UK's Socitm hails the advent of 'e2Government': IT managers from UK councils have started promoting an "e2Government" agenda, a term used by Socitm (the Society of IT Management) to denote effective, efficient government supported by ICT. "eGovernment is dead: long live e2Government," said Socitm president Chris Guest, speaking at a government IT conference in London. The new agenda shifts the focus from simply putting government services online to transforming the business model of the public sector. "The potential for transformation will not be realised without strong leadership and management from the top of the organisation," said Guest, adding that "heads of ICT need to shed the role of supporting actor and take centre stage." Guest stressed that councils' IT chiefs should consider their organisations' business needs before developing strategic solutions, and they should "continue to break down the traditional division between business analysis and IT delivery." Socitm says this emphasis on public sector transformation should result in efficiency savings for the government.
EU sets agenda for cross-border e-services: EU member states vowed to work together to develop cross-border e-services at a recent European Commission conference. The Brussels meeting, entitled "Cross-border e-government services for administrations, businesses and citizens" and attended by more than 250 participants from all EU member states, witnessed a high-level debate on the priorities for e-government across Europe. Discussions at the conference focussed on how to make public sector procurement opportunities available to businesses across the EU and how to reduce the burden of paperwork for enterprise in order to improve the efficiency of trade procedures. Priority e-services for citizens that need attention include social security, employment information services and recognition of professional qualifications, conference participants agreed. "Businesses and citizens are the core target groups for the new EU e-government services," said European Commission vice-president Gunter Verheugen. "In order to revitalise the Lisbon agenda, we need modern public services that eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy."
Security a key concern for US government CIOs: IT security is among the top priorities for federal chief information officers (CIOs) in the US, according to a new study. The survey of 44 federal CIOs by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) found that IT managers and CIOs plan to focus on security and systems consolidation for the rest of the fiscal year. Cost-cutting through consolidation and improving network cybersecurity are key concerns for CIOs, with many also noting the importance of strategic planning to align technology and agency goals, project management improvement and the rollout of e-government. The study said that finding qualified staff is a key challenge for CIOs, with many expressing concern about the government's inability to attract and retain top IT talent. Lack of IT skills among the existing workforce was also mentioned as a concern, a problem compounded by insufficient budgets for re-training. The report is available to download (PDF format) here.
Biometrics bodies form partnership: The European Biometrics Forum (EBF) has signed a partnership agreement with information security organisation TeleTrusT. The EBF's stated aim is to establish the European Union as a world leader in terms of biometrics excellence. Biometrics are defined as automated methods of recognising a person based on their physiological or behavioural characteristics, such as fingerprints or facial image. Such methods are increasingly being used by governments and other organisations around the world to verify the identity of individuals. Under the agreement, the EBF will work with TeleTrusT on the two bodies' common goal of protecting and securing information through biometrics and promoting excellence in the field of biometrics in Europe. TeleTrusT will focus on the areas of international interoperability and facilitating discussion and research on various aspects of biometrics, including technical and legal issues. "This partnership is essential to facilitate the exchange of expert opinions and to allow for best practice in the use of biometrics to be created," said Professor Reimer, chair of TeleTrusT.
France helps fund Jordanian e-gov project: The government of Jordan is to use funds from a debt swap with France to complete an IT project at the Ministry of Finance. The Jordan Times reports that the two countries have signed a USD2.5 million 'debt swap for development' agreement to finance development projects in the kingdom of Jordan. The government will use the money to finish the implementation of its e-Finance project, part of its e-government programme that involves computerising all of the ministry's activities and setting up an online training system for staff. The project has already seen the introduction of e-services for citizens in the areas of income tax and sales tax. Jordan has said it intends to appeal to France for more debt swaps in the future.
Autor: Sylvia Leatham
Quelle: ElectricNews, 23.02.2005
