E-Government Bulletin, HTML version: Please click on the attachment to read. See below for plain text version. +++E-GOVERNMENT BULLETIN - ISSUE 160, 30 April 2004. http://www.headstar.com/egb . Please forward this free service to colleagues so they can subscribe - full details at the end. We never pass on email addresses. ++ISSUE 160 CONTENTS. 01: New EU entrants are 'world-beaters' - European Commissioner talks to E-Government Bulletin. 02: Concerns linger over enforced 'priorities' - councils face new e-service requirement deadlines. 03: Small councils unite to make savings - software costs cut by a quarter. 04: Communities gear up for Silver Surfers' Day - House of Commons launch in May. News in Brief: 05: Scottish nomination - Parliament up for a Webby; 06: Tuning in - Direct.gov on digital TV; 07: Traffic jam - UK Online traffic static. Section two: EGB seminar report - accessible e-government. 08: Culture of accessibility: The key to creating services which are accessible to people with disabilities is changing the way people think, says Julie Hill. Section three: Debate report - broadband services. 09: The aggregation game: the emergence of Regional Aggregation Bodies (RABs) to negotiate to buy broadband internet on behalf of all public sector bodies was among topics discussed during an online debate held by the Public Policy Forum. Dan Jellinek reports. [Contents ends]. ++SPECIAL NOTICE: EGB May Seminars - Transforming Your Organisation and e-Learning - 13 and 19 May, Globe Theatre, London. E-Government Bulletin presents two seminars in May at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in association with London's e-government agency London Connects. On 13 May is 'The future of e-government - Transforming your organisation': http://www.electronic-government.com/transform.htm . Topics include changing business processes; anticipating citizens' needs; and culture change, with speakers including Chris Haynes, ODPM; and Steve Pennant, Chief Executive of London Connects. On 19 May is 'e-learning - the future of training in the public sector': http://www.electronic-government.com/elearning.htm . Speakers include Professor Diana Laurillard, head of e-Learning Strategy, Department for Education and Skills; and Richard Grice, Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA). Places cost 295 pounds plus VAT for public sector and 395 for private sector delegates. Additional delegates booking at the same time receive a 100 pound discount. [Special notice ends]. ++SECTION ONE: +01: NEW EU ENTRANTS ARE 'WORLD-BEATERS'. The unprecedented expansion of the European Union due to take place tomorrow - with 10 new entrant countries due to join - could boost the progress of e-government across the continent, Erkki Liikanen, European Commissioner for Information Society Technologies, has told E-Government Bulletin in an exclusive interview. Although the entrants' economies are generally less well-developed than those of existing member states, with average earnings at 40 per cent of the rest of the EU, their skills and commitment to change will benefit existing members, he said. "It is important not to underestimate the new and future member states. All EU countries can benefit from shared lessons learned in e- government - this is not a one-way street," Liikanen said. Liikanen said the progress of new entrants in the areas of electronic ID, online land registries and mapping systems were likely to be of particular value to current EU members. "Exceptionally well-educated populations have shown a drive to implement transparent and open government in their new democracies. For example, the implementation of electronic ID based on European standards has been pioneered in Estonia, while electronic drivers licences have been rapidly rolled-out in Poland and also in Romania. Some of these countries cadastre [land registry and mapping] systems are world-beating," he said. A total of around 40 billion Euros from EU funds will be made available to the new member states between 2004 and 2006, some of which will be targeted at public sector infrastructure (see http://europa.eu.int/abc/12lessons/index4_en.htm). "Access to support funding for further development both from programmes such as the IST Research and Structural Funds will make a difference . . . [and] their sterling performance so far on limited financial means bodes well for speedy progress in the near future," said Liikanen. The arrival of the new members also requires the European Commission to take on nine new official languages - making a total of 19 - for all its communications, including its vast collection of web pages. The commission began preparing for this as far back as 2002, when it added new languages to its web site and began to adjust its content management system to read Polish and Baltic language characters (see E-Government Bulletin, Issue 26, 25 November 2002). NOTE: Erkki Liikanen is interviewed in E-Government Outlook 2004- 05, E-Government Bulletin's second yearbook, due out in May. This unique book, still the UK's most comprehensive independent round-up of e-government developments, can be pre-ordered at a discounted price of 195 pounds for public sector and 295 pounds for private sector readers (full price will be 245 pounds and 345 pounds). For further details of the book's contents and how to pre-order please email Mel Poluck on [log in to unmask] . +02: CONCERNS LINGER OVER ENFORCED 'PRIORITIES'. The incoming president of local government IT management body Socitm has expressed concerns about new local e-government service requirements unveiled yesterday by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Despite changes made to the policy following consultation to extend compliance deadlines, the requirements could still distract councils from moving all services online and meeting local priorities, Chris Guest told E-Government Bulletin. Junior local government minister Phil Hope used the Socitm spring seminar to unveil a three-tier checklist of 'required', 'good' and 'excellent' local e-services across seven priority areas from raising schools standards to improving transport services. There are 29 'required' outcomes, 26 'good' outcomes and 19 'excellent' outcomes. Councils will be expected to meet the 'required' outcomes by December 2005 and the 'good' outcomes by April 2006. There is no deadline for the 'excellent' outcomes, though councils that meet them will have greater local discretion in applying local e-government grants to meet local priorities. Grants to councils of 500,000 pounds each for delivery of the third wave of implementing e-government strategies would be linked to delivery of the priority outcomes, Hope said. He denied the outcomes should be described as new 'targets' which clash with the overall target for all local services to be available online by the end of 2005. Instead, they add an 'operational focus,' he said. The new document (http://fastlink.headstar.com/odpm8) simplifies and reduces the number of 'required' outcomes for councils, as well as softening the terminology used. In the consultation version of the document released in January this year, there had been some 46 'mandatory' outcomes; 40 'best practice' outcomes. The number of 'discretionary' outcomes has remained unchanged at 19. Following publication of the earlier draft Glyn Evans, chair of Socitm's Information Age Government group, said the principle of requiring outcomes centrally was over-prescriptive and failed to reflect local services (see E-Government Bulletin, issue 153, 26 January 2004). Yesterday, senior figures at Socitm were satisfied that the post- consultation set of outcomes was more achievable, although concerns about central prescription do remain. "It is good to see the number of 'required' outcomes has reduced significantly, but if we're looking at the 'best practice' outcomes we are talking about a new deadline of April 2006," incoming Socitm president Chris Guest told E-Government Bulletin. "Is that basically simply setting new targets, dictating how e-government is going to go? "We need to analyse the detail. If it is going to be prescriptive in terms of focus, it could mean a lot of change to councils' plans and strategies, and it could throw them off-track. That is a worry." +03: SMALL COUNCILS UNITE TO MAKE SAVINGS. Two small neighbouring councils in the south of England have saved 25 per cent on software costs by working together, according to 'Local e-government now', the annual report published yesterday by the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA - http://www.idea.gov.uk) and the Society of Information Technology Management (SOCITM - http://www.socitm.gov.uk). Tandridge District Council (http://www.tandridgedc.gov.uk) in Surrey and Sevenoaks District Council (http://www.sevenoaks.gov.uk) in Kent have taken a partnership approach to delivering several e- government projects, saving resources and gaining access to central government funding. This example of joined-up working is one of several case studies featured in the report, which focuses on the work of smaller councils. The partnership approach between Tandridge and Sevenoaks began three years ago with the joint procurement and implementation of a new financial management system. The shared system is installed at Sevenoaks, but allows both councils to manage their accounting and general ledger processes. "Working together enabled us to achieve significant discounts from the supplier," says Stuart Mitchenall, head of ICT at Tandridge. "We saved 25 per cent of the cost of acting alone." The councils then went on to make a bid to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM - http://www.odpm.gov.uk) for funding for a joint e-democracy project in 2003. They received 150,000 pounds for shared software which allows residents to download the proceedings of council meetings, such as minutes and reports, and to give feedback through online dialogue. The system has already proved popular with residents in Tandridge who mainly use it to keep an eye on planning activities, while Sevenoaks is due to go live with the system in the summer. The councils now work together on projects whenever they can. "It is really a case of identifying opportunities when we are procuring new systems or updating them where there are cost saving benefits," says Mitchenall. "We considered joint disaster recovery, for example, but concluded that we couldn't justify the investment." The councils say their approach offers a good way forward for smaller councils. "We are two authorities who face similar challenges in service delivery and constraints on resources," says Kristen Paterson, director of community services and e-government champion at Sevenoaks District Council. "Working together has saved us money, time and resources - and given us access to funding that we could not have received had we worked alone." +04: COMMUNITIES GEAR UP FOR SILVER SURFERS' DAY. Community venues up and down the country will be hosting events to get the over-50s started on the internet, as part of Silver Surfers' Day (http://www.silversurfersday.org) on 21 May. Across the UK, older people are being invited to local training sessions to help them surf the internet and use email. In Sheffield, a community recycling programme is running a patchworking and quilting day in which it will invite the over-50s to browse quilting web sites and use cross-stitch design CDs. Meanwhile in Derbyshire, a rural pub is hosting an event with an emphasis on assistive products such as specialist keyboards, mouse replacements and software, for those who might struggle with dexterity or sight problems. Silver Surfers' Day, now in its third year, is a national initiative run by Hairnet (http://www.hairnet.org), a computer training company specialising in accessibility. The project also invites nominations for a UK Silver Surfer of the Year. There have been around 120 nominations this year, and the winner will be announced at a launch event on 12 May at the House of Commons. The winner of last year's Silver Surfer of the Year award, Cathie Stemp, began using a computer after she lost her job because she couldn't operate a computerised cash register. Now Stemp is teaching others how to use computers at her local Age Concern. "Silver Surfers' Day is a good opportunity to remind people of the advantages of being connected to the net," says Cambridge MP Anne Campbell, who is sponsoring the event. "For people who are housebound, it can be a lifeline to other people, to important services and to essential information." ++News in Brief: +05: SCOTTISH NOMINATION: The Scottish Parliament web site is among nominees in the 'Government and law' category for this year's international 'Webby' awards, the Oscars of the internet. Other nominees in the category include Brisbane City Council in Australia and US government site 'Fedstats.' Winners will be announced on 12 May: http://www.webbyawards.com . +06: TUNING IN: The Office of the e-Envoy has announced that its new one-stop government portal 'Direct.gov' is to be extended into an interactive digital television service. The service will be accessible first on digital broadcasting platforms Sky and Telewest with ntl to follow shortly. Direct.gov is now set to replace the existing UK Online government web portal - having begun as its subsidiary - and its TV service will replace UK Online Interactive: http://www.direct.gov.uk . +07: TRAFFIC JAM: Meanwhile, traffic to the current government portal UK Online has continued to stagnate, according to analysis published by e-learning consultant Seb Schmoller. "Total traffic has hovered around 3 million page views per month for several months, with a gradual increase in the number of unique users per month offset by a fall both in the number of page views per visit, and in the number of visits per month made by each unique user," he says: http://www.schmoller.net/mailings/20040413.shtml . [Section one ends] ++SPECIAL NOTICE: Electronic Government Exchange - EGB Reader Offer. The publishers of E-Government Bulletin are once again hosting the Electronic Government Exchange in London on 25 May. Before the event, participants can use its web site to construct their own programme of meetings and discussion groups, and put forward experiences they are willing to share with others. Discussion group topics include: Freedom of Information implementation; e- accessibility; transactional web sites; e-participation and e- consultation; sharing data; improving service take-up; and special programme on wireless e-government. Bulletin readers from the public sector can register at a special rate of just 95 pounds + VAT. The rate for those from the private sector is #295 +VAT: http://www.electronic-government.com . [Special notice ends]. ++SPONSORED NOTICE: The 3rd Annual London e-Government Conference: - Sustainable e-Government in London. - Tuesday 6 July 2004, the Brewery Conference Centre, London. London Connects, with GovNet Communications, is proud to present the London e-Government Conference, London's premier ICT strategy event for senior decision-makers across every London borough. Speakers include Phil Hope MP, Parliamentary Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister; Faith Boardman, Chief Executive, London Borough of Lambeth; and David Kwo, Regional Implementation Director, NHS National Programme for IT London. For details and to register see: http://www.govnet.co.uk/londonegov or call Arron Browne on 0800 542 9585. [Sponsored notice ends]. SECTION TWO: EGB SEMINAR REPORT - ACCESSIBLE E-GOVERNMENT. +08: CULTURE OF ACCESSIBILITY by Julie Hill. Cultural change is one of the biggest challenges facing public sector bodies as they strive to make their e-government services accessible to people with disabilities, according to many of the speakers and delegates at E-Government Bulletin's March seminar 'E-Government for all: planning for accessibility' (http://www.electronic- government.com/access.htm). Despite legal and moral requirements for public service providers to make web sites accessible to all regardless of ability, many organisations are still struggling to instill the importance of accessible services among management and staff, according to one local authority delegate. "My authority has produced clear content and communications standards for accessibility, but it can be difficult to get staff buy-in," the delegate told an interactive question-and-answer session. "With the day-to-day pressures of work and the practical issues around getting web content up quickly, things sometimes fall apart." It is crucial for public bodies to obtain buy-in for accessibility from the highest level of the organisation, she said. But this can be difficult when managers think that technical staff can "wave a magic wand" to make services accessible, as a second delegate put it, without a real understanding of what accessibility involves and the need for training across the organisation. Training is becoming even more important as public bodies increasingly move towards multiple content contributors for their web sites, he said. Laura van Weyenbergh, e-communications officer at Rushcliffe Borough Council (http://www.rushcliffe.gov.uk), agreed that communication with staff was the key. "It is crucial to do the groundwork to ensure that web site contributors understand their role in accessibility," she said. "We have tried to encourage staff to view accessibility as the norm rather than extra work, but admittedly this has been difficult." Access to the right skills and knowledge about accessibility is another problem for government bodies. Often they don't have the requisite skills in-house, but equally they can't always rely on the expertise of their IT suppliers or the web developer community, delegates heard. One problem is that a confusing array of so-called accessibility 'standards' can be difficult for non-specialist organisations to evaluate, said Tom Adams, senior digital media consultant at the Office of the e- Envoy (OeE - http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk). "Although the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative guidelines [http://www.w3.org/WAI] have become the de facto international standard for accessibility, they were only ever intended as guidelines and as such are open to interpretation," he said. While the OeE has produced its own guidelines on accessibility (http://www.e- envoy.gov.uk/webguidelines.htm), based on standards such as e-GIF and the WAI guidelines, he admitted that "we, like everyone else, are slow in adopting and adhering to the guidelines." Automated software tools that check web accessibility, such as the well-known Watchfire Bobby (http://bobby.watchfire.com), can provide some guidance for government bodies, but are of limited value, according to one delegate. In particular, it is only by testing sites with users that government bodies can guarantee that their services are not only technically accessible -capable of being used with assistive technologies, such as screen readers - but usable. However, delegates highlighted the difficulties of engaging with user communities to get help in testing. "Although we advertised to get input from web users, it was difficult to get their response," said van Weyenbergh. "In the end, we didn't get much input from the local community." Even if they do manage to get feedback from the public, how can government bodies and their suppliers measure the outcomes of user testing, asked Ian Franklin, human factors consultant for technology supplier EDS. Are there metrics available to help with this? This question sparked a debate among experts about the nature of usability. While Guido Gybels, director of new technologies at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (http://www.rnid.org.uk), and the OeE's Adams agreed that usability was a largely subjective issue, dependent on the user's skills, experience and background. Helen Petrie, professor of human computer interaction design at City University (http://www.city.ac.uk), said that her research has shown that there will always be a common core of key outcomes across all tests by all user groups, however diverse. The question for service providers, said Petrie, is at which point they are happy that their accessibility efforts are sufficient. Is it once 90 or 95 per cent of people can access their site, for example? Adams agreed that 100 per cent accessibility is an unachievable goal, because there will always be someone who cannot access your site because they are using a very unusual web browser, for example. The important thing for local authorities, he said, is to be able to show that they have taken all reasonable steps possible to make their site as accessible as possible. This work will pay off for all users, said Petrie. "If your organisation conducts testing with people with print disabilities, it will pick up problems that are common to all users. The result will be an exemplary site for everyone," she said. [Section two ends]. ++SPONSORED NOTICE: SPIN conference - 21 May 2004, National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. There's something for all public information practitioners at EPI 2004 - SPIN's annual conference on 21 May. This year's theme, 'From data to delivery', addresses the fundamental importance of managing our data to the highest standards, and the many issues this raises. High quality data is not an end in itself, but the key to successful delivery which meets customer needs. The cost is just 175 pounds for SPIN members (100 pounds for voluntary sector members). Full details of our excellent speaker line- up, plus booking instructions, at: http://www.spin.org.uk/epi2004 . [Sponsored notice ends]. SECTION THREE: DEBATE REPORT - BROADBAND SERVICES +09: THE AGGREGATION GAME by Dan Jellinek. The emergence of Regional Aggregation Bodies (RABs) to negotiate to buy broadband internet on behalf of all public sector bodies in an area was among topics discussed during an open online debate on the potential for broadband to improve public services hosted earlier this month by the BT-sponsored think-tank Public Policy Forum in association with E-Government Bulletin. Much of the debate about RABs revolved around the need for them to form partnerships with local organisations outside the public sector such as community and voluntary groups to maximise the benefits of bringing broadband to each region. Clare Lunn of the Local Government Improvement and Development Agency said the success of the broadband RABs in bringing together partners within the public sector and beyond to the community and voluntary sectors could vary from region to region. "I suspect that it will depend on how good the partnership working already is in the region - if there are effective inter-sector links in place then the RAB concept will sit more easily. Crossing boundaries where partnerships do not already exist might be more interesting. "They will also need to be flexible - perhaps allowing for more than one solution, considering the varied range of needs involved (from large agencies to small communities). "But what is the alternative - that the big suppliers are allowed to divide and conquer so that each organisation or sector has to negotiate a deal by itself, probably duplicating infrastructure costs across the region?... It seems to me that despite difficulties, there is potentially real strength in coming together." Some participants in the debate complained that the RABs do not have a wide enough remit, in that they simply exist to negotiate good deals on current infrastructure rather than to buy or help develop more advanced, higher-speed infrastructure to all areas. But Fred Perkins, Public Policy Forum chair, said: "Are we perhaps asking too much of RABs when we suggest they should be looking to the future development of broadband? The basic objective of the RABs is to speed up and make easier the acquisition of broadband. "They do potentially offer a strong proposition for all stakeholders: local government gets speedy and (relatively) hassle-free procurement at good prices; suppliers are incentivised to roll out infrastructure more quickly and more widely; and communities gain access to broadband potentially more quickly than they might otherwise do. And all of this is being delivered in the context of partnerships, which historically we haven't been very good at in the UK, but are getting better. "I'd hope that once the RAB mechanisms really take off, and then mature, we'll be able to move forward to 'SuperRABs', playing an important role in the continuing development of infrastructure, and again, for the benefit of all stakeholders." Erol Ziya of the Access to Broadband Campaign and Broadband Stakeholder Group, spoke up for community groups when he said: "I know the RABs are about 'buying big' and I know that the public sector is a massive proportion of the 'spend' in this country, but that doesn't naturally imply that the biggest consumer will be the public sector. Far more likely, as there are more of us, that the citizens and businesses of this country will consume the most bandwidth. Therefore, involving consumers in the process seems logical. "Those in the public sector live in communities, they work in communities, they represent communities . . . but it rarely feels like that is understood. How do we 'community activists' get representation on the RABs? Who will be the 'ears on the ground' in these bodies? NOTE: The Broadband Debate was held at the forum's web site: http://www.publicpolicyforum.org.uk . If you would like to contribute to this ongoing exercise by responding to any of the points raised in this article or on the web site, or if you would like to receive a full debate report when published, please email Jennifer Firman on [log in to unmask] . [Section three ends]. ++SPECIAL NOTICE: TEST YOUR SITE'S ACCESSIBILITY. The accessibility of public sector web sites - ensuring all can access e- government services as far as is reasonably possible - is a moral and legal imperative for UK public bodies. But the area can seem complex and technical. Now Headstar, the publishers of E-Government Bulletin and its sister publication E-Access Bulletin, is offering a range of independent, expert assessment packages to ensure your web services comply with best practice and the law. We can provide you with a clear, detailed report on the current access status of your site, and a list of tasks you will need to carry out to ensure compliance with government requirements. Reports also include results from general quality assurance tests such as link-checking. Taking accessibility action benefits all users, will make your site easier to maintain, and can improve your search-engine rating! For more information please email: [log in to unmask] . [Special notice ends]. ++END NOTES. +HOW TO RECEIVE E-GOVERNMENT BULLETIN. To subscribe to this free fortnightly bulletin as an HTML attachment email: [log in to unmask] or for the plain text version email: [log in to unmask] . To unsubscribe from the HTML version email: [log in to unmask] and to unsubscribe from the text version email: [log in to unmask] . For further information on subscription, including how to subscribe or unsubscribe from an alternative email address and how to find out if a particular address is subscribed, see: http://www.headstar.com/egb/subs.html . +TEN STANDARD: This newsletter conforms to the accessible Text Email Newsletter (TEN) Standard, developed by our sister newsletter E-Access Bulletin. For details see: http://www.headstar.com/ten . +COPYRIGHT NOTICE. - Copyright 2004 Headstar Ltd. Regular circulation or reproduction of the bulletin by third parties is forbidden. Properly accredited articles (always including source details, bulletin subscription details and web address) or entire single issues of the bulletin (including this notice) may be forwarded to individuals or groups of people as long as it is made clear that to receive a regular copy, people must subscribe individually. For queries about article reproduction, syndication or other copyright issues please email [log in to unmask] . ISSN 1476-6310 +PERSONNEL - EDITORIAL. Editor - Dan Jellinek [log in to unmask] Deputy editor - Derek Parkinson [log in to unmask] Senior Reporter - Mel Poluck [log in to unmask] News Reporter - Julie Hill [log in to unmask] Technician - Pete Hall [log in to unmask] Correspondent - Phil Cain [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 . 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