IN THIS ISSUE:

• “Parliamentary Metadata Language” Could Transform Political Research
• After Smart Cities - The Smart Countryside?
• Digital Literacy Portakabin Looks to Keep On Trucking In 2013
• MyGov Online Portal Trialled In The US
• GOV.UK Nominated For Digital Design Award
• Online Community Tools Platform Launches
• Opinion: Could Governments “Crowdfund” (Some Of The Time) To Replace Tax?

NEWS: "Parliamentary Metadata Language" Could Transform Political Research.

A project to create a standard way of formatting data on Parliamentary proceedings, from politicians' speeches to committee papers, could open up major new areas of democratic research, the programme's leader has said...

Read full story here, Structuring Parliamentary recordings...

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NEWS: After Smart Cities - The Smart Countryside?

The tracking of live data streams could be a key factor in creating responsive public sector policy-making and service delivery in all parts of the UK, not just cities, according to a new report from the Society of IT Management (Socitm)......

Read full story here, Smart cities - the next step...

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NEWS: Digital Literacy Portakabin Looks to Keep On Trucking in 2013. A grassroots digital inclusion project that toured the UK with an internet station in a portable cabin, helping residents increase their computer skills, is looking to start up again during 2013 and has put a call out for host destinations... Read full story here, Portable digital skills... Back to index

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NEWS IN BRIEF:

MyGov Trial: A new central online portal for US citizens to interact with their government is being tested. Project MyGov aims to reduce the need for duplication when citizens fill out online forms, and to provide better access to the answers to commonly asked questions, as well as simplifying the process by which citizens can contact government departments. The trial has been developed as part of the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, in which figures from the private sector, non-profits and academia work with the US government on short-term projects:

Quick link: MyGov Trial

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Design Dazzler: GOV.UK, the new UK government services and information portal which has replaced the previous citizen and business portals Directgov and Business Link, has been nominated in the 'Digital' category for the Design Museum's 'Designs of the year 2013' awards. The site was designed by the Government Digital Service in the Cabinet Office. Winners of the awards will be announced on 17 April:

Quick link: Design Dazzler

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Community Guidance: An online platform to help community and third sector organisations use digital tools more effectively has been launched by the Online Centres Foundation, a social enterprise that manages UK Online Centres. "Community How To", built with funding from internet project social investor Nominet Trust, contains resources and links to tools that can help organisations manage events and projects; communicate with their local communities; improve their fundraising; manage and recruit volunteers and undertake other key activities:

Quick link: Community Guidance

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Opinion: “Crowdfunding” for public services.
Could governments crowdfund (some of the time) rather than tax?

Most governments use taxation to raise the majority of their revenue. While there is often debate how governments spend tax revenue, it is less common for them to discuss new ways of raising funds. However, with the rise of the internet, a brand new approach to funding government activities has become viable - “crowdfunding”. Craig Thomler investigates how crowdsourcing funds online has been used in both the private and public sector, and how governments could use this method as a way of taxation... Read full story here, Crowd funding - a new system for taxation...? Back to index