One London council has leapfrogged over other sites in order to
drive e-commerce and e-government aheadPrime Minister Tony Blair's determination to drive through
e-government and e-commerce is inspiring some local authorities to
combine the two, writes Mike Simons.
Hackney Council in east London is backing HackneyConnect, a
scheme which aims to both improve IT skills in the borough and help
local businesses develop their e-commerce operations and use the
Internet profitably for transactions.
Scheduled to start operating in January 2001, HackneyConnect
will have two operating arms - Community Networks and a Trade
Opportunities Portal (TOP) - for use by business.
Project manager Ade Basimi said, "We are trying to leapfrog over
what is currently on offer from other councils.
"We looked at other sites and found they were rather
two-dimensional."
The project build is scheduled to start next month, with initial
plans to offer a limited range of services before HackneyConnect
develops into a fully transactional site later next year.
Basimi makes no apology for this approach. "If we sit back and
wait to do a 'Big Bang', we'll never get started," he pointed
out.
The aim is to give everyone in the local community quick and
easy access to the Internet and local and global information - via
PC, TV and kiosks. There will be a heavy emphasis on improving IT
skills in the borough and making its workforce more employable in
the digital age.
For business, the focus is on encouraging companies to expand
and use the Internet for business-to-business (B2B) and
business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions.
The project was planned after research into what local
businesses and the community wanted from the venture.
Training and support will feature strongly and a helpdesk will
provide support, while a dedicated messaging centre will supply
online assistance and solutions.
Children will also be given a high degree of protection through
the latest screening technology.
What do you think of Hackney's efforts? E-mail us at
cwxtra@rbi.co.uk
hackneyconnect
Funding
UK Government (through the Single Regeneration Budget); European
Community (through the European Research and Development Fund) ;
Heart of Hackney; Renaisi; Guildhall University; London Borough of
Hackney; Hackney Chamber of Commerce; North London Development
Agency
Project aims
Business offerings
- Electronic tendering and obtaining schemes
- B2B trading opportunities
- Virtual counselling for business support
- Front-end for business and public services