The report, 'Local e-government now: a worldwide view', was published by IDeA with the Society of IT Management and unveiled at the inaugural annual conference of council 'e-champions'.
The highs and lows of international inter- governmental collaboration on web projects were revealed to delegates by Senator Pierre Horsfall, president of the policy and resources committee of the States of Jersey and leader of the knowledge economy theme of the British-Irish Council.
The council was set up under the 1998 Good Friday agreement to promote collaboration between the British and Irish governments; the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales; and Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
In a theme which will be familiar to anyone who was worked in a major partnership project, Senator Horsfall said one of the hardest problems faced in creating a web site under joint ownership had been agreement on the design of their logo. "You would be amazed at the amount of time and effort that went into that," he said.
Beyond that the internet had proved a valuable catalyst for sharing ideas in areas of common interest, such as access to technology by people with disabilities and other inclusion issues, he said. "We brought together people from all the partner countries working on the same e-government issues but who simply did not know about each other."
A webcast of the e-champions conference can be viewed.
Quelle: Headstar
