- From: Jose M. Alonso <josema@w3.org>
- Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:22:04 +0200
- To: Miguel A. Amutio Gómez <miguel.amutio@map.es>
- Cc: Catherine Roy <croy@communautique.qc.ca>, "Ken Fischer ClickForHelp.com" <ken@clickforhelp.com>, eGovIG <public-egov-ig@w3.org>
- Message-Id: <40E07970-FAE7-46A7-90A4-A93C9C032783@w3.org>
Miguel, attaching this version to ISSUE-20 to integrate it into the doc before next Group call. Hope this will let us resolve the issue on the call next Wed. -- Jose El 22/04/2009, a las 13:56, Miguel A. Amutio Gómez escribió: > Hi, > > In this version, the re-use of government information has been > reinforced with some references. > > Changes are shown in light blue. > > Best regards, > Miguel A. > > > > Multi-Channel Delivery > > The objectives of this issue are as follows: > > Identify ways to facilitate the deployment, delivery and > availability of multi-channel services by governments: Identify any > gaps to be filled in creating a complete suite of standards to > enable services that can be located, accessed and consumed by all > potential users, through different networks, terminal devices or > platforms and interfaces, satisfying quality and security conditions. > > Gather information about best practices in multi-channel delivery of > public services. > > What is Multi-Channel Delivery? > > Channels are different means used by service providers to interact > with and deliver services to their user community. Multi-channel > service delivery is the provision of services through different > networks, terminal devices or platforms and interfaces, in an > integrated and coordinated way, with comparable levels of usability. > > Governments, like other sectors, also interact with citizens through > different channels, from the traditional ones such as the counter or > face-to-face and postal delivery to the electronic channels such as > Internet web-sites, e-mail, SMS-messaging, fixed phone, mobile > phone, interactive voice response systems, digital television, fax, > self-service terminals (ATMs), etc. Governments also have challenges > in relation to the elimination of barriers in the access to their > services and in relation to the provision of choices about how to > access their information and services. > > Mobile devices, digital TV and others are opening new ways of > interaction between citizens and governments, so that electronic > services are no longer limited to the PC. This is possible thanks to > the evolution of terminal devices with better features in terms of > processing capacity, memory, power autonomy, screen size and > quality, on one side and to the improvement of networks, protocols > and mark-up languages on the other side. > > Industry and citizens are getting used to these new electronic > channels taking advantage of their possibilities and of new services > and there is an expectation that governments may be able to do the > same. > > These new electronic channels require the adoption of new > architectures and systems able to provide the maximum of their > functionalities. > > The Web is a main channel to access government services permanently > available and it should be possible to offer the citizens such > services through any device incorporating Internet access. This > would allow a significant increase in the usage of government > services by means of any kind of widespread channels such as PDA,s, > smartphones, WAP, WebTV, or even Bluetooth and others; in this way > the access to government services would really be anyhow, anywhere, > anytime through mobile devices. > > Governments should take into account distribution, access options > and accessibility aspects to avoid creating new barriers which could > limit the amount of information or services provided. Consideration > to socially disadvantaged users, users without high bandwidth and > high cost devices, as well as devices, platforms and websites with > smaller audiences should be taken into account. > > What Public Policy Outcomes are Related to Multi-Channel Delivery? > > Multi-channel policies developed by governments generally address > the following goals: > > Facilitating e-Inclusion, avoiding digital divide and reaching the > disadvantaged citizens. For instance, the Lisbon Ministerial > Declaration [MD-LISBON] refers to multi-channel delivery in relation > to inclusive eGovernment. Also, the ICT PSP work programme 2009 [EC- > CIP] focus the multi-channel service delivery to the socially > disadvantaged and opens this entry explaining that one third of the > European population is currently considered socially disadvantaged, > most of it suffering from multiple difficulties leading to social > exclusion (economic, physical, cultural, geographical factors etc.). > > Making available egovernment services and information to large part > of the population. This is specially interesting in countries with > low computer penetration as explained in the case of the “Multi- > channel Citizen Service Centers in Greece”[EV-PAPA]. It has to be > taken into account the world wide expansion of mobile networks and > the forecast that by the end of 2010 there may be four billion > people in the world with access to a mobile phone. > > Expanding citizen´s choice, extending and providing citizen centric > and personalized services; also referred in [EC-CIP]. > > A closer government to the citizens, providing transparency and > openness and expanding citizen participation in public policy > decision making. The Obama administration's memo on Transparency and > Open Government [OB-MEMO] emphasizes these questions. Also it is an > issue in the the Lisbon Ministerial Declaration [MD-LISBON]. > > Re-use of governments´ information: Governments produce, collect and > share vast amounts of information with high commercial potential for > re-use as the basis for new added value products and services, such > as e.g. car navigation systems, weather forecasts, insurance and > credit rating services and legal databases, as explained in [PSI]. > Following the same source, a survey made in 2006 showed that the > overall market size for public sector information only in the EU is > estimated at € 27 billion. The EU adopted the PSI Directive in 2003 > [PSI-Directive] to overcome barriers that limit the re-use of > government information; this Directive deals with how public sector > bodies should make their information available for re-use, and with > key issues like transparency of what is available and under which > conditions, fair competition and non-discrimination between all > potential re-users. The transposition of this Directive into > national legislations in the EU includes the promotion of the re-use > through multi-channel platforms as, for example, in the case of the > national law of Spain. > > Multi-channel delivery of government services in support to the > process of combined service delivery across different > administrations, also referred in [EC-CIP]. > > Re-using data and applications independently from the channel, > reducing the costs of providing services, included in policies > oriented to efficiency, effectiveness and transparency. > > What are the Main Benefits of Multi-Channel Delivery? > > Main benefits of multi-channel delivery may be both for the user > community and for the service provider: > > An increase of flexibility in terms of anytime, anywhere, anyhow and > access options for the user. > > An increase of the choice according to the user´s preferences; > access to the same information and services through different > channels. > > Wider usage and impact of government services; a higher population > or user community reached by government services. > > Cost savings along the delivery chain for the service provider. > > Quicker deployment of services through new or additional channels > which may provide easy, accurate and personalized content delivery. > > Integration of government services in the front-office. > > How Can Multi-Channel Delivery Be Achieved? > > Developing a multi-channel strategy. > > As a starting point governments develop strategies so that the > access to their Web sites may be available through a range of > digital platforms offering more choice to citizens. More global > approaches design strategies which combine face to face offices, > call centers and web sites, as in the case of the multichannel > initiative consisting in a website (www.060.es), a network of > offices (more than 1.600 in March 2009), and a telephone number in > Spain [Red060] and the Multi-channel Citizen Service Centers in > Greece [EV-PAPA], with equivalent experiences to this one in other > countries. Transport Direct[Transport] in the United Kingdom offers > travel information beyond the PC platform including PDAs or mobile > phones and digital TV which gets to a segment of the population who > do not have ready access to the internet through a PC. > > The study about “Multi-channel delivery of government services” > elaborated by the Program IDA of the European Commission [EC-MCD] > elaborates on how to develop a multi-channel strategy; this study > includes a list of possible channels with their main features, > proposes a channel selection framework and provides implementation > guidelines of the multi-channel strategy. This implementation may > require a number of steps such like the following: > > Identify candidate services for multi-channel delivery. > > Investigate whether the service can be divided into distinct steps. > Given one service, sometimes one specific channel can satisfy the > full transaction; in other cases the full transaction could take > several steps which might involve different channels. For instance, > in order to renew the citizen´s ID card in Spain an appointment can > be made through a web site, the citizen may receive a confirmation > with an SMS message through the mobile and then the last step is > made face to face in an office of the administration. > > Carry out research and segmentation of the target user community. > > Analyze organizational changes including business processes, back > end and front end applications, staffing. > > Analyze technical solutions. > > Determine the channels to be implemented. > > Quantification and evaluation. Statistics of access through the > different channels enabled. > > Using standards, principles and best practices. > W3C technical specifications: URI, XML technologies, WML, XHTML, > CSS, XPATH, ... > > Web Accessibility [W3C-WAI]. Using the guidelines developed by the > Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) for the different components: > Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG), Web Content > Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG); User Agent Accessibility Guidelines > (UAAG). > > Mobile Web: using Device Description Repository Simple API, Device > Description Repository Core Vocabulary ; and the the Mobile Web Best > Practices 1.0 [W3C-MOBILE]. > > Device Independence principles [W3C_DEVIN] set out some principles > that can be used when evaluating current solutions or proposing new > solutions, and can form the basis of more detailed requirements and > recommendations. > > What are the Main Issues and Limitations with Multi-Channel Delivery? > > General requirements of the user and of the provider > > General requirements of the user, as pointed out in [EC-MCD]: > flexibility, access options, accessibility, usability (easy to use), > quality, security. > > Some of them are specially relevant like security providing trust, > and simplicity so that the content may have a similar appearance > from any device, providing transparency from the point of view of > the user. > > Many people uses the mobile phone only for phone calls and are not > aware of the rest of possibilities of the device, because its > operation may result difficult for them. This inhibiting factor > decreases the usage of the offered services. For instance, trying to > write an URL in a mobile may be a difficult task because certain > characters (“@”, “/”, “?”, “&”, “:”, …) are hard to find and the > writing task is generally troublesome. The user usually has to > remember a crowd of short numbers, key words, URLs, while using > impulsively a mobile device with low help capabilities and requiring > a quick answer to solve an specific problem. > > General requirements of the service provider, as pointed out in [EC- > MCD]: efficiency, effectiveness, security. > > Limitation of mobile devices and adaptation of information and > services provided > > Limitations of mobile devices, as listed in [WIK-MB-LIM]: Small > screen size, Lack of windows, Navigation, Lack of Javascript and > cookies, Types of pages accessible, Speed, Broken pages, Compressed > pages, Size of messages, Cost - the access and bandwidth charges, > Location of mobile user, Situation in which ad reaches user. > > Adaptation to the access to the Web through mobile devices, which > may require, between others, the reduction of download traffic and > the processing consume, because of the need to keep the battery, > reduce the cost by traffic and the time response perceived by the > user when used intensively or when downloading contents. > > The ideal scenario is that introduction of new electronic channels > would be as non-intrusive as possible; for instance without having > to modify content managers used for the production of information > for the Web. > > This may require the deployment of intermediate elements which adapt > or format the content taken out from the web appropriately according > to the kind of device involved in the transaction. > > Management of contents that can not be showed in a mobile device, > have a large size very costly to download and memory consuming > (images, PDF documents). > > Coordination and integration of different channels > > Coordination and integration of different channels is necessary to > provide a focus on the user, a consistent approach to data and > databases available or shared by all channels and consistent look > and feel. > > Interoperability, discussed above in this note. > > Access to eGovernment services and information > > In relation to the multi-channel access to eGovernment services and > information there are several main issues to be considered: > > Web for everyone: so that it may be available to all people, > whatever their hardware, software, network infrastructure, native > language, culture, geographical location, or physical or mental > ability. It has to be considered that services should be > satisfactory according to the context where they are used. > > Accessibility: so that people with disabilities and others, > including older people with changing abilities due to aging, can > perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that > they can contribute to the Web. > > Digital divide: as explained by Wikipedia [WIKI-DD], it “refers to > the gap between people with effective access to digital > andinformation technology and those with very limited or no access > at all...It is the unequal access by some members ofsociety to > information and communications technology, and the unequal > acquisition of related skills.” This gap or unequal access includes > the imbalances in physical access to technology and disability, as > well as the imbalances in resources and skills needed to effectively > participate as a digital citizen. The digital divide may be > classified based on gender, income,disability and race groups, and > by locations. > > This means that when deployment multi-channel delivery of services a > certain knowledge of the environment is needed in terms of the > availability of different devices and bandwidth, and of the target > population, social preferences and user profiles including access by > persons with disabilities. > > Interesting information may be about the proportion between mobile > phones to PCs or preferences of channel in relation to specific > services. Depending on how simple or complex is the service, the > user may prefer making a phone call, browsing with the mobile, > receiving or exchanging information by e-mail or using a website > with a computer. > > Governments use different strategies to get this kind of > information; for instance, studying user profiles, user groups and > heuristics of navigation. > > For instance, Directgov [Directgov] in the United Kingdom is > available through its website, through any Internet enabled phone > and through digital TV; they have found that users of the Directgov > TV service are more likely to be older (63% over 35, 40% over 45, > 17% over 55 respectively), the majority not working (67%) and half > (48%) rarely or never use the internet. > > Other strategies include facilitating free Internet enabled > computers at libraries and kiosks or ATMs, widely available to > citizens for free at public locations; targeting the lower cost > devices and the lower cost access; providing some information in > text form for mobile access; announcing multi-media information and > making it searchable through text based services so that users who > have limited access to multimedia enabled workstations can find out > about resources they need and go to a kiosk or library with access > available. > > The MC-eGov Study on Multi-channel Delivery Strategies and > Sustainable Business Models for Public Services addressing Socially > Disadvantaged Groups [MC-GOV] includes a good number of good > practice examples. > > Conditions about the reuse of government information > > Conditions about the reuse of government information by the public, > as explained in [GSA-TRAN]. > > Multi-Channel Distribution Standards. > > Standards, principles and best practices are needed to facilitate > the provision of multi-channel services and to satisfy requirements > such as efficiency, effectiveness, integration, quick response to > policies, priorities and social needs and the delivery of services > that offer a sustainable value to society. > > Fair distribution. > > Fair distribution refers to the issue if government distributed > content through selected websites, platforms or devices creates an > unfair advantage for a particular device, platform, distribution > network, or website. This question has close connection with the re- > use of government information discussed above in this document. > > It may be also interesting for governments and for the users of > their services and information to consider, for instance widely used > instruments such as Web 2.0 services, as an additional channel for > distribution of multimedia information. Also they could consider the > use of social networks as a mean to increase interaction and citizen > ´s participation taking due care of privacy, reliability and > accessibility barriers they may present. > > In relation to these questions, governments are considering and > putting in practice the idea of being present in main Web 2.0 > services and similar instruments and thus reaching large > communities, instead of just remaining outside and waiting for users > to come to their traditional websites. An example is the use made by > town council of the city of Zaragoza of some of this kind of > services [ZARAGOZA]. > > Multi-media central feed. > > Strategies in relation to the distribution of multi-media government > content may include approaches to facilitate the access to content > provided through social media channels, in a searchable way, in > freely accessible, playable and downloadable formats, allowing > tagging or preserving hyperlinks. > > References: > > [Directgov] > > Directgov http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm > > [EC-CIP] > > European Commission, COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION FRAMEWORK > PROGRAMME (CIP) ICT POLICY SUPPORT PROGRAMME ICT PSP WORK PROGRAMME > 2009, http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/ict_psp/index_en.htm > > [EC-MCD] > > European Commission – Program IDA, Multi-channel delivery of > government services, June 2004,http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/3119 > > [EC-MCEGOV] > > European Commission, 'MC-eGov: Study on Multi-channel Delivery > Strategies and Sustainable Business Models for Public Services > Addressing Socially Disadvantaged Groups', http://www.epractice.eu/community/InclusiveeGovernment > > [EV-PAPA] > > Evangelos Papanikolaou (Ministry of the Interior, Public > Administration & Decentralization) Multi-channel Citizen Service > Centers in Greece, http://www.epractice.eu/en/cases/csckep > > [GSA-TRAN] > > GSA Office of Citizen Services and Communications, Intergovernmental > Solutions Newsletter, Transparency and Open Government, Transparency > in Government,http://www.usaservices.gov/events_news/documents/Transparency.pdf > > [MC-GOV] > > MC-eGov Study on Multi-channel Delivery Strategies and Sustainable > Business Models for Public Services addressing Socially > Disadvantaged Groupshttp://www.mcegov.eu/media/156/mcegov%20project_study%20report_good%20practice%20examples_edited.pdf > > [MD-LISBON] > > Ministerial Declaration, approved unanimously in Lisbon, Portugal, > on 19 September 2007,http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/docs/lisbon_2007/ministerial_declaration_180907.pdf > > [OB-MEMO] > > Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies on > Transparency and Open Government, B. Obama,http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment/ > . > > [PSI] > > Europe´s Information Society, Public Sector Information – PSIhttp://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/psi/index_en.htm > > [PSI-Directive] > > DIRECTIVE 2003/98/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL > of 17 November 2003 on the re-use of public sector information > > http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/psi/docs/pdfs/directive/psi_directive_en.pdf > > [Red060] > > Red 060 (Network 060), http://www.epractice.eu/en/cases/red060 > > [Transport] > > Transport Direct http://www.transportdirect.info/web2/home.aspx?repeatingloop=Y > > [W3C-DEVIN] > > Device Independence Principles http://www.w3.org/TR/di-princ/ > > [W3C-MOBILE] > Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0, http://www.w3.org/TR/mobile-bp/ > [W3C-WAI] > > Web Accessibility Inituative http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/accessibility.php > > [WIK-MB-LIM] > > Wikipedia, Mobile Web, Limitations, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Internet > > [WIKI-DD] > > Wikipedia, Digital Divide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide > > [ZARAGOZA] > > http://twitter.com/zaragoza_es , http://www.youtube.com/webzgz >
Received on Thursday, 23 April 2009 15:23:06 UTC