UK websites falling down on accessibility: Central UK government websites are failing to meet accessibility targets, according to a new study by usability and accessibility consultant firm Nomensa. The "Web Accessibility in Central Government" report shows that 78 percent of central government sites are reaching accessibility targets, but only 57 percent meet the 'single A' minimum standard defined by the Cabinet Office e-Government Unit. Twenty-one percent of the 28 sites studied fell below the basic accessibility rating of 'single A,' the minimum guideline standard for accessibility, while 7 percent achieved a 'double A' rating and 14 percent achieved a 'triple A' rating. "For all the public sector's effort to make its online services accessible, there's still a great deal to do," said Leonie Watson, Nomensa's head of accessibility.
Isle of Man upgrades IT network: The Isle of Man government is installing a new converged IT and telephony network in a project known as "Connect Mann." Dimension Data Holdings, in partnership with Manx Telecom, won the three-year, STG5 million contract to design, supply, implement and support the project. The initiative is seen as crucial to supporting the island's e-government programme, JUPITER (Joined-UP Information for The Electronic Resident). Dimension Data and Manx Telecom will install the new network in 189 government offices, in addition to upgrading and replacing local area network and telephone components across various locations as required. "Because the network serves a diverse number of users, from office-based government personnel to the police force and wildlife park, it was imperative that any partner could demonstrate an understanding of each individual department's requirements and tailor the solution to these," said Allan Paterson, director of the Isle of Man government’s Information Systems Division, commenting on the contract award.
US aims to close IT skills gap: The US federal government is aiming to improve the IT skills of its staff, reports online newswire Computerworld.com. In a recent report entitled "Expanding E-Government, Partnering for a Results-Oriented Government," Karen Evans, the US administrator for e-government and information technology, said there was a "skills gap" in the federal IT workforce. Evans called on agencies to come up with plans to close the gap and said she wanted to eliminate the skills gap at half of all federal agencies by the end of the year. "We want agencies to develop short- and long-term strategies to target investments in people to create a quality workplace designed to attract, acquire and retain quality talent," said Evans. The report also said that the government has made significant progress in the past year in increasing the project management skills of its IT staff, with 75 percent of around 76,000 federal IT workers now qualified as project managers.
Datacom likely to win NZ authentication contract: New Zealand IT services firm Datacom is in line to win a key e-government contract, reports newswire Stuff.co.nz. The State Services Commission's E-Government Unit announced that Datacom had been selected as the preferred supplier for the contract to implement the technical infrastructure for the government's Shared Logon initiative. Last year, the New Zealand Cabinet allocated NZD14.8 million over four years to the initiative, which will eventually allow people to access a range of e-services using a single log-on and password. Laurence Millar, director of the E-Government Unit, said he hoped negotiations with Datacom would be concluded by March. The Economic Development Ministry will act as the test bed for the authentication system. The ministry manages a number of online registries which are regularly accessed by businesses and citizens, such as the Companies Office, Motor Vehicles and Personal Properties registers and a database of patents and trade marks.
Nigeria plans e-government strategy: The Nigerian government has announced that it will start to roll out online services over the next six months. The announcement was made by Otumba Felix Obada, managing director of the National eGovernment Strategies Limited (NeGSt), a vehicle set up by the federal government for the specific purpose of implementing the Nigerian e-government project. Obada said the government had adopted a public-private partnership (PPP) model for e-government; a consortium led by the federal government and including banks, strategic partners, technology providers and individual investors has signed an agreement to provide the necessary funding for the implementation of the NeGSt. One of the objectives of NeGSt is to set up a national portal site, linking the services of a range of ministries, agencies and businesses and making them available as a "one-stop shop" for citizens. Obada said the government was hoping that the NeGSt would help it to reform the public sector and encourage transparency and accountability.
Autor: Sylvia Leatham
Quelle: ElectricNews, 19.01.2005
