In a post in the Complexity and Social Networks Blog at Harvard University, Alexander Schellong discusses the uses of Web 2.0 technologies in government public consultancy. He makes the really good point that government has done quite well in it’s approach to public consultation over the years via town meetings, research and other tools. This…
I was reading through the comments on my post on Make government data freely available, and found Gav’s (RedIguana) comments particularly thought provoking. …Government also must create national standards for data, for example in terms of controlled vocabularies, etc, to ensure that data can in fact be aggregated nationally. It is no good if each…
One of the biggest issues I’ve seen in government websites is excessive use of words. Government agencies often treat each website page as a stand-alone fact sheet. This means they err on the side on completeness, leading to wordiness. Most of us have seen the research. People don’t read wordy, jargon-filled pages – they skim….
This is a fantastic example of how blogs and other Web 2.0 tools can be used to support government initiatives and help reduce project costs. First I should note that I know Nathanael Boehm, one of the members of the project team. He’s an early adopter of web technologies, with a great deal of experience…
New Zealand is a beautiful place to visit and I have fond memories of my last trip there. It also happens to be one of the most happening places in eGovernment, at least in this part of the world. In fact I feel a little disappointed in Australia’s progress at the national level compared to…
I’ve previously blogged about the impact of the online channel on Barack Obama’s campaign and how it contributed significantly to his nomination as the Democrat presidential candidate. There have also been broader implications for the US government scene, as captured in a Pew report released last week. Pew has been one of my favourite commentators…
I’ve noticed a tendency in Australia for government agencies to focus on having their websites work perfectly in Microsoft Internet Explorer, but not always quite so well in Firefox, Safari, Opera or other web browsers. This isn’t limited to the public sector, private sector organisations face the same issue of cross-browser compatibility. On one hand…
Earlier this year The Economist released a special report on egovernment, entitled The Electronic Bureaucrat. The report’s conclusion was that whilst there were a few good examples of egovernment initiatives, most could not be considered successful. It’s a fascinating read regarding international views and experiences in the area and flags changes that government needs to…
Regardless of how egovernment progresses, Australian citizens are moving forward to create the tools they want online. The latest example is is a site named Open Australia. Built based on the UK site They Work For You and the New Zealand site of the same name – TheyWorkForYou.co.nz, Open Australia feaures a fully searchable record…
I’ve just found the UK civil service’s Principles for participation online and are mighty impressed. As a result I’ve slightly modified my profile, I’ll also be promoting this in my office where I know we have at least several other bloggers and quite a bit of online engagement coming up. In Australia, while we have…
This archive mirrors the original eGov AU blog — Craig’s professional commentary on AI, digital government and technology in public life, running since 2006.
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