The Australian Government Information Management Office Archive

Better Services, Better Government

Efficient Application of Technology

Organising for e-government

Increasingly there are some whole-of-government requirements that cut across all agencies, some that bind a number of agencies together, and some that agencies can decide on an individual basis. The main objectives of shared architecture are to promote:

• interoperability between dissimilar systems;
• integration of services;
• application, data and infrastructure connectivity among and between new and legacy systems;
• flexibility and the ability to respond to change; and
• re-use rather than re-invention.

Governance is critical to this e-government environment as government increasingly focuses more on the life and business events of its citizens and as policy development and program delivery that crosses agency boundaries increases. Governance can be described as the people, policies and processes that provide the framework within which managers make decisions and take actions to optimise outcomes related to their spheres of responsibility. Governance frameworks for the 'shared' elements of systems may span a range of matters, from ownership of shared business systems, information ownership, infrastructure, and standards.

A key mechanism for achieving cooperation across federal agencies will be the IMSC, supported by the CIO Committee. The IMSC will provide shared leadership on multi-agency and whole-of-government information management strategies.

Issues that it will consider include:

• identification of significant issues relating to investment in, and the governance of, shared ICT infrastructure;
• development of a model for architecture, governance and investment for the secure business systems of the Commonwealth;
• development of a proposal for a new action plan for integrated service delivery; and
• authentication of clients.

Strategic R&D and knowledge management for e-government

Efficient and sustainable development of e-government in Australia requires much greater attention to knowledge and intellectual property as a shared resource among federal agencies. A whole-of-government approach to R&D, shared expertise, re-use of applications in other agencies, and knowledge management, is needed urgently to ensure the best possible return on the Government's investment in ICT.

R&D projects will result in trials, diffusion of innovation, and the development to 'proof-of-concept' stage for new e-government services and applications. This will shorten the time from development of relevant innovative applications to consideration of a full-blown business case.

Developing strategic ICT skills in government

To ensure the success of the next phase of electronic government, the skills base of the Australian Public Service needs to be broadened, particularly at general management levels.

The responsibility for promoting the online agenda goes beyond information technology managers - general managers in agencies need access to the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the business case for using the Internet for improved program and service delivery.

Sharing and re-use of assets

Agencies are already cooperating in the development of policies that cut across traditional portfolio boundaries. This involves addressing the issues of ownership of shared business systems and adoption of appropriate standards. It is important that there be further collaboration on ICT procurement both by leveraging the Government's collective buying power and by increasingly re-using valuable intellectual property across the Australian Public Service. Re-use of assets will be enhanced by greater commonality of architecture and open standards.

For example, in the e-Europe 2005 Action Plan, there is a commitment to have an agreed interoperability framework in place for members of the European Union by the end of 2003. It will be based on open standards and encourage the use of open source software.

Open source software - software such as Linux for which the source code is readily available - is gaining increasing attention, partly because it includes a license allowing anyone to modify and redistribute the software.

Open source software may be economically viable and presents opportunities for potential cost savings in some circumstances. A number of federal agencies already use open source software across a range of operations. For example, Centrelink, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Bureau of Meteorology are in the process of implementing open source solutions. Open source software, however, raises other issues such as who will provide ongoing support.

Proprietary software - the majority of the software we use on a daily basis - is distributed under very different conditions. A proprietary license prohibits modification, copying, or redistribution without the company's permission. It ensures that only one entity (the company or individual that created the software) has the right to make changes or even see the software's internal structure. Proprietary software often comes with its own support services.

One element of whole-of-government service delivery architecture is the choice of software. To date this choice has been based on fit-for-purpose and value-for-money. In effect, purchasing decisions are driven by business cases and this will continue. However, the range of available software and software business models is increasing and the full range of options will continue to be considered and understood when making choices about whole-of-government architecture.

The main issue is to determine the cost, benefits and risks of using either open source or proprietary software in a given situation. The Government will encourage trials of open source software within the framework of fit-for-purpose and value-for-money.