UK government should pay private sector for e-services: The UK government should pay private sector companies and voluntary organisations to deliver e-government services, according to the findings of a new report. "Intermediaries and the Electronic Delivery of Public Services," by the Institute for Public Policy Research, envisions that such a development would, for example, enable citizens to pay their road tax while buying car insurance or allow people to claim benefits while seeking help from a charity. Payments for the delivery of "intermediary services" should become the norm, according to the study, but the merger of e-government with e-commerce would require the introduction of measures to ensure accountability and social equity. In addition, the report advised that more power needs to be given to those charged with developing the intermediaries policy. "The government has been talking about creating a mixed economy in e-services for three years now but progress has been virtually non-existent," said report author Ian Kearns.
US spending on e-procurement set to rise: State and local government spending on electronic procurement in the US will reach USD1.1 billion by fiscal year 2008, according to a new report by market analyst firm Input. E-procurement spending at the state and local level currently sits at around USD500 million. Spending is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of almost 17 percent over the next five years, due to the "rising number of successful model e-procurement implementations," said James Krouse, Input's manager of state and local market analysis. Krouse noted that the rising popularity of the reverse funding model, along with legislation compelling the use of e-procurement, means that the availability of funding is no longer an impediment to the rollout of e-procurement systems. Under the reverse funding model, states do not have to provide any funding, as the contractor's costs are paid for with transaction fees that are charged to participating vendors.
ICT access best in Scandinavia: poll: Scandinavian countries have topped a global study measuring access to ICT (information and communication technologies). The survey of 178 countries and territories around the world was carried out by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an arm of the United Nations involved in the coordination of global telecom networks and services. Sweden and Denmark topped the so-called Digital Access Index, while Norway and Finland were ranked fifth and eighth, respectively. The criteria used to assess ICT access included availability of infrastructure, quality of ICT services and Internet usage. Other factors that were taken into account were affordability of access and educational level, which the ITU said distinguished the survey from similar studies. Countries were categorised as having high, upper, medium or low access, with most EU member states making the high or upper bracket.
Brazil to promote open source software: The Brazilian government is encouraging the public sector to use open source software, as part of a cost-cutting effort. The initiative is aimed at reducing the BRL100 million (about EUR28 million) the government spends every year on licence fees for proprietary software. The administration will start by advising ministries and federal agencies to stop buying computers embedded with operating systems, usually Microsoft's Windows. A spokesperson for the National Institute of Information Technology, which devised the guidelines, said the aim was not to switch all government IT functions over to open source but to promote its use. Pilot programs have been launched to investigate which programs and systems would benefit most from Linux-based open source solutions. Meanwhile, Microsoft has told the Brazilian government that its software is in fact cheaper than Linux because it requires fewer support resources.
Victoria appoints CIO and CTO: The government of Victoria in Australia has appointed the state's first chief information officer (CIO) and chief technology officer (CTO). Patrick Hannan, who was CIO with the Australian Defence Force, will assume the position of CIO, while Tony Aitkenhead, formerly of the Victorian Department of Human Services, will become CTO. Hannan will be responsible for general ICT policy, internal government ICT policy and the implementation of a whole-of-government IT strategy. Among his first initiatives will be architecture planning and the standardisation of corporate ICT infrastructure. For his part, Aitkenhead will supervise the delivery and administration of shared ICT initiatives, such as the Victoria Online project. Victoria's ICT minister, Marsha Thomson, said the appointments of a CIO and CTO were a first for any Australian state or territory.
Quelle: Electric News Net, 26.11.2003
