The announcement coincided with and supported the publication by Phil Hope MP, Minister for Local eGovernment, of the results of the latest Implementing Electronic Government (IEG) assessments. The ODPM, LGA and IDeA are working together to elp all local councils to implement e-government. The IDeA has been asked to expand this help through the creation of two new specialist and complementary teams that are funded through the Local Government Online (LGOL) programme.
eGovernment Strategic Support Unit
The e-Government Strategic Support Unit is a strategic advisory service on local e-government that is available free of charge to support all local authorities by sharing advice/good practice and by responding to enquiries/problems. It will work on a 'research once and share many times' basis and so will help to reduce both the costs and risks of implementation.
The advisors are all specialists in specific areas within the local e-Government model, and will provide in-depth support across the range of National Strategy 'building blocks' of local e-government. They will respond to specific enquiries, research areas of difficulty, anticipate future problems, link authorities to National Projects, and disseminate findings to authorities through a number of channels, such as web-based and printed publications, the IDeA website, the e-government resource on
eGovernment Implementation Support Unit
The e-Government Implementation Support Unit will provide assistance to a number of councils that are identified by the ODPM as needing tailored support to meet the 2005 target. It will provide on-site programme/project management assistance, drawing on peer support. Its managers have extensive experience in local government together with the skills to help individual authorities with their improvement plans and to carry forward their e-government programmes.
They will access additional help, support and information for their assigned authorities through the Strategic Support Unit and will thereby help to deliver better services and information to citizens and businesses.
John Thornton, Director of e-Government at the IDeA, said: "The Strategic Support Unit will provide all councils with free access to a level of expertise and assistance that even the largest authorities cannot afford on their own. The Implementation Support Unit complements this service with tailored assistance which is available to some of those that need to make more rapid progress."
Quelle: PublicTechnology, 17.12.2003
