Use of the eGMS in local government

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Use of the e-GMS in local government

• Mary Rowlatt
• Strategic Information Manager
• Essex County Council
• maryr_at_essexcc.gov.uk

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e-Government

• Target - services online by 2005
• Underlying principles
• joined up services and partnership working
• customer focussed/driven
• easier access to public services -multiple
  providers/delivery channels
• social inclusion
• using information better
• enhanced local democracy, empowered and informed
  citizens

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Interoperability e-GIF

• e-Government Interoperability Framework
• Office of the e-Envoy, ver 6.0, 30/04/04
• www.govtalk.gov.uk
• Other framework policies for - security,
  confidentiality, channels etc
• Guidelines for UK government websites
• www.e-envoy.gov.uk

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e-GIF architecture
e-GIF

• e-Gif
• REGISTRY

Schemas
e-GMS
GDSC
TSC
e-SDF
GCL
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e-GIF defines

• minimum set of technical policies
  specifications governing information flows across
  government and the public sector
• interconnectivity
• data integration
• content management metadata
• e-services access

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Key policy decisions

• Internet and WWW specifications for all public
  sector information systems (PSIS)
• XML as the primary standard for data integration
• Browser as key interface to all PSIS
• Addition of metadata to all government
  information resources
• Adoption of e-GMS (based on Dublin Core)
• Development of the Government Category List (GCL)
• Mandatory throughout the public sector

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e-GIF driven by

• Market support
• specs selected are widely supported likely to
  reduce cost and risk
• Scalability
• specs selected have capacity to be scaled to cope
  with changes in data volumes, transactions or
  numbers of users
• Openness
• specs are documented available to the public
• International standards
• preference will be given to standards with the
  broadest remit. International standards will take
  precedence over EU, and EU over UK.

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Scope e-GIF covers

• Exchange of information between government
  systems and the interactions between
• UK Government citizens
• UK Government intermediaries
• UK Government businesses (worldwide)
• UK Government organisations
• UK Government other organisations (UK/EU, UK/US
  etc.)
• incs. central government departments their
  agencies, local government, the devolved
  administrations, and the wider public sector -
  NHS etc)

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e-GIF management

• Lead authority Office of the e-Envoy
• Participation public sector, industry, citizens
• Management Committee e-Champions
• Industry Consultation Group
• Interoperability Working Group
• Government Processes Group
• Government Schemas Group
• Metadata Working Group
• Smartcard Standards Working Group
• Other working groups (ad hoc)

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Content management metadata

• e-Government Metadata Standard (e-GMS)
• based on qualified Dublin Core
• is a superset of elements and refinements
• organisations encouraged to develop sector and
  system specific application profiles
• Government Category List (GCL)
• content management specs and Identifiers
  (ANSI/NISO Z39.84 for persistent identifiers)

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e-Government Metadata Standard (e-GMS)

• Superset of 25 elements and refinements. For
  each
• definition
• obligation (mandatory, mandatory if applicable,
  recommended, optional)
• purpose
• notes
• not to be confused with
• refinements
• examples
• HTML syntax
• encoding schemes
• mapping (DC, AGLS, GI Gateway, GILS, IEEE LOM)

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E-GMS mandatory recommended elements
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e-GMS maintenance principles

• Will need to evolve
• To future proof - will endeavour not to
• remove any elements or refinements. If
  unavoidable will depreciate first
• rename any elements or refinements
• add new elements that could contain values
  contained in the existing elements
• Metadata Working Group
• manages develops all metadata aspects of e-GIF,
  e-GMS and GCL
• with consultation

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Subject element refinements

• Category
• at least 1 term from GCL is mandatory
• other terms may be added where other similar
  types of encoding schemes are needed for browsing
• this allows users to drill down through
  directories of portals such as DirectGov, from
  very broad categories (Business Industry) to
  narrower ones (Advertising, Imports)
• Encoding schemes include GCL, SIC

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Subject element refinements 2

• Keyword
• words used to describe as specifically as
  possible the subject matter of a resources
• these should be taken from a controlled
  vocabulary or list
• Encoding schemes include
• seamlessUK subject taxonomy National Curriculum
  metadata standard ERIC MeSH LCSH

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Essex County Council

• Large local authority, EssexOnline partnership
• seamlessUK (NOF funded project)
• ECC website (Content management system)
• FOI publications scheme
• Contact centre partners (CMS)
• e-document management
• ...

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• seamlessUK
• Citizens Information Gateway
• www.seamlessuk.info

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seamlessUK what is it?

• The product of 5 years RD
• BLRD
• NOF
• Standards for discovery of citizens/community
  information
• Working implementation in 9 local authorities
  (gt3m people)
• Compliance specification for portal systems
  suppliers
• seamlessUK taxonomy

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Community / citizens information

• Useful
• to meet everyday needs
• assist participation in democracy and society
• Produced by
• government agencies, public sector organisations,
  voluntary and community groups, and commercial
  organisations.
• Coverage includes
• education, employment, health, benefits, rights,
  legal issues, leisure, government etc

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seamlessUK whats good about it?

• Single search of multiple sources
• one place to look for local regional national
  information
• Definitive resources - selected for quality,
  coverage and applicability
• Searches all data types, websites, databases, CMS
• Standards taxonomy, metadata, technical,
  accessibility
• Control of local data
• Very flexible and configurable

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seamlessUK project partners

• Essex County Council
• project leader
• Fretwell Downing Informatics Ltd
• technical developer
• MDR Partners
• project management, monitoring and evaluation

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Local authority partners

• Essex
• Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Lambeth,
  Lewisham and Southwark
• Medway
• Audience gt3m people
• rolling out now to other authorities ...

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National information providers

• AdviceGuide from Citizens Advice
• Age concern
• BBCi
• Common Purpose
• Citizenship
• Community Legal Service
• Just Ask
• Dept of Work Pensions
• The Pensions Service
• Energy Watch

• HMSO
• Information Asset Reg.
• LearnDirect
• Course information
• NCVO
• nhs.uk
• Doctor/dentist info
• Nhs.direct online
• A-Z of Health
• Royal Assoc Deaf People
• Others

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• The seamlessUK System

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Local and national data in one search
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Standards - metadata

• e-Government Metadata Standard (e-GMS)
• seamlessUK application profile (e-GMS some
  additional elements)
• html or xml schema
• configurable for use in CMS by adding records
  management elements

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Synonyms
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Essexonline search
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Results found using synonyms
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Rochford Council website
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seamlessUK taxonomy
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Standards - taxonomy

• seamlessUK taxonomy
• ISO 27881986
• cross domain, hierarchical, 4 levels
• c2,800 terms relationships
• synonyms used in searching
• opportunities for users to browse and search
• relationship to GCL and LGCL

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Geographic search

• Locating services via Multimap
• Geocoder GIS searching
• proximity
• place-name
• postcode searching
• Depends on metadata

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Use on ECC website

• Mandatory
• Content management System
• e-GMS seamlessUK elements records
  management/security elements
• Training an issue (distributed authors)
• Consistency, exhaustiveness etc
• Default values where possible
• Taxonomy displayed on screen

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Other applications

• Contact centre sharing with partners
• FOI Publications Scheme
• Records Audit (gtIAR)
• e-Document Management

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Lessons learned

• Right approach
• But is difficult

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Metadata

• Non trivial
• to get organisations to apply
• to apply consistently
• need more to deliver more functionality
• combined GCL/LGCL/seamlessUK list will help
• semi-automated metadata tagging

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Questions?

• maryr_at_essexcc.gov.uk
• 01245 436524