The e-Government strategy and the e-GIF Creating e-citizens UKOLN, Bath, 5 November 2002 Maewyn Cumming Cabinet Office, Office of the e-Envoy

Office of the e-Envoy Based in the UK Cabinet Office Leading the drive to get the UK online e-Envoy, Andrew Pinder, co-ordinates strategy and implementation, reporting to the Prime Minister

OeE Objectives Make the UK the best place in the world for e-commerce Ensure that everyone can access the internet by 2005 Deliver government services electronically by 2005 Co-ordinate the government's e-agenda

Universal access Advances social inclusion Embeds skills and enables lifelong learning Increases democratic engagement Helps transform government Supports the e-economy

Internet access 45% of households can access the internet from home 56% of adults have accessed the internet at some time, 47% in last month But, use is heavily skewed To London and the south To higher income groups To younger people Source: Family Expenditure Survey

Achieving universal access 50% say they aren’t interested Rest would like to use the internet but can’t; –no reason to –lack of skills –access barriers –lack of trust

Solutions Motivation - –better content –better marketing Access and skills –UKonline centres –maximum local input –initiatives for new users –more home PCs

Today, joining up is done by users Citizens and businesses Information and transaction services

Integration has to be part of the service Information and transaction services Integration

The tools Government Website Guidelines e-Government Interoperability Framework e-Government Metadata Standard

Website Guidelines Government websites should –be of a high quality, easy to use and inclusive –present a coherent impression of government activity. –meet government standards and legislation –provide a positive experience of using the internet

Website Guidelines Not mandated, but widely recognised Two parts –Framework for senior managers –Illustrated handbook for web management teams Frequently updated –see for latest version

Why e-GIF? Joined-up Government needs joined-up information systems Sets out the government’s policy and standards for interoperability across the public sector Now in two parts: –Policy and compliance –Technical specifications and standards

e- GIF – Headline Decisions Internet and World Wide Web standards for all public sector systems XML as the key standard for data interchange Browser the key interface for all information Metadata for all government information Adopts standards that are well supported by the market Internet based implementation strategy Mandated on all UK Public Sector Systems

e-GIF Compliance Detailed compliance procedures in Part 1 Mandated for all new systems Legacy systems which need to link to UKonline, or are part of Electronic Service Delivery targets, need to comply Recommended for all other systems Compliance Advice Service being set up

Web sites Poor search skills and strategies Search engines badly configured Metadata missing or poor Navigation unclear Information not always clear  People can’t find the information or services they need

The e-GMS is… Dublin Core elements and refinements Additional elements for –improved retrieval –records management –data security –legal requirements; data protection, information access, audit trails…..

Government Category List (GCL) Help for those who don’t know what they are looking for, what its called, or who to ask List of broad subject headings to aid browsing for public sector information Local controlled vocabularies can be mapped to GCL Part of the e-GMS

Thank you. Any Questions?