Government gees up citizen mash ups

Beverley Head
Tuesday, 25 May 2010 10:48

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

The Federal Government wants more citizens and private companies to participate in its fledgling web 2.0 initiatives and also use commonwealth content being released under creative commons licence in private mash ups.

While the Government has already found itself in hot water over the league tables that private media outlets have developed using content from ACARA over schools' performance in the Naplan tests, it is still encouraging companies to consider more innovative use of government data. Speaking at the CeBIT eGovernment forum in Sydney this morning, Glenn Archer, CIO for the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations said that the Government was increasingly using creative commons licences, and that the recent 2010-11 budget papers were for the first time released under that form of licence.

'We are planning to develop data.gov.au where data can be reused to create mash ups and quite new interpretations of data,' said Archer.

The Government has already accepted most of the recommendations made by a Government 2.0 Taskforce which was chaired by Dr Nicholas Gruen.

While many of those recommendations concerned outward focussed Web 2.0 communications, the Government has also been using web 2.0 technologies internally according to Archer. 'DEEWR has developed its own mash ups which are getting great use internally,' he said, adding that the department was also collaborating with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on the economic stimulus mash up which shows which regions have received which stimulus packages.

It is also using Web 2.0 communications to refine some of its internal procurement practices. For example it has sought feedback on a draft RFT for telecommunications operation management services (TOMS) which was posted on a Government blog. The feedback to the blog had improved the RFT said Archer.

The eGovernment forum, which is co-sponsored by iTWire, was opened by Lindsay Tanner minister for finance and reregulation speaking via videoconference. The sessions have been among the best attended at CeBIT with standing room only at this morning's events.

Mia Garlick, a member of the Government's Web 2.0 taskforce, and also assistant secretary of the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, like Archer encouraged more citizen and private sector participation in the Government's web 2.0 initiatives.