IN THIS ISSUE:

• Council sites lack key democracy information
• E-gov budgets lacking in New Zealand
• Jail for data breaches, says Commissioner
• Council social media ‘mash-up’ maps
• UK ‘crowdsourcing’ app on US gov site
• Shared data centre in UK government
• Special report: South Pacific Progress

NEWS: UK Council Sites Lack Key Democracy Information.

UK council websites often lack key information on local democracy, according to this year’s ‘Better Connected’ snapshot survey of websites from public sector ICT professionals’ body Socitm ( http://bit.ly/dltkU5 )....

Read full story here, Council websites fail to provide...

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NEWS: Budget Struggles In New Zealand’s Quest For E-Government.

Local councils in New Zealand are struggling with limited funding and central government policy support as they look to implement e-democracy and e-government services over the next decade, according to a special report for E-Government Bulletin....

Read full story here, e-Democracy funding lacking...

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NEWS: Data Offenders ‘Should Face Jail’, Says Commissioner. There should be tougher penalties, including jail sentences where appropriate, for those who breach data security laws, the UK’s Information Commissioner Christopher Graham told delegates at a recent meeting of the Parliamentary IT Committee (PITCOM).... Read full story here, Tougher penalties needed for data crime... Back to index

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NEWS IN BRIEF:

Friend Mapping: A ‘mash-up’ map showing the use of Twitter and Facebook by all UK local authorities has been created using publicly available datasets by Stuart Harrison, webmaster at Lichfield District Council. The map - which can be toggled between Twitter and Facebook statistics using the bar in the top right - reveals how many (or how few) followers or members each council has, with links to the relevant pages:

Quick link: Friend Mapping

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Dialogue App: A ‘crowdsourcing’ application to help citizens develop policy ideas for government bodies will be the first UK-created application to be launched on ‘Apps.gov’, an online US government store of cloud computing applications. The Dialogue App, created by online consultation specialists Delib, allows users to set up a proposition, before others add development suggestions which are discussed and rated until a consensus is reached. The London Borough of Sutton will be the first UK organisation to use the system:

Quick link: Dialogue App:

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Shared Centre: In what is thought to be the first deal of its kind in the UK public sector, the mapping agency Ordnance Survey is to lease spare capacity at a computer data centre owned by property title agency the Land Registry. The move, to be completed by the end of summer this year, supports January’s Government Information and Communication Technology Strategy, which aims to reduce IT infrastructure costs by up to £300 million a year:

Quick link: Shared Centre

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Special report: South Pacific Progress. Some 78% of New Zealanders use the internet and 71% of users rate the internet as a more important source of information than family and friends, according to a 2007 survey by Auckland University of Technology. However, the country’s local councils have been slow to capitalise on the opportunities presented by these statistics. Carol Hayward and Tristan Parker explore the take-up of e-democracy throughout New Zealand’s local authorities.... Read full story here, E-government overseas... Back to index