The three million euro programme was to be a multilingual index to information sources and case studies, to help local authorities benefit from the experience of others across Europe. There were five main themes including the innovative use of information and communications technology by local and regional governments; and an inbuilt thesaurus system, 'Eurovoc', to set out standard vocabulary for public sector activity to allow for automatic translation into all European languages.
However, the project was hampered by a series of delays, and failed to produce a working prototype acceptable to the commission despite extensions to its original deadlines. Following a final investigation the commission finally pulled the plug last month.
Part of the problem seems to be an overly-ambitious scope planned for the prototype version, combined with a lack of urgency from some consortium members.
Quelle: Headstar
