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Best Practices/Boosting citizens’ awareness through the reuse of existing resources

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File:BP-CitizenAwareness.docx


Samos Workshop: Uses of Open Data Within Government for Innovation and Efficiency

Title of the Best Practice: Boosting citizens’ awareness through the reuse of existing resources (existing stocks of PSI, networks of interactive display nodes)

Outline of the best practice

Although Public Sector Information (PSI) is a large market in Europe, through large investments in e-Government back-offices, platforms and services , deploying a wide set of services, in most cases efforts are duplicated, little to no reuse of e-Government data and information is implemented and obsolete technologies are still put in place.

The reuse of pre-existing investments in PSI stocks (at different levels, European, national, regional or local) and in networks of display devices through innovative, Web-based platforms proved in being a cost-effective solution to boosting the “citizen-centric” e-Government services. Available cloud-based platforms for Digital-Out-Of-Home (DOOH) enable the creation of mash-ups of e-Government contents for raising awareness of citizens about e-Government services available across all Europe, transforming PSI into interactive advertisement messages.

Management summary

Challenge

Loads of pre-existing investments in e-Government back-offices, platforms and services are available across Europe, deploying a wide set of services, but in most cases efforts are duplicated, little to no reuse of e-Government data and information is implemented and obsolete technologies are still put in place. In the Internet age and latest financial restructuration, public bodies need to rely on all assets at hand: public spaces and buildings, existing e-infrastructure, old hardware such as info kiosks TV sets, PCs, already existing public services, and the large number of end-users visiting public facilities daily. They need to leverage all these to raise awareness of citizens and facilitate the shift from awareness to action and engagement.

Solution

Reusing and integrating existing resources into Web 2.0-based platforms will not only raise citizens’ awareness, but will also boost the dialogue between administration and citizens. Such a platforms should provide features such as:

  • Transform existing PSI services into advertisement services
  • Enabling the reuse of available PSI in different systems, either internal to public units or from external sources (EU portals, Open Data portals etc), and its integration into mash-ups
  • Support multiple channels (from indoor/outdoor screens to mobile devices) in delivering the messages to end-users
  • Software-as-a-Service seems to be the preferred business model for public administrations shielding those units from the necessity to administrate additional e-Infrastructures, meanwhile supporting pay-as-you-go, so important in the current budgetary context

Best Practice Identification

  • Name of the Best Practice: Boosting citizens’ awareness through the reuse of existing resources (stocks of PSI, network of interactive display devices etc.)
  • Type of customer: all EU member states;

Why is this a Best Practice? What's the impact of the Best Practice?

The impact of previous e-Government investments on citizens is not the expected one, with all EU countries searching for solutions to enhance citizens’ awareness and participation. This will enable citizen-centric government, it will result in cost reduction for administrations and it will streamline the communication with citizens.

Link to the PSI Directive

(Please use one or more of the categories listed on the last page of this document, as many as relevant)

  • Organisational structures and skills
  • Encouraging (commercial) re-use
  • Data quality issues and solutions / Quality assurance, feedback channels and evaluation

Why is there a need for this Best Practice?

In spite of huge efforts invested at national, regional of local levels, the usage of e-Government services is not the expected one. The involvement and the feedback of citizens is not the expected one.

What do you need for this Best Practice?

If public bodies want to adopt this Best Practice they will have to:

  • Be willing to embrace “citizen-centric” government paradigm; foster citizens’ awareness and participation
  • Identify available resources (PSI providers, display devices) in their area (local, regional, national)
  • Select an appropriate technological platform that must support the integration of available sources of PSI and should support multi-channel content delivery
  • Allocate the necessary people to operate the platform

Applicability by other member states?

Yes. EC-funded projects piloted similar solutions into several EU-countries (such as SEED project) and feedback collected from end-users and content providers is a proof to considering this as a Best Practice.

Contact info - record of the person to be contacted for additional information or advice.

Daniel Pop – West University of Timisoara & Research Institute e-Austria Timisoara

http://www.ieat.ro , http://www.math.uvt.ro , danielpop@e-uvt.ro