UK's Digital Inclusion Strategy aims to remove hurdles from e-Administration
Public organisations with public-facing online services have found that these can often be difficult to navigate, are not accessible to disabled members of the public, make information the user is seeking hard to find, require too much information from users and, in general, fail to comply with basic usability directives.
Online portal mobilises public to increase transparency of Italian government
The Transparency Compass is an online portal that enables visitors to automatically analyse and monitor Italian government websites for compliance. Both citizens and public agencies can evaluate, compare and rank public websites, and see how a site develops over time. The system can also be used by policy makers and administrators to answer questions about particular sections of their public websites. The portal accompanies public agencies on their way toward total transparency, making the system particularly important in measuring the level of transparency of an administration with regard to the prevention of and the fight against corruption.
Germany's Digital Agenda reshuffles country's eHealth policy
Germany's IT policies are being restructured following the creation of the country's Digital Agenda in 2014. The Agenda introduces a so-called 'eHealth Initiative' intended to: enhance networking around eHealth innovations; support measures to improve development and integration of eHealth; and ensure interoperability and security of eHealth IT systems.
Online Click-Through Budgets: An Effective Information Tool on the Current State of Public Budgets
When the minister of finance of the Czech Republic announced at the end of 2011 that the Ministry of Finance website was offering citizens the opportunity to review the current state budget in detail, it was a breakthrough of sorts. Until then, public administrations and municipal authorities had never had the courage – barring a handful of exceptions – to make this information public. And all of a sudden, all obstacles had been removed. The data was being made available in a more or less accessible format; the technology to do this had been around for a long time. And an unexpected incentive came from above (the minister had playfully commented that nothing was stopping individual authorities from doing the same and that they would not incur any additional costs by making their budgets public).
Slovenian portal allows citizens to participate in government decision making
Five years ago, the Slovenian government launched the predlagam.vladi.si portal, allowing citizens to participate in government decision making. The system is based on the TID+ software that was originally developed for the Estonian government. Since then, the portal has accumulated almost 13,000 registered users, responsible for 5,000 suggestions, 33,000 comments and 72,000 votes. About two dozen of the suggestions that received the required number of votes and a positive response from the government have now been implemented. The Slovenian Government Communication Office is currently working on improving the number of suggestions that receive a positive response and get implemented, by moving the decision-making process from ministries and government offices to the level of government committees.
“Dites-le-nous une fois” programme
The “Dites-le-nous une fois” (Share your information once) programme aims at easing the administrative burden on companies by reducing the volume of data required in their exchange with French public services. The French government wants to minimise redundant requests for information from businesses by improving collaboration and information sharing between public services, and increasing data re-use among these services. Two projects are now part of this programme: MPS (Marché Public Simplifié) which aims to simplify access to public tenders; and APS (Aide Publique Simplifiée), which will streamline the process for requesting public aid and subventions.
Greece takes national Syzefxis broadband network to the next level
After implementing the National Public Administration Network (Syzefxis), the Greek government is now ready to extend this infrastructure to include all 34,000 public actors and to introduce new services. Furthermore, broadband access will be made available for citizens and businesses in rural areas. The extended network will enable Greek e-government and allow a software development and service industry to develop.
Base Registries, Universal Database of Information
Base Public Administration Registries are one of the fundamental pillars of modern eGovernment and public administration, i.e. of the process of digitising public administration. The chief justification for the existence of Base Registries is to provide public servants, institutions of public and municipal administrations, and commercial and other entities with controlled access to information about citizens and relations between citizens and the various entities.
Data.gouv.fr: the French Open Platform for Open Data
Data.gouv.fr is the online vehicle of the French government’s Open Data policy. As such, Data.gouv.fr is the national Open Data portal through which public information is published, centralized and shared freely by the government, public institutions and local government.
UK Government Funds the Internet of Things Standard
Hyper/CAT is an effort to develop a standard that regulates the format for delivery of information from unmanned devices to the Internet (known as the Internet of Things or IoT). Currently, the proliferation of formats makes sharing data from devices between applications (and, hence between public organisations and private businesses) complex and labour-intensive.
Zaaksysteem.nl: Dutch municipal case management system
Zaaksysteem.nl provides a case management system for Dutch municipalities, allowing them to improve their online services, while at the same time lowering their costs. The open source software is currently being used by eleven municipalities. Another nine municipalities are in the process of tendering.
MSSanté: France's trusted eHealth environment
MSSanté is the global system set up by the French government with the involvement of health professionals to develop secure health messaging. This tool enables health professionals to share information quickly via email while keeping the personal health data of their patients secure, in compliance with French regulations. MSSanté has a common and certified directory of all health professionals. Any health professional messaging system can become "MSSanté-compatible".