IPF (Institute of Public Finance)

eGovernment Web Links

Government Organisations

Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office sits at the heart of the government with an aim to ensure that the government delivers its priorities. Its main function is to achieve policy agreement across central Government departments and is also responsible for the Office of the e-Envoy.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
The Department of Trade and Industry aims to "increase competitiveness and scientific excellence in order to generate higher levels of sustainable growth and productivity in a modern economy." Its Information Age section details many of the technology-related initiatives that the DTI and other parts of Government currently pursue - often with help from other partner organisations.

Digital Television project
This website is dedicated to the opportunities created by digital television and was set up jointly by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. It intends to bring clear, up to date information on Digital TV including what it is and how to connect.

DirectGov
This service was set up in March 2004 with the aim of eventually replacing UK Online as a one-stop-shop for government information and online services. It organises content around citizen groups, such as motorists, disabled people, parents or jobseekers.

Government Gateway
The Government Gateway is the centralised registration service for e-Government services in the UK. Registering with the Government Gateway enables you to sign up for any of the UK Government's services that are available over the Internet. Registered users can download, fill in and send government forms, such as tax returns.

GovTalk
The Cabinet Office has set up this site to help public authorities and industry adapt to, take advantage of and develop policies and standards for new technology and e-government. It is divided into two sections: the e-Government Interoperability programme, which concerns e-GIF and e-GMF, and e-Gov Communities, which allows for Communities of Interest to be established.

Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA)
Established by and for local government, the IDeA draws expertise from local authorities, the business world, professional service firms, not for profit organisations and other parts of the public sector. It runs an e-Champions' network for local authorities and also supports councils with e-Government through the Implementation and Strategic Support Units.

Info4local
This site provides an online, one-stop gateway for local authorities to get easy access to local government-related information that is published on the web sites of central government departments and agencies. It is run by five departments; Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Department for Education and Employment, Department of Health, Home Office and Department of Social Security.

Information Commissioner's Office
The Information Commissioner's Office enforces the Data Protection Act 1998 and will also be responsible for the Freedom of Information Act 2000 when it comes into force on 1 January 2005. The Commissioner is an independent supervisory authority whose range of duties includes the promotion of good information handling and the encouragement of codes of practice for data controllers.

Local government online pathfinders
This site contains information about the 25 Pathfinder Projects, which ran from June 2001 to June 2002 and were funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The projects addressed various aspects of how to deliver improved services by electronic means and involved over one hundred councils, working with many private and public companies.

LocaleGov
This site, set up by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minster, provides most of the information relevant to e-Government in local authorities, including the national strategy, details of Implementing Electronic Government statements and funding, and the national projects. It also provides detailed, web-based resource packs, which set out proposals, plans and information at a variety of levels appropriate to practitioners in local and central government.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on the 29th May 2002 taking responsibility for policy areas from both the old Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions and Cabinet Office. The new Office brings together regional and local government (including the regional Government Offices), housing, planning and regeneration along with the social exclusion unit and neighbourhood renewal. This part of the website contains is documentation on local e-Government.

Office of the e-Envoy
The Office of the e-Envoy was set up in September 1999 as part of the Cabinet Office and is headed by Andrew Pinder, who was appointed e-Envoy in January 2001. The Office aims to implement Government policy by making the UK the best environment in the world for e-commerce by 2002, ensuring that everyone who wants it has access to the Internet by 2005 and making all Government services available electronically by 2005.

Office of Government Commerce (OGC)
The OGC is an independent office of HM Treasury that is responsible for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of central civil Government procurement and helping departments set up project and programme management centres of excellence.

The OGC has developed the 'Gateway' process to determine whether projects and programmes can continue at critical stages in their lifecycle

It is also responsible for the Successful Delivery Toolkit, which provides a single point of reference for policy and good practice related to public sector procurement, programmes, projects, risk and service management

Promoting Electronic Government (PEG)
Promoting Electronic Government was a two-year project funded by HM Treasury's Invest to Save Budget. It aimed to develop the application of ICT within local authorities to support best value and continuous service improvement, citizen-focused services and sustainable community development.

Society of Information Technology Management (SOCITM)
The Society of Information Technology Management was founded in 1985 as the professional association for ICT managers working in and for the public sector. It has over 1000 members from 450 different organisations including 90% of all UK local authorities, police and fire services, housing authorities and other locally delivered public services.

Strategy Unit
The Strategy Unit (SU) aims to improve Government's capacity to address strategic, cross-cutting issues and promote innovation in the development of policy and the delivery of the Government's objectives. It was set up in 2002, bringing together the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU), the Prime Minister's Forward Strategy Unit (FSU), and parts of the Centre for Management and Policy Studies (CMPS).

UK Online
UK Online is a partnership between Government industry, the voluntary sector, trades unions and consumer groups, forged to enable everyone in the UK to make the most of the Internet. This portal was established to provide citizens with easy access to government information and services, with content structured around 'life episodes'.

 

Media

Computer Weekly
CW360.com is an online magazine designed to help IT professionals and re-sellers meet the challenges of the New Economy. It offers a mixture of business and technical journalism, alongside independent analysis and thinking on technology, strategy and careers.

eGovmonitor
eGovmonitor produces a weekly email providing insight and in-depth analysis into recent developments in e-Government. It also manages the 'scroller' of news that appears at the top of IPF's e-Government signposts page (see www.ipf.co.uk/egovernment).

Headstar
This company produces four email relevant newsletters and publications:

e-Government Bulletin, a fortnightly e-newsletter that covers electronic government and the information society
e-Access Bulletin, a monthly e-mail newsletter on information technology issues for people with visual impairments and other disabilities
Future Health Bulletin, which looks at the use of the Internet and other new technologies in the health sector
Future Democracy Bulletin, which debates how new technologies are altering the relationship between citizens and the political system

Kable
KableNET.com is an e-government news service intended for the professionals delivering information age government as well as public interest advocates. It is the media arm of Kable, an independent authority on e-government and public service IT and telecoms markets.

LGCnet
LGCnet is an online local government news service. Its website now has a separate section devoted to recent developments in e-government.

Net Imperative
Netimperative.com is a content, community and commerce site, providing information and communication, product and professional services. The site is split into news, investment, media and marketing and technology sections.

PublicNet
PublicNet provides an integrated e-mail and web site service for people concerned with the governance and management of public services. It focuses on the issues challenging all parts of the public sector and encourages the sharing of good management practice.

PublicTechnology.net
This website provides news updates on the latest public sector IT and e-Government developments. It also includes a recruitment section, detailing the latest IT vacancies in both the public and private sector.

UKauthorITy.com
This site has a functioning news service providing updates on e-Government and IT developments within UK local authorities.

 

European and International sites

e-Europe
E-Europe is a political initiative to ensure the European Union fully benefits from new technology and its website is managed by the European Commission's directorate general for Information Society. It aims to bring every European citizen online and ensure that the whole process is socially inclusive, builds consumer trust and strengthens social cohesion.

Egov.it
This portal has been developed by a research team of the University of Naples Federico II. Its main aim is to provide an introductory overview of the fast growing domain of e-government websites. The reader will find access to 1,000 selected sites with a brief description & the link for direct access.

e-Government for Development
This site looks at e-government success and failure in developing/transitional economies. It presents a series of questions that e-government practitioners might ask about the topic and provides answers to those questions. The answers have been developed through a mix of research at IDPM, research in local partner institutions, and discussions on the egov4dev email list.

EU Information Society portal
This portal was set up in March 2004 to provide easier access to the European Union resources related to the Information Society, irrespective of the internal Commission department ("Directorate General") responsible for them. It contains information about the impact of the information society on the world of work, industry, policy, education, training, culture and quality of life.

Development Gateway
The Development Gateway is an interactive portal for information and knowledge sharing on sustainable development and poverty reduction. This site disseminates information on the use of ICT for improved governance. The page assembles and provides links to case studies, articles, policy documents, statistical reports, and reports on programs and research in e-Government.

UNPAN
The United Nations Online Network in Public Administration and Finance
aims to promote the sharing of knowledge, experiences and best practices throughout the world in sound public policies, effective public administration and efficient civil services. It seeks to do this through capacity-building and cooperation among Member States, with emphasis on south-south cooperation and UNPAN's commitment to integrity and excellence.

 

Research Bodies

Gartner
Gartner is a research, consulting, management and news organisation based in Stamford, Connecticut, but with 4,300 associates in more than 90 locations worldwide. Its analyses of global IT and telecom markets are published in books, CDs, Webcasts, newsletters, and audio products.

Oxford Internet Institute (OII)
The Oxford Internet Institute studies the societal implications of the Internet, and seeks to shape research, policy and practice in the UK, Europe and around the world. It is also the base of the world's first Professor of e-Democracy, Stephen Coleman.

 

Other

AbilityNet
AbilityNet is a charity that advises people with physical impairments on how their lives can be improved by the use of technology by. It also provides assistive technology, free support, a programme of awareness education, and consultancy for employers on system and workstation adaptations.

British Telecom (BT)
BT provides a range of ICT and advisory services to public sector organisations, in addition to managing much of the UK's telecommunications infrastructure. It is the major supplier for a number of e-Government projects, not least the national programme for NHS IT, and an affiliate of the CIPFA e-Government Forum.

BuyIT e-Procurement Best Practice Network
The BuyIT Best Practice Network is an independent purchaser-supplier forum with a mission to "help industry realise the business benefits from Information Systems, by identifying and promoting best practice for purchasers and suppliers". The website includes a network and guidance on best practice for e-procurement.

Citizens Online
Citizens Online is a registered charity concerned with issues of the digital divide and the social and cultural impact of the Internet on society. It is committed to universal Internet access, believing that the Internet and all of its riches are essential for every citizen.

Communities Online
Communities Online is a not-for-profit registered company that seeks to harness the potential of information and communications technology for the benefit of all. It aims to encourage individuals who are interested in community networks, regeneration, sustainability, and neighbourhood renewal to share experience and practice and to join in their own local online community.

EURIM
EURIM is an all-party, pan-industry lobby group that aims to raise awareness of Information Society and e-Commerce policy issues amongst political, organisational and national organisations. It is independent and neutral, bringing together users, suppliers, parliamentarians, policy advisors and officials.

MCIL Management Centre International Limited
MCIL provides conference management, training and consultancy, specialising in information technology-related issues. It runs an annual international e-Government conference, principally aimed at the academic/research sector.

Society of Public Information networks
SPIN is the Society of Public Information Networks, an association linking public and private sector organisations involved in the electronic dissemination of public information. From 1988-1992 it was known as LAVA (Local Authority Videotex Association).