to unmask]
The combination of new technology, globalisation and faltering
confidence in the nation-state has led some to look to alternative,
technologically driven global governance and social structures.
Some futurologists, such as Mike Dillard and Janet Hennard, writing in
the Futurist magazine (http://www.wfs.org/futcontja02.htm), are
already talking about the evolution of 'virtual nations'. One possible
form they may take is that of an 'e-republic', a virtual entity where
people belong to a common political, social and economic structure
other than that of the nation-state in which they live.
As I imagine them, these global republics will be networked and will
overlap or extend current governance structures. Nevertheless, it is
probable some nation-states will evolve into them, helped by the
development of e-government and e-democracy.
As we know, many governments are currently working to deliver
services virtually. These stated goals make the development of e-
republics a possibility in the short run and a strong probability in the
long run. Any country that has decided to make all services available
online could become the hub of a global e-republic.
Access to the services and information required by the citizens of a
global republic will be provided by portals which will deliver a range
of tools, services and internet-based applications. A good model for
one of these transnational web portals is the Pan-European Portal
'public-services.eu' (http://europa.eu.int/public-services), offering
people and businesses a reference and information point for cross-
border public services in Europe.
The first to identify themselves with e-republics will be the knowledge
workers as they begin to disconnect from the rigidity presented by
existing nation states. Information and communication technologies
have minimized their geographic limitations and have enabled them to
build virtual relationships and new social identities. The end result
could be a world where geography is no longer a defining factor and
where individuals can choose from a multitude of different affiliations,
cultures and languages.
Real world changes are also playing their part, with mass migration
taking the idea of citizenship beyond that of geography and traditional
nationalism. For example, one of the strategic goals outlined in an
economic plan of the government of Ontario, Canada calls for the
territory become "one of the best international jurisdictions in terms of
global citizenship and cosmopolitan outlook." By taking this approach
the authority has made itself a potential nucleus for an e-republic.
But people alone will not be enough to create a cosmopolitan e-
republic. Globally accessible broadband networks will be needed to
allow for everyone to participate. Also needed will be enhanced
translation software combined with artificial intelligence to enable the
necessary open and unfettered global communications network.
Ultimately, the success or failure of an E-Republic will depend on the
commitment and ingenuity of a group of people who share the same
values and who can see beyond traditional governance structures.
Increasing globalisation will create the demand for change in existing
political and social structures that will catalyse our imaginations into
envisioning new forms of governance.
NOTE: Stan Skrzeszewski is a partner of ASM Advanced Strategic
Management
Consultants (ASM).
[Section four ends.]
++END NOTES.
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+COPYRIGHT NOTICE.
- Copyright 2003 Headstar Ltd.
Regular circulation or reproduction of the bulletin by third parties is
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ISSN 1476-6310
+PERSONNEL
- EDITORIAL.
Editor - Dan Jellinek [log in to unmask]
Deputy editor - Phil Cain [log in to unmask]
Features editor - Derek Parkinson [log in to unmask]
Reporter - Mel Poluck [log in to unmask] .
- ADVERTISING.
[log in to unmask] .
A searchable archive of our back-issues can be found on our web site:
http://www.headstar.com/egb .
[Issue ends.]
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