As the government portal gets another facelift James Rogers
examines the impact of UK Online on targets for delivering services
via the Internet
First launched in a blaze of publicity in February 2001, the
government portal UK Online is designed to link more than 1,000
government Web sites, effectively dispensing with the red tape and
bureaucracy that has traditionally characterised dealings with
government. As the public face of the UK's e-government strategy,
however, the site is also set to play a crucial part in Tony
Blair's plan to make services available electronically by
2005.
The stakes are high for UK Online. If it fails to perform then it
could put the prime minister's 2005 target in jeopardy, becoming by
far the most embarrassing of recent government IT failures: if the
Government is unable to deliver the country's main citizen portal
effectively what hope is there for the UK's wider e-government and
e-commerce agenda?
This explains why the Government has been at pains to consult users
about the forthcoming redesign of the site. Over the past few
months the Cabinet Office has conducted extensive research to get a
clearer idea of how people deal with government, and a new version
of the site is set to go live in the next few days.
The message from users appears to be that people want fast,
efficient access to information right across the board. Although
reticent to talk about the specific technologies behind the
relaunch, Cabinet Office sources confirmed that the new-look site
is designed to make it easier for users to search across government
Web sites and find the information that they need.
A spokesperson said, "The new version will allow people better
access to government information and better interaction with the
Government via the Internet." UK Online is an integral part of
getting people online and achieving the e-government goals, she
added.
In addition to giving access to central government services, UK
Online will also act as a link between the disparate services of
local and central government. Jonathan Prew, business and corporate
IS manager at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, said, "We see
UK Online as being one of the main citizen portals into the town's
services."
This is an important point: if the country's e-government agenda is
to proceed as planned, we are likely to see significant growth in
online services over the coming years, with the UK Online portal
providing a vital bridge between central and local government. Prew
added, "UK Online is about the service rather than who provides
it."
In the relaunched UK Online "life episodes" will be replaced with a
section entitled "your life". Designed to reflect the everyday
needs of the population, the nine existing life episodes cover
major events such as learning to drive, moving home and retirement.
Government officials have described the new "life events" as more
intuitive and user-friendly than their predecessors and confirmed
that plans exist to add more events.
The life episodes have already proved popular with users and serve
as a model for future e-government services. Prew said, "Things
like the life events give a real focus for the public and remove
the need for them to be concerned about which public sector
organisation provides a specific service."
UK Online is also set to undergo some cosmetic changes. As a result
of user feedback, the number of images on each page has been
reduced and the site designed to be easier to navigate. The new
version can also be viewed in EasyAccess format, which is said to
provide clearer text and fewer graphics.
A government official has described the new site as, "Putting the
foundations in place so that UK Online can be built on in future."
It may still be early days for the citizens' portal but its future
development will be watched with interest as evidence of progress
on the e-government agenda.
Although it will undoubtedly be subject to intense scrutiny, the
new look UK Online has received a warm initial response from users
and industry experts alike. Ian Keys, director of the think-tank
New Local Government Network, said, "We feel very positive about
the relaunch of UK Online. It is starting to get around the
bureaucracies that have traditionally hindered open
government."
E-government
- July 2001: Tameside's fully transactional Web site is voted the
best council site in England by local government IT group Socitm's
members
- July 2001: pensions minister Ian McCartney launches ninth "life
episode", dealing with pensions and retirement
- November 2001: portal moved to interim hosting service run by
not-for-profit EduServ
- January 2002: relaunch.
Website:
www.ukonline.gov.uk/