Commissioned by London Connects, the project is being implemented by System Associates as the London Portal Development Partner. The public launch of the first phase of the London Portal is expected to be April 2005. Designed to bring together London information resources, the London Portal aims to make it easier for those visiting, living and working in London to access information about services, without the need for them to know which geographical area or unit they live in. System Associates are using design experts, NYKRIS, to help deliver an accessible, user-friendly web portal. It represents a coordinated approach between London public sector organisations involving contributions from all the London Boroughs, London Voluntary Services Council, Greater London Authority, London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Transport for London, London Development, Visit London, Business Link4London, NHS and the London Library Development Agency.
London Connects is a joint venture between the Association of London Government (ALG) and the Greater London Authority (GLA). At the time System Associates was chosen as the IT partner, Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London said: "I look forward to the London portal delivering real benefits to the thousands of Londoners who now look on the web for public services. Whether it is to find your nearest GP or post office, work out who has towed your car or submit a permit application, the portal will quickly guide you to the right page on the right agency’s web site. By working across the boundaries between public sector agencies, the portal should make a significant contribution to more coherent, citizen friendly public services for Londoners."
System Associates, a provider of enterprise-wide Internet technologies, won the tender because of its track record in providing sophisticated internet solutions for many government organisations, including the GLA and HM Treasury.
The project will involve close working with System Associates’ selected partners. Nykris, an award-winning digital media agency specialising in creating usable and accessible websites, will carry out the branding and design of the new portal.
The portal will be underpinned by a sophisticated content management system called g-Serve, which systematically organises content and makes it easy to devolve content responsibility. This will ensure the portal offers up-to-date information that can be viewed in real time. At the front-end of the portal, System Associates will incorporate its Google-style search engine called g-Seek, designed to make it easy for users to efficiently find the information they are looking for. The site will comply with stringent accessibility standards as well as current directives of the eGovernment Interoperability Framework (eGIF).
More than 50% of the population now has access to the Internet at home or at work and the Internet has become a major source of information about public services, schools, housing and leisure. The portal will provide far greater accessibility to information for visitors outside of London, as well as for people looking to relocate to London, and it is expected to be a valuable resource for attracting new investment into the Capital.
Quelle: Publictechnology, 24.02.2005
