E-commerce yields a mixed bag when it comes to government

Efforts to inject some 'e' into government have had varying success, reports ADAM GIFFORD.

Surf round some state sector websites and it becomes clear that there are different levels of 'e' in the business of government.

Some organisations, such as Customs, the Companies Office and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, are trying to move as much of their business online as soon as possible.

Other departments have sites as afterthoughts. Press releases aren't posted automatically, updates are months overdue, downloaded forms aren't the latest version.

Some sites are technically below par, behaving as if they were still on intranets accessible to viewers with fast computers and high network bandwidth.

What's supposed to be the portal or entry point, www.nzgo.govt.nz, displayed a server error on its front page throughout the recent long weekend, showing that notions of 24-hour, 7-day online availability still haven't reached the public sector.

"The government is in many respects a reflection of society as a whole, so those parts of government actively involved with business are further ahead in this," says Reg Hammond, head of the Ministry of Economic Development's information technology policy unit.

"Take the Companies Office, which has excellent systems and a focus on its customers. There are big gains for government in terms of reduced costs and more efficiency, and there's increased benefit for customers because they can work online and don't have to send people down to the office to deal with bits of paper.

"At the other end are organisations like Social Welfare and Winz. They have some very good stuff internally, great intranets, but because their customers don't have PCs at home the pressure is not there for them to do business on the internet."

Internet Society councillor Mark Harris, who has extensive experience developing and maintaining government websites, says many departments have a lot of catching up to do.

"The e-government vision is about enabling access, and some of the paradigms departments are using have to be revisited as we move through the process," he says.

Departments are also tackling the issue of how much outsiders should be allowed to profit from information. The ethos of cost recovery, driven into the public sector during the 1990s, still holds strong.

It may mean this country is being denied the opportunities for new ways of using information, and even whole new industries, which seem possible in other countries where government-collected data is posted on the net as a matter of course.

For example, the $150 million Landonline project to digitise title and land survey records in one database is being driven by an assumption that the only stakeholders are lawyers and surveyors, because they are the gatekeepers of the present system. The idea that the public may also be stakeholders, entitled to access to the information, or that new information intermediaries may emerge, isn't part of the plans.

"It costs money to collect and store information. While systems are built with taxpayer funds, it seems fair to require some payment," Mr Harris says.

Under the previous Government, it was left to each department to establish its own online presence. The current regime is trying to establish some consistency, as well as encouraging a greater take-up.

The e-government project is under the wing of the State Services Commission, with input from the Chief Executives' Group on Information Management & Technology (CEGIMT).

Critical issues identified by CEGIMT include leadership, strategy, ensuring a focus on citizens, avoiding the 'digital divide', governance, integration, and resourcing.

The Government says it has two key goals for e-government: restoring trust in government and providing strong social services.

The idea is that e-government will increase collaboration between government organisations and strengthen the relationship between people and the state through greater opportunities for participation.

It should also allow the state sector to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its services while reducing the cost of delivery.

By using developing technologies innovatively, government will show the way to the rest of society.

Undermining that commitment is the funding the Government is putting up - $1 million in capital and $16 million in operational funding over four years to make all government information and services available on the net.

A quick look at what some leading private sector portals are costing to develop shows this sum will barely scratch the surface.

Case Study:

The Companies Office

Why did you get into e-commerce?

It allows us to make information available throughout NZ and its inherently secure. We also believed we could offer services at lower cost.

What did you do?

We started by providing search access to our database, then encouraged electronic filing of new transactions. We're now capturing old records. By next year we should have a completely electronic registry.

What benefits has it had?

Reduced processing time. In 1996 registering a company name took two weeks. Now it's 20 minutes. Searching records is faster and can now be done anywhere in the country.

How have you measured this?

As well as our own analysis, we pay for an independent customer survey. Some 90 per cent of searches are done online, 84 per cent of names are reserved online and 68 per cent of companies incorporated online.

What difficulties have you had?

The time it took to get 128-bit encryption software. Balancing the features on the site with current web browsers. As you add new services the navigation structure needs to be rethought.

In hindsight, would you have done anything differently?

At times it's been a struggle, but we wouldn't do it differently.

What next?

We think WAP (wireless application protocol) offers some real opportunities.
More immediately, we aim to offer a completely electronic registry.

Links:

www.companies.govt.nz

Herald Online feature: e-commerce summit

Official e-commerce summit website