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The Internet in Government
Ian Barndt
Information Technology and Systems Group
Department of Finance
Canberra Parkes ACT 2601
- Abstract
- This brief talk provides an outline of the Internet and the role it is likely to play in the provision of Government Information Services:
- What are the opportunities for Government?
- What are the issues that need to be addressed?
- What are governments doing to take advantage of the opportunities being presented both in Australia and Overseas?
- What are the first steps agencies should take onto the information Super Highway?
- Keywords
- Internet, Government, Australian Government
The Opportunities for Government
The Internet provides a number of opportunities for Government to supplement existing information dissemination techniques. It allows Government to develop an expanded client focus and facilitates a move to more open and responsive Government. The Inter net is being seen as a method for Governments to interact directly with the community via electronic mail, and to customise service delivery. It also provides government with opportunities to become members of the Information Society and to show leadersh ip in the use of these technologies.The broad scope of Internet information also allows Government to consider the formation of partnerships with community groups and industry to extend the provision of information services.
Client Focus
The Internet provides Government with an additional opportunity to customise information and tailor it to meet the changing needs of clients.It offers another vehicle for the timely delivery of government information and provides an opportunity for governments to have greater direct interaction with clients. This interaction can be used to measure program performance, public opinion and to gather statistics which can be used to fine tune policy development. Interaction of this type can be achieved through the continuous electronic feedback loop offered by Internet publishing and electronic mail.
Issues to be addressed by Government
To access the above benefits Governments will need to address a number of issues:- Keep up with the growth and demand for Internet based information.
- Useful information must be provided.
- Co-operative cross referencing must be provided to facilitate easy access to Government information sources.
- There must be a high degree of quality and consistency.
- There must be a high level of confidence in the information being provided.
- There is a lack of comprehensive directories and indexes to locate information readily and easily.
- There needs to be universal access to information from a variety of sites including Information Kiosks, Libraries Home/ Office and organisations.
Some Statistics - 1995/96 Budget Papers
On Budget Night, 9 May 1995, 50 files containing Budget information were made available on Web servers located both at the National Library of Australia and at the Department of Administrative Services. Statistics available from the National Library of Australia show that in the first few hours on Budget Night over 10,000 files were transmitted to over 260 separate sites around the world. By Friday morning on the first week over 230 MB of information had been transmitted from the library, and not sur prisingly over 75% of all requests came from Australian Internet Users.
Internet growth
The Internet is growing at a phenomenal rate. At present there is estimated to be over 35 Million user able to access the Internet and in Australia there are now over 161,000 computers providing either Internet access and/or publishing for their users. This number is growing at 50% per year, and the global rate is running at about 10% per MONTH.
Where is Australia positioned in this growth?
Australia when compared to the other industrialised countries is up in the top 10 nations as major users which includes Canada and the United Kingdom. The US leads the way with the greatest number of connected computers when compared to Gross National Pro duct.
Overseas Government projects on the Internet
The United Kingdom and Canada have both established Open Government Internet projects. Both have a range of agencies publishing information onto the Internet. These include Treasury with budget information, Social Security and Health, and information on t he G7 meetings.The US has by far the greatest amount of government information available on the Internet. It has set up two specialised projects FedWorld and FinanceNet to foster and support Government publishing and community access to government information.
And the G7 Government Online Project, initiated at the recent Halifax meetings, has added more support to the provision of Government Information on the Internet. The co-operative work being undertaken here in Australia is being presented by the G7 proje ct as a model for rest of the world.
Australian Government Projects
The Government Technology and Telecommunications Conference, in September 1994, set up the Commonwealth State Internet Working Party to develop a consistent Whole-of-Government approach to the provision and presentation of Government information on the In ternet. The working party is promoting a cooperative and participative approach which seeks to involve all State and Commonwealth agencies.The working party is establishing standards for the presentation of information and is looking to identify if at least 20% of all agencies across all Governments will be providing information onto the Internet by the end of 1995.
The CSIWP target at this stage is to encourage agencies to provide an information "Verandah" consisting of the following types of information:
- Non Confidential
- Non Transactional and
- Non Commercial Information.
Key Government Sectors
A survey of agencies' Internet intentions has just been completed by the CSIWP, and identified the following sectors of government where this 20% is likely to be achieved:- Education;
- Social Welfare;
- Health;
- Primary Industries; and
- Tourism.
- Communications and the Arts;
- Finance;
- Foreign Affairs and Trade;
- Employment, Education and Training;
- Tourism; and
- Human Services and Health.
Framework for Government Information
The CSIWP has developed a simple framework for the organisation of Government information which consists of a Whole Of Government Entry Point listing the various entry points provided by the Commonwealth and State Governments. The Government Entry Points (or Home Pages) in turn point to respective agencies and it is at the Agency level where the bulk of the information will be provided and updated.
The Australian Governments' Entry Point hosted by the National Library is widely recognised by local and overseas Governments as the point of entry for information from Australian Governments.
Ideally an Entry Point should be very small and quickly downloaded, without large amounts of graphics, facilitating rapid switching and fast user access to the Agency information.
To provide effective service this framework can be entered at any point and can be navigated in any direction. All agencies, both Commonwealth and State, are being encouraged to point to those agencies servicing similar client groups, further facilitatin g the navigation process and avoiding any duplication of effort. External pointers to peak bodies are also being considered by some agencies to broaden the information base and provide greater access for users.
Some Examples
1) A Social Worker needing current information for a client may call up the State Government Community Services Pages for a list of eligibility criteria. For further information the State Government System refers the Social Worker to information containe d on the Department of Social Security server. Additional pointers may also provide references to local council emergency services and contacts.2) An international company looking to relocate a manufacturing plant might call up the Australian Governments' Entry Point, review any Federal assistance programs, and then use pointers to the relevant State Industry Department. From there lookup refer ence may be made to the relevant Chamber of Commerce where a register of part makers in the region might be maintained.
3) A Scandinavian Tourist building a holiday itinerary might obtain tourist entry information from the relevant Commonwealth Departments, then use links from the Department of Tourism to visit the State Government tourist authorities, call up the State Ra il Timetables to arrange their travel and book accommodation using the links provided to regional travel information centres. Once in Australia they might use the Internet terminal at the local cyber-cafe to keep track of the latest happenings in the regi on or send e-mail back home.
First Steps for Agencies
Agencies assessing the use of the Internet are addressing three key issues:- E-mail connection;
- Internet Publishing options; and
- Internet access.
The Commonwealth group has established a bulletin board/mailing list for the dissemination of information and welcomes the participation of those interested in the development of government information services. To subscribe to the CIRG-L mailing list u
sers should send the command "subscribe cirg-l
A CSIWP Home Page provides pointers to contributed guidelines and other information which will assist agencies to develop a consistent information service.
Security remains a prime concern and the CSIWP is advising agencies not to connect their corporate networks to the Internet until they are satisfied that they have covered all the security issues.
Closing Message
To achieve the best possible results for agencies and our clients everyone is being encouraged to participate and co-operate.
Some Useful Internet addresses to start you surfing.......
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