bring every citizen, school, business and administration on-line - quickly create a digitally literate and entrepreneurial Europe ensure an inclusive information society Objectives 11

address key areas of action at European level can make a difference collaborative efforts by Member States, Commission and private sector 10 key areas selected for action How? 12

Action 1. European youth into the digital age 2. Cheaper Internet access 3. Accelerating e-commerce 4. Fast Internet for researchers and students 5. Smart cards for secure electronic access 13

Action 6. Risk capital for high-tech SMEs 7. e Participation for the disabled 8. Healthcare online 9. Intelligent transport 10. Government online 14

European Environment Agency e-Government in the Environment Sector

European Environment Agency Government Online Priorities Ensure easy access to at least four essential types of public data in Europe. –Define the pilot areas Ensure consultation and feedback via the Internet on major political initiatives. Ensure that citizens have electronic access to basic interactions.

European Environment Agency Reporting Burden Each year, each member state has to provide 37,000 figures to various international environmental reporting systems, essentially answering that many questions. Only 17% of these figures are related to evaluating the effectiveness of any particular EU policy. There are 57 sectoral committees in the environment sector alone. Most of them have developed their own data collection and applications.

European Environment Agency Currently: Ad-hoc Overlapping Data Exchange on , Floppy, Fax, Letter

European Environment Agency 2001: From Data Exchange to Information Provision EuroStatECEEAOECDUNEP NFP and other National Authorities The Public and Decision-Makers ETC DG NRC DG EIONET Server

European Environment Agency Trans- parency: Vertical Portals for Known User Communities

European Environment Agency EIONET Links with Other Networks European Community Clearing- House Mechanism under the Convention on Biological Diversity is hosted on EIONET European Community Clearing- House Mechanism Convention on Biological Diversity

European Environment Agency Lessons Learnt in e-Community Building

European Environment Agency General Success Factors in Network Building It is easy to start a network, but difficult to keep alive Build the organisation and technology hand in hand: Managers must understand technology and technologists must listen to users Understand users' contraints Respect rights of data custodians Provide opportunity -- the IS lives by opportunity Then, persistence

European Environment Agency Building Institutions Network organisations can not be managed – but they can be led Network organisations are normally based on voluntary cooperation – motivated by opportunity By nature, network organisations are slow – a top down drive difficult to create The traditional approach for defining user needs first and then finding technological solutions does not normally work Demonstration, interaction, and iteration works Spread of best practice works, make the best the norm Providing a political forum works

European Environment Agency Building Network Infrastructure Model the organisational network in technological infrastructure – ownership Build services that provide opportunity Learn how to build on each others' work Build infrastucture – open interfaces Build gateways – navigate by metainformation Allow contributions – build dialogue and platform for opportunity Personalise and integrate Don't build applications – build infrastructure

European Environment Agency Building Content Value Chains for Communities Information society consists of communities (i.e., networks of people and organisations) Content can not be the same for all We have tried mass personalisation: How to define Special Interest Groups without excessive fragmentation? What is the critical mass? Personalisation via community portals Involve content publishing expertise in all teams Avoid information overload Key in value chain: From information exchange to information provision When is information sustainable?