We’re in the first workshop of the day at the CEBIT Gov 2.0 conference. It is led by Andrew Stott, the Director for Digital Engagement for the UK government. The first exercise of the day has been to come up with reasons that government may give for not releasing data online. I don’t know if…
It used to be said that no-one ever got fired for buying IBM products. More recently much the same sentiment has been expressed about Microsoft. However that perception now appears to be under challenge. ReadWriteWeb reports in its article Google Sues US Government Agency Over Using Microsoft Only that, Google has filed a lawsuit against…
Yesterday was a historic day for Australian intellectual property rights. Ann Steward, the Australian Government CIO, announced that the Australian Attorney-General’s Department had released an amended Statement of Intellectual Property Principles for Australian Government Agencies. The amended version endorsed one of the Gov 2.0 Taskforce’s recommendations – that the default copyright position for public sector…
I’ve been speaking with a few lawyers and solicitors lately regarding the risks of various social media initiatives and tools. Today, over lunch, it struck me that lawyers rarely – if ever – speak about the legal benefits of social media, the ways in which the use of social media can provide better outcomes for…
Brought to my attention by Mia Garlick via Twitter, the UK has redeveloped its legislative database with a focus on reuse by external parties. The recently released site legislation.gov.uk covers 800 years of legislation from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. According to an article from Cornell University Law School, Legislation.gov.uk, John Sheridan, Head of…
New Zealand’s government has just launched a Creative Commons-based approach for the standardisation of the licensing of government copyright works for re-use. Named the New Zealand Government Open Access and Licensing framework (NZGOAL), the approach outlines the licensing government agencies should use when releasing copyright works and non-copyright material for re-use by third parties (preferablt…
Lisa Howdin, who now works with me, has been compiling a set of guidelines and information around how to develop, write, manage and moderate social media tools in Government in the form of a wiki. She’s looking for contributions from people across Australian government who are working in this area and have learnings they can…
Government 2.0 has a number of challenges in Australia and around the world – developing the appropriate public sector culture, getting the right policies and technologies in place and, often overlooked, ensuring that our laws allow for the innovative use of online channels. The latter challenge is being faced right in the ability for Australians…
Many rulers, from the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt to the Czars of Russia, were seen as almost infallible leaders – divinely selected and empowered to lead their people. To question their wisdom, strength or decisions was often an offence that could be punished by imprisonment or death. Most modern states are more lenient, however governments…
Cheryl from the Victorian eGovernment Resource Centre recently brought to my attention the launch of the BrandKarma website. The website aggregates information about top brands and allows the public to indicate whether they love, hate or want to watch them. It also allows comments and, in the best social networking style, the creation of personal…
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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