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Subject: E-Government Bulletin - 30 October 2003
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+++E-GOVERNMENT BULLETIN
- ISSUE 148, 30 OCTOBER 2003.
The email newsletter on electronic government.
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++ISSUE 148 CONTENTS.
01: UK Online usage levels 'stagnating
- but navigation may be improving.
02: Wehavejoinedforces.com
- former rivals for change of address services unite.
03: Politicians are 'threat to progress'
- Oxford professor blasts establishment.
04: Europe deals direct with citizen
- portal bypasses member governments.
News in brief: 05: Procurement plan - council strategy; 06: Cyber
culture - online arts projects; 07: Capital partnering - London
blueprint.
Section two: Seminar report - information sharing.
08: Simple but not easy: When it comes to sharing information,
technology is not the problem. Dan Jellinek reports.
Section three: Opinion - e-voting.
09: What's the point? Over the past few weeks, voices have been heard
on all sides of the e-voting debate. Jason Kitcat finds many of the
arguments unconvincing.
[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: UK ONLINE USAGE LEVELS 'STAGNATING'.
UK Online (http://www.ukonline.gov.uk), the government's flagship
web site, is seeing its visitor numbers stagnate after successive months
of growth in traffic throughout 2002, according to new analysis from
one independent observer.
Seb Schmoller (http://www.schmoller.net), a leading e-learning
consultant, has analysed recent traffic statistics for UK Online
published by the Office of the E-Envoy
(http://fastlink.headstar.com/oee4) and found that visitor numbers had
levelled off after a period of steady growth (see
http://www.schmoller.net/mailings/20030912.html).
Monthly unique users of UK Online rose from 44,000 in February
2002 to a high of 523,000 in November 2002. Since then they have
fluctuated between 300,000 and 500,000, reaching 522,000 users per
month during September 2003.
Visitor behaviour is also changing on the site, Schmoller says. There
has been a steady drop in visits per unique user per month from a high
of seven in March 2002 to less than two in September 2003 and in
page views per visit from ten in February 2002 to less than five in
September 2003. "This shows that individual users are making
decreasing use of the site, although the reduction in page views per
visit might mean that once a user arrives, they tend to find what they
want without having to browse," says Schmoller. The latter could be
construed as a sign of improved navigation on the site, he says.
A spokesperson for the Office of the e-Envoy told E-Government
Bulletin: "The UK online website is a great success and the statistics
demonstrate consistent growth in the number of visitors. Indeed in
September 2003, 522,371 unique users visited the UK online website,
the second highest monthly figure yet.
"The Office of the e-Envoy continues to actively encourage more
people to get online and make use of all UK online facilities. This
summer's Get Started campaign successfully encouraged people who
had never used the internet before to try it out for free at a local UK
online centre, and we are delivering customer-focused services to ever
more citizens via channels such as digital television."
The UK Online site is due to make way in February next year for a
new 'Online Government Store,' a revamped one-stop service modelled
on a department store (see E-Government Bulletin, issue 146, 3
October 203).
+02: WEHAVEJOINEDFORCES.COM.
The two main providers of electronic, one-stop change of address
services to councils - the company formerly called ihavemoved.com
and the Royal Mail (http://www.royalmail.com) - have joined forces.
Two years of talks between the former competitors have culminated in
Royal Mail taking a 25 per cent stake in the former ihavemoved.com,
which has changed its name to Moving Technologies and its product
name to iammoving.com (http://www.iammoving.com).
Moving Technologies says it currently has 45 local council clients
using its technology, which allows citizens to inform government
departments and other services of their change of address in one fell
swoop.
"Some 85 per cent of local council data is made up of citizens'
addresses," says Francesco Benincasa, the company's chief executive.
"Our research shows local authorities could cut some 130 million
pounds out of their cost base over three years just by working more
efficiently on changes of address."
However, there is currently confusion among local authorities about
the potential legal issues raised by change of address services. In
September 2002, Shepway District Council
(http://www.shepway.gov.uk) in Kent was advised by solicitors
Nabarro Nathanson (http://www.nabarro.com) that it could be acting
unlawfully if it shared resident change of address data between
departments.
Rupert Battcock of Nabarro Nathanson advises local authorities to
examine other areas of legislation to find legitimacy for services, such
as the Local Government Act of 1972 which confirms the powers of
local authorities to do things that are incidental to other activities.
He
also cites the Local Government Act 2000 which gives councils the
power to carry out acts that are in the interests of environmental,
social
and economic wellbeing.
Paul Boyle of the information rights division at the Department for
Constitutional Affairs concurs. "Change of address can be construed as
being in the social interests of citizens and in the economic interests
of
the council, as it makes their processes more efficient," he says. The
Department for Constitutional Affairs is due to issue guidance to local
authorities in the next few weeks which it says will clear up many of
these issues.
+03: POLITICIANS ARE 'THREAT TO PROGRESS'.
Resistant civil servants and old-fashioned politicians are the most
serious threats to progress with e-democracy, Professor Stephen
Coleman of the Oxford Internet Institute told a seminar on e-
participation and consultation hosted this week by E-Government
Bulletin
(http://www.electronic-government.com/secrets.htm).
"The people who are most resistant are the institutional bureaucracies.
It seems to be part of their nature to oppose change," said Coleman.
Many politicians have failed to realise that many assumptions about
public expectations are no longer valid, he suggested.
"Politicians used to put out leaflets with pictures of their family and
pet
dog and copies of their lousy speeches and it would be enough.
Unfortunately many politicians now just create a web site with pictures
of their family and pet dog and their lousy speeches but it is not good
enough," he said.
According to Coleman most politicians and civil servants have now
accepted that the internet is here to stay. However, few are keen to
explore the possibilities it offers for fear that their organisations'
rule-
books will have to be rewritten, if not thrown out entirely.
+04: EUROPE DEALS DIRECT WITH THE CITIZEN.
By mid-2004, individuals and businesses in EU countries will be able
to find information on employment and education opportunities in
other member states, as well as issues such as tax and social security,
through the EU public service portal (http://europa.eu.int/public-
services).
The goal is part of a European Commission strategy to expand online
services beyond EU institutions and member state government
institutions to reach the public directly
(http://fastlink.headstar.com/euro2).
Key objectives over the next few months will be developing the basic
content and infrastructure of the portal. This will include updating,
streamlining, and translating content from member states and other EU
bodies, and surveying user requirements.
Practical work on the project is being co-ordinated by the Interchange
of Data between Administrations programme (IDA
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/ida). Plans for the portal are the
first practical steps for implementing a strategy laid out at the
Italian
Presidency e-government conference in Como in July
(http://fastlink.headstar.com/como1).
++NEWS IN BRIEF:
+05: PROCUREMENT PLAN: A national procurement strategy for
local government was launched last week by the Local Government
Association and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. It lays out
objectives over the next three years to improve current procurement
procedures:
http://fastlink.headstar.com/proc2 .
+06: CYBER CULTURE: Culture Minister Estelle Morris last week
revealed the first seven projects which will form part of Culture
Online, an initiative from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
which goes live early next year. The scheme aims to increase access to
the arts among young people, open up our cultural institutions and
enhance IT skills:
http://www.cultureonline.gov.uk/projects .
+07: CAPITAL PARTNERING: A guide to e-government partnerships
based in the London was launched this week by London Connects, the
city's online public services agency. The blueprint includes a summary
of e-partnership activity and some key issues that have arisen from it.
http://www.londonconnects.org.uk/files/lcblueprint.pdf .
[Section one ends].
++SPONSORED CASE STUDIES: SHARING YOUR
EXPERIENCES.
In this section, companies highlight e-government partnerships of
which they are proud. Readers interested in exploring these issues are
invited to participate in the Electronic Government Exchange in
London on 19 November. Each study will inform a discussion group
and sponsors are offering guest places for public sector readers. For
details follow the links:
+CORPORATE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT &
SCORECARDING IN CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
Cognos are hosting a session to explore how government bodies have
successfully implemented CPM and how scorecards can be effectively
used as an instrument for change:
http://www.electronic-government.com/cognos/cpm.htm .
+IMPROVING CITIZEN CONTACT WITH VOICE OVER IP
An ERA Technology case study on how local authorities have started
to tackle the move to Voice Over IP and the 'intelligent' routing of
voice and citizen data to the most relevant individual:
http://www.electronic-government.com/era/citizens.htm .
+BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND E-GOVERNMENT
Cognos shows how government agencies worldwide have used
Business Intelligence to deal with budget management, data
consistency, service delivery and multi-channel delivery:
http://www.electronic-government.com/cognos/centralgov.htm .
+MET POLICE TO SAVE #300 MILLION VIA SYSTEMS
INTEGRATION STRATEGY
Discover how BEA's market-leading application platform is being
used to build and integrate new applications that reduce cost, cut
inefficiencies and provide flexible services for the community:
http://www.electronic-government.com/bea/metpolice.htm .
+MULTI-CHANNEL INTERACTION FOR E-GOVERNMENT
SERVICES
ERA Technology will provide an insight into lessons learned when
government and commercial organisations adopt multi-channel
communications their e-government initiatives:
http://www.electronic-government.com/era/multi-channel.htm .
+CORPORATE AND CLINICAL GOVERNANCE IN THE NHS
NHS bodies are using Cognos Business Intelligence and data
warehousing software for the automation of central returns and
management reports and to access knowledge locked in legacy
systems:
http://www.electronic-government.com/cognos/clinicalgov.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: SEMINAR REPORT
- INFORMATION SHARING.
+08: SIMPLE BUT NOT EASY
by Dan Jellinek [log in to unmask]
"When it comes to sharing information between public bodies,
technology is not the problem - the problem always lies with the
process and the people." This was the central message from Professor
Jim Norton, former director of the Cabinet Office Performance and
Innovation Unit's e-Commerce team, as he addressed E-Government
Bulletin's seminar on information sharing earlier this month
(http://www.electronic-government.com/law.htm).
Norton used examples from the private sector to demonstrate how
organisations could be transformed by allowing people outside them to
participate in their internal processes. The retailer Wal-Mart had
passed on the task of monitoring stocks of goods on its outlets' shelves
to the suppliers of those goods, stripping away one of its own tasks and
making the whole process cheaper and more efficient. The computer
manufacturer Dell had developed a system whereby the customer
configured their own computer, and placed the order online at their
own expense. They then take the money from you before they pay the
supplier who actually makes the computer, so they actually have
negative working capital - "Dell is a bank." Other costs and risks are
all passed on to suppliers and logistics operators.
"The way you can use and share information and co-operate with your
customers and suppliers can generate fundamental changes in the way
you operate," he said.
In the public sector, however, such shifts would require major changes
in mindset, and this in turn would require a major internal
communications programme and staff training. "It is about people and
processes, not technology, but in this respect the government's track
record is poor. The whole process of budget and Treasury control does
not inspire confidence. If people are ever bright enough to put 50 per
cent of their project money into people and processes, it is the first
thing that gets chopped by the Treasury.
"But training for example is vital, even if it means productivity may
fall in the short term. We need to create an environment where this
way of thinking is possible for civil servants."
It is also important not to be over-confident in technology, Norton
said.
"Ministers occasionally have blind faith in technology. If we go down
a technical blind alley, the amount of damage it will do is
significant".
Nevile Cannon, Chief Executive of Hanon solutions
(http://www.hanon.co.uk), said the best technology systems for sharing
information between bodies were those that are flexible, adaptable, and
retrieve data from the various remote systems in real-time rather than
attempting to create new databases downloaded from different sources.
"If you pull data off other systems, what happens when one of the
original systems changes?"
He said it is all too easy to contemplate the list of potential barriers
against data sharing, from systems integration to data protection, and
decide that nothing is possible, but projects are possible with a
pragmatic attitude and a decision to start somewhere and work from
there. "There is no silver bullet, and no one supplier has the answer,
just different ways forward," he said. "You have to do it now - there
will never be a better time. The pieces will not come together."
Like Norton, Cannon stressed the importance of communicating with
staff of an organisation about any new ways of working. "Any amount
of communication you do will never be enough - nothing official can
beat the speed of news travelling on the grapevine. You can never do
enough communication - can you ever have too much buy-in?"
He finished with a quote from former US President Ronald Reagan:
"It's simple but it's not easy."
[Section two ends.]
++SPONSORED NOTICE: EGOVERNMENT INTERNET TV
CHANNEL LAUNCHES.
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 E-Government Minister Phil Hope interviewed by John
Sergeant, plus 'Question Time' style debates examining the key issues
affecting councils.
A national projects feature looking at Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) included a panel discussion and reports on key
successes across the UK. The programme can be viewed at:
http://www.egovernment-vision.tv .
[sponsored notice ends].
++SECTION THREE: OPINION
- E-VOTING
+09: WHAT'S THE POINT?
by Jason Kitcat [log in to unmask] .
In the months since the Electoral Commission published its evaluation
of the May 2003 e-voting trials, E-Government Bulletin has given the
space for a number of different voices in the e-voting debate to air
their
views.
Mark Pack, a Liberal Democrats worker, rightly highlighted the
problematic management and implementation of the pilots (E-
Government Bulletin, issue 143). He alluded to what many of us
suspect, that e-voting appears to the government like a sexy, modern
project for it to champion. Yet with the government's diabolical record
on major IT projects does it really make sense, he wondered, to invest
in electronic elections?
Mr Pack noted, as did the Electoral Reform Society and many others,
that turnout had actually dropped, on average, for the pilots (see also
http://fastlink.headstar.com/turnout1). However most other observers
have failed to recognise this fundamental point. For example Chris
Smy of the Isle of Wight's Youth and Community Service was quoted
as saying that "e-voting has the potential to excite and inspire young
people to participate in politics more than the traditional method of
posting a ballot paper in a box" (see E-Government Bulletin, issue 147,
17 October 2003).
But why should that statement be believed? We have seen that the e-
voting pilots did not boost turnout, and it is simplistic to think that
participation will be revitalised by channelling politics and democratic
activities into the hip new technologies of today. Young people aren't
engaged by technologies alone but by what they can do with them.
Being asked to respond to yes or no questions using text messaging to
a council which means nothing to them is not the answer.
Participation is a tough, chewy problem which is challenging to define
let alone solve. Technical fixes are attractive to many politicians
because they delay the inevitable: one day they will have to take a
long, hard look at themselves and their conduct. It is the nature of
politics itself which is the key reason for declining participation, not
the mechanics of voting.
Andy Smith of the software giant Oracle, which was a technology
supplier in the 2003 e-voting pilots, also appeared to dodge the turnout
issue (see E-Government Bulletin, issue 146, 03 October 2003). He
first claimed that e-voting wasn't primarily about turnout and that it
was unfair to judge it by such criteria alone. He also argued that e-
voting would only make sense if we put even more of the voting
process online, including linking campaign sites to electronic ballots.
Smith even argued that such pervasive use of technology would
address voter apathy - the turnout issue again.
Why are people so keen to push e-voting? We know that this year the
government overspent on the pilots by around 80%, with Sheffield
spending at least #55 per voter (the true figures are higher but may
never be known due to the strange budgeting and funding processes
used for the pilots).
We can also calculate from aggregating the published figures that the
average change in turnout across the pilots was -0.71% for remote e-
voting and -2.8% for kiosk e-voting, figures the Electoral Commission
and the government chose not to calculate. Next we should factor in
the huge technological risks inherent in adopting e-voting, the details
of which could fill several more articles. Then consider the loss of
accountability and scrutiny when elections are run by technology
suppliers who refuse to tell us how their systems work. So why do we
want e-voting, what's the point of it? A slightly faster count which
cannot be verified is all that they left have to offer us. It doesn't
seem
worth the risk.
As governments across Europe push for e-voting, with the UK and
Denmark hoping to pilot electronic systems during the 2004 European
elections, the free e-democracy project and the Foundation for
Information Policy Research have launched a resolution calling for
voter-verifiable e-voting. If we must vote with these systems then let
us insist that there is a secure audit trail so we can be sure that our
vote
is recorded as intended. Please support the resolution by visiting:
http://www.free-project.org/resolution .
NOTE: Jason Kitcat is founder of the free e-democracy project
(http://www.free-project.org).
[Section three ends].
++END NOTES.
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+COPYRIGHT NOTICE.
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ISSN 1476-6310
+PERSONNEL
- EDITORIAL.
Editor - Dan Jellinek [log in to unmask]
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] .
- ADVERTISING.
[log in to unmask] .
A searchable archive of our back-issues can be found on our web site:
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[Issue ends].
<<30-Oct-03.htm>>
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