The Government Approach Paul Miller Interoperability Focus UK

The Government Approach Paul Miller Interoperability Focus UK Office for Library & Information Networking (UKOLN) P. Miller@ukoln. ac. uk http: //www. ukoln. ac. uk/ UKOLN is funded by Resource: the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Further and Higher Education Funding Councils, as well as by project funding from JISC and the EU. UKOLN also receives support from the Universities of Bath and Hull where staff are 1 based.

Some background • 100% of government services available online by 2005 • • • e–Envoy ensures compliance Focus upon services Focus upon the citizen Focus upon the Joined Up approach Recognition of multi–channel architecture. See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/ 2

Focus on services • Deliver services to the citizen • Services rather than resources • Not just about finding documents on a web site • Change of address pilot now (quietly!) live; – https: //www. addressingthechange. com – www. ihavemoved. com/ – www. simplymove. co. uk/. 3 See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/portals/address. pdf

Focus on the Citizen • Move away from the ‘silo mentality’ • Citizens need/want access to information/services/resources – These exist in different parts of local and national government, organised according to internal needs or procedures, and packaged according to particular house styles and conventions – None of which helps the citizen who just wants a new wheely bin. 4

Recognise a multi– channel future • The web is not the only game in town… • • Mobile phones/ WAP PDAs Digital TV Telephone call centres One stop shop drop–in centres High street information kiosks The Post Office/ Banks Traditional access mechanisms • So… create content once for near–automated repackaging and repurposing • XML Schema/ XSL, etc…. 5

Some documents • Modernising Government white paper – www. iagchampions. gov. uk/moderngov/ whitepaper/4310. htm • e–Government Strategy – www. iagchampions. gov. uk/iagc/strategy. htm • Framework for Information Age Government websites – www. iagchampions. gov. uk/iagc/guidelines/ websites/websites. htm • e–Government Interoperability Framework – www. iagchampions. gov. uk/egif. htm • UK Government Metadata Framework – Watch this space… www. govtalk. gov. uk/egif/meta. html. 6 See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/

Web guidelines “It is essential that there is the widest acceptance of the view that maintaining a web presence should become a part of the mainstream work of departments and agencies. … It should be a core aim to provide the public with accurate, timely and comprehensive information, and, in time, a wide range of online services. ” 7 See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/iagc/guidelines/ websites/websites. htm

Web guidelines • • 8 Guidance on management Guidance on content Guidance on design Guidance on Joined up issues. See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/iagc/guidelines/ websites/websites. htm

Site Management • What — and whom — is the site for? • Cannot be all things for all people • Who owns the site, and who is responsible? • To whom do I complain? • How does content provision fit into organisational workflow and structures? • If content provision is an afterthought, current content is a pipe dream • How should use and performance be measured? . 9 See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/iagc/guidelines/ websites/websites. htm

Site Content • Content must be • • • 10 Timely Accurate Relevant Authoritative Legal Available to lower–end software, hardware, and network speeds. See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/iagc/guidelines/ websites/websites. htm

Site Content • Don’t forget the obvious… • • 11 Phone number Fax number Postal address E–mail address Privacy policy Copyright statements Your organisational name, logo, and look & feel. See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/iagc/guidelines/ websites/websites. htm

Site Content • Remember Special Needs… • Disability Discrimination Act – “Part III of the DDA makes it unlawful for a service provider to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability. ” – Remember the needs of software speech readers – Comply with W 3 C’s Accessibility Guidelines – www. w 3. org/TR/WAI–WEBCONTENT/ 12 See www. disability. gov. uk/

Site Design • Navigation is important • Provide easy – obvious – links back to the home page from all pages • Provide an intuitive search service • All main sections of the site should be a click away from the home page • Adopt a common look and feel – Don’t let design detract from message! • Reflect user needs, rather than organisational structures • Remember modems, old software, and clunky computers. 13 See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/iagc/guidelines/ websites/websites. htm

Joining up • Branding • Relationship to physical organisation • Relationship to ‘Government’ • “All pages should contain a link to the open. gov. uk site”. 14 See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/iagc/guidelines/ websites/websites. htm

UK Online • Umbrella brand for • e–Government portal developments – formerly me. gov • Government efforts to promote e–Commerce – DTI’s Information Society Initiative (ISI) • Government–funded IT training for the Citizen – learndirect, NGf. L, etc. 15 See www. ukonline. gov. uk/

The e–GIF • e–Government Interoperability Framework • Technical standards and policies at the heart of e–Government • Proposes www. govtalk. gov. uk/ site for ongoing dissemination of public sector standards • Online, but currently sparsely populated. See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/egif. htm 16

The e–GIF • e–Government Interoperability Framework • Conformance is mandatory across the Public Sector • Adoption of Internet and Web standards across government • XML/XSL, plus government–specific schemas • Change of Address service, for example, utilises XML Schemas to pass details between participants • govtalk. gov to disseminate and discuss schemas, best practice, etc. See www. iagchampions. gov. uk/egif. htm 17

Metadata Framework • Core plank of e–Government strategy • Cabinet Office–chaired working group • Whitehall and Devolved Administrations • I&De. A • Resource • UKOLN • Recently moved from CITU to Office of the e–Envoy • Scope includes metadata guidelines and the Pan– Government Thesaurus project. See www. govtalk. gov. uk/ 18

Metadata Framework • Mandates the Dublin Core • Some elements are made mandatory • Probably adds two elements from AGLS • www. naa. gov. au/recordkeeping/gov_online/ agls/summary. html • Endorses many of the recently approved DC Qualifiers • mirrored. ukoln. ac. uk/dc/documents/rec/ dcmes–qualifiers • Draft due in the next few weeks. See mirrored. ukoln. ac. uk/dc/ 19

Keeping up to Date • e–Government bulletin • www. headstar. com/egb/ • Gov. Talk • www. govtalk. gov. uk/ • Information Age Government Champions • www. iagchampions. gov. uk/ • DCMI Government working group • purl. org/dc/groups/government. htm. 20 .