This does not show a true and real world representation and therefore is of little value to the authority itself, or other areas of government which may also rely on this data. In order to succeed, e-government must be driven from the highest levels to ensure that initiatives are coordinated.
The Office of the e-Envoy is currently emphasising the need for government to move from a 'think - think', mentality, where much thought is channelled into things with little actual result, to a 'do - do' mentality, based on taking immediate action. In fact, the need for action oriented government has never been more prevalent, but again, this can only be achieved if government ensures data is available and correctly managed in order to empower this change.
Ignoring the data challenge is tempting and common place, when too great an emphasis is put on where we want to be, and not enough on how we are going to get there. As the private sector found to its misfortune, great vision for improving customer service and understanding does not alone lead to successful customer relationship management (CRM), with as many as 70 per cent of CRM projects failing (Source: Butler Group). By charging ahead with their killer applications for CRM, private companies had great functionality in place, but forgot to ensure that they integrated all data so that they owned a complete, 360 degree view of each customer situation. With government investment in CRM now higher than ever before, we should learn an important lesson from this classic data oversight. Local Authorities can ensure better success with CRM by cherry picking the aspects that will really deliver benefit, for example, in the call centre. Then they must also ensure that data can be shared between these new systems, and existing systems relied on in other areas of the authority.
Having recognised that data is the important factor in fitting the eGovernment jigsaw together, where do you go next? The data itself has to be coordinated in some semblance of order and with a common purpose. There are plenty of technologies out there which enable different datasets to be merged accurately or integrated by allowing them to 'talk' to each other. But what is more important is realising what is the single common denominator across all government data, in order to focus our consolidation efforts.
All aspects of government relate to either space, place or location. This is why spatial, or location based information is being promoted increasingly as the linch-pin of e-government. For example, data used to highlight environmental health issues relates to a physical location, people within that location, and the risks to the surrounding areas.
Taking this a step further, consider the fact that central government's actual role is to deliver better services and policy, so that alongside local government it can succeed in successfully running the country. In these roles both local and central Government need to be able to share information relating to a large and diverse geographical area. Government needs to know what's going on where, at regional, county, constituency and even postcode level.
Possibly the latest example of increased focus on location based information is the announcement this month that Ordnance Survey (OS) mapping will be made freely available for all central government departments. This is a positive move which will ensure that there is a consistent and high quality mapping infrastructure across the whole of government.
In the local Government arena location based information is also being driven through a number of frameworks for government modernisation, such as the Planning Portal, to coordinate countrywide planning applications, and the National Land Information Service (NLIS) as a central source of data on land and property. Another example is the efforts made by local authorities to develop comprehensive local land and property gazetteers, which are used as the basis for the national land and property gazetteer. Location based information is clearly increasing as the foundation of centralised resources for use by government departments, authorities, agencies and citizens.
Geographical representation of data is also increasing in use within government in order to analyse issues such as deprivation, so that urban renewal spending can be pinpointed. For example, overlaying data on poverty, crime, health and education on digital maps provides a visual picture of total deprivation across a geographical area, in order to evidence where regeneration schemes are most needed.
In addition to playing a critical role in the analysis of information, location also has an equal part to play in the actual representation of information. As outlined in the most recent e-Envoy report to Cabinet, use of internet, intranet and portals to provide integrated access to information is on the rise. In many cases, authorities and departments are choosing geographical representation as the method through which information can be easily understood and manipulated. Examples of this include citizens who are now able to highlight a geographical area via the Internet in order to be informed of planning applications within that area, or postcode based searching for childcare services, the results of which are plotted on an online map to show the best location.
With evidence based policy setting and resource allocation being one of the latest objectives of eGovernment, pressure is on to know exactly where government investment should be targeted. Location based control of financial spending is possibly the strongest testament to the value that geographical information provides in delivering on the eGovernment promise.
United Kingdom Links
- Links by Country
- Yell.com
- Radiocommunications Agency
- ABC Electronic
- Internet Service Providers
- New Media Age
