European Commission proposes biometric ID measures: The European Commission has adopted a proposal to compel EU member states to store biometric data for visa and residence permit applicants in a uniform format. The proposal, sent to the European Council and European Parliament, would make it mandatory for all member states to store digital facial images of immigrants who apply for visas or residence permits, as a primary means of biometric identification. Member states would also be required to store fingerprint data, as a secondary biometric identifier. The EC said the proposals were aimed at "ensuring interoperability" between member states' immigration systems. The EC also said that the use of biometric technology would help combat document fraud and abuse of the asylum system. The EC had been considering the adoption of fingerprinting as a primary means of biometric identification earlier this year, but it is thought that its decision to opt for facial imaging was influenced by the US government's move to integrate facial biometrics into passports.
Readability is a problem for most US government sites: The majority of federal and state Web sites in the US pose problems of readability for citizens, according to an annual e-government survey by researchers at Brown University. In a study of over 1,600 state Web sites and 60 federal sites, the average readability level -- assessed using the Flesch-Kincaid test, a reading evaluation tool used by the Department of Defense -- was found to be 11th-grade level (around age 16). It is thought that half of all Americans have a reading ability at or below eighth-grade level (around age 12). Just 12 percent of government Web sites had an eighth-grade or lower reading level, while 67 percent had a 12th-grade ability level. The same study assessed government Web sites in terms of accessibility for users with sight or hearing impairments. Only 33 percent of state and federal sites met the accessibility standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium, while 24 percent fulfilled the criteria for accessibility laid out in Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Outsourcing is quickest-growing tech sector for US government: Outsourcing is the fastest-growing technology segment within the US federal government, according to a new study by market research firm INPUT. The report predicts that US government spending on outsourcing will grow from USD8.5 billion in fiscal 2003 to more than USD15.5 billion in fiscal 2008, equating to a compound annual growth rate of 13 percent. Input senior analyst Lauren Jones Shu attributed some of the growth to the large number of federal IT workers who will reach retirement age within the next five years, "giving federal agencies little choice but to pursue outsourcing to meet the technology needs of initiatives like e-government and information sharing in defence of the homeland." Indeed, the recently established Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a key example of the use of outsourcing "as a way to quickly ramp up to fulfill [its] mandate," said Shu. The DHS has also said it wants to outsource its travel services, payments to retirees and annuities recipients, and its support services.
Swiss favour more e-government services: The majority of Swiss citizens would like more government services to be made available on-line, according to a survey by the GfS Research Institute. Eighty-three percent of those questioned said they would be willing to use the Internet to interact with the government to perform everyday activities, such as registering a change of address. However, most people expressed reservations about divulging their personal details over the Internet, with more than three-quarters of those surveyed saying they would only feel comfortable using e-government services if the security of their personal information was guaranteed. The Swiss government has just launched a national project aimed at making the nation more Internet-savvy and at boosting its e-government rankings among its peers in Europe. The country's finance ministry, which is coordinating the project, said it planned to speed the rollout of e-services for citizens, in an effort to curb bureaucracy and paperwork.
New Zealand ramps up e-government rollout: Government departments in New Zealand are working on around 150 separate e-government initiatives, according to a study by the State Services Commission (SSC). The survey of 36 public sector agencies found that about 25 percent of the projects have already been delivered. The initiatives range from Internet voting trials for the 2008 general election, through to the publication of court judgements on the Internet, to the development of an employment portal. Other planned projects include an on-line authentication system for the identification of citizens accessing e-services. According to the SSC, government bodies said the ramping up of on-line initiatives was fuelled by the promise of an increase in efficiency and cost-effectiveness, as well as improved quality of service for citizens. The study revealed that around one-fifth of the e-government schemes involved collaboration between various agencies.
Quelle: electricnews.net
