EURIM recommends appointment of e-Minister in U.K.

Canada has been much praised of late for its e-government efforts. And the world is watching and learning from us as a result.

"There's no doubt that Canada is seen to be out there and moving ahead quickly with e-government," says SAP Canada's Pat Dunn, vice-president for the Ottawa region. "I get calls every week from other countries asking, `Can we come over and have a look at what Canada is doing?.'

Even in the United Kingdom, where Prime Minister Tony Blair has committed the government to placing all services online by 2005, there's admiration for what we colonials are up to.

"Your progress both at the federal and municipal levels is taken very seriously over here," says Anne Cave-Penny, chair of an integrated service delivery working group for EURIM (www.eurim.org), Britain's lobby for e-government.

EURIM bills itself as an "all-party, panindustry group for the politics of the information society" Active since 1997, EURIM has become a model mechanism for helping government form e-policy.

Though it lobbies government, EURIM counts as members British parliamentarians. Indeed, EURIM's recently elected chairman, Brian White, is a Labour Party MP He is also a former government IT systems analyst with 20 years experience. An independent organization, EURIM funds itself from annual fees paid by private sector members. Given the looming 2005 deadline, EURIM has put its emphasis on providing the British government with timely, cogent and actionable advice that identifies consensus on issues, not compromise.

"If you present a consensus of business and public interests, then what you recommend can be taken up very quickly into policy and implemented," says Cave-Penny.

The most recent EURIM reports (www.eurim.org/recent.htm), therefore, should be of keen interest to anyone wanting to learn from other countries' e-government intentions. The reports address the three key areas that "EURIM believes need urgent attention in order to achieve the reality of e-government." These include managing the change process, integrating service delivery and improving consultation with stakeholders.

Among the recommendations of the papers that might interest Canadians, says Cave-Penny, is more and better use of intermediaries - organizations that can help government services cross the "digital divide" between those who have Internet access and those who do not.

"One thing we have learned is that having a good government Web portal is not enough. Here in Britain, for example, digital television with its two-way capabilities is fast becoming popular. So it too can be an avenue for providing services," she says. "Also, we're making recommendations for better use of the U.K. postal service. That's why we've been watching Canada Post's global e-post project with interest."

Another point of possible Canadian interest, says Cave-Penny, is that even though their Prime Minister's enthusiastic backing has given it "enormous impetus," e-government transformation lacks consistent leadership. EURIM recommends there should be an e-Minister within the senior cabinet. Given EURIM's track record, such an appointment is not unlikely.

"If we did something similar here, that would certainly give the e-government initiative in Canada more visibility," says SAP's Dunn.

"I had SAP's European vice-president for the public sector over here from Germany recently to meet with ADMs and other senior officials in Ottawa. He told me he was no less than amazed at how tightly co-ordinated the e-government message and vision was in their minds."

By Andy Shaw

Special to Technology in Government

Copyright Plesman Publications Ltd. Dec 2001
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