Updated Web Guide released
I’m pleased to announce the release of a revamped and updated Web Guide. The purpose of the Web Guide is to help agencies manage their online presence and understand their relevant legal and policy obligations in this space. The site replaces the previous Web Publishing Guide, which was launched in May 2007. Read more
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The AGIMO Government 2.0 Primer
As part of the work of the Government 2.0 Steering Group, AGIMO has developed a Government 2.0 Primer for Australian Government agencies. The Primer describes common scenarios when agencies can use Government 2.0 approaches and an overview of common interactive online tools such as blogs and wikis. Read more
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Government 2.0 update – amended IP principles released
Last Friday, in response to both the Government 2.0 Taskforce recommendations and the Review of the Australian Government’s Use of Information and Communication Technology, the Attorney-General’s Department has released the amended Statement of Intellectual Property Principles for Australian Government Agencies.
This is a formal endorsement of the taskforce recommendation that agencies should license their Public Sector Information (PSI) under Creative Commons BY license as the default license type and only adopt more restrictive licenses after a process of ‘due diligence and on a case-by-case basis’.
It also changes the default position of Government ICT contracts so that the suppliers will own the IP of any software they develop, while still ensuring the Government holds a license to use that IP in government activities. There are some exceptions to this default position, which are explained in more detail on the site. Read more
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The caretaker period: new AGIMO advice and temporary changes to the running of the AGIMO blog
The Governor-General has accepted the Prime Minister’s recommendation to dissolve Parliament and to set an election for 21 August 2010 for the House of Representatives and half the Senate. As a result, the Government is now in what is known as the ’caretaker period’. During the caretaker period the Australian Public Service (APS) follows what are known as the Caretaker Conventions.
During the caretaker period agencies can still continue with many of their pre-existing “business-as-usual” processes, including communicating online as part of these processes. However, an important part of the Caretaker Conventions is that Commonwealth resources, including online resources such as this blog and other social media tools operated by agencies, cannot be used to communicate material which advantages any party in an election campaign. These measures are not specifically intended to curb free speech or discourage political discussion among the community; rather they are to protect the apolitical nature of the APS. Read more
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Showcasing Gov 2.0
Last week the Australian Gov 2.0 Showcase site was launched. This is a valuable initiative allowing people from all tiers of Australian government to submit examples of how they are using web 2.0 tools to engage with citizens and deliver better services. A great thing about the site is that it uses a web 2.0 approach, by which people submit their own entries, to build a showcase of Australia’s progress and achievements in Gov 2.0. The Showcase will provide a forum for the sharing of ideas and lessons so that teams within government can learn from each other in their implementation of Gov 2.0 initiatives.
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The Australian Gov 2.0 Showcase
We have set up a Gov 2.0 Showcase to collate and create a gallery of Australian Government innovation in the Gov 2.0 space. The showcase and gallery will provide a space to demonstrate Australia’s Gov 2.0 achievements and be a source of education and learning. Once a few submissions are made to the showcase we will publish a gallery of case study videos and images which you can click on to get the full details of each case study. Read more
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Guest Post: Now for the main event – you!
Photo by Limbic used under Creative Commons
Dr Nicholas Gruen was chair of the Government 2.0 Taskforce.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, that’s about it from us. We laboured hard, but less long than some similar exercises and came up with a report of which I think we were all proud. Now, at least if I can speak for myself, I think the government response has shown that it was worthwhile. Very significant progress has been made in the government’s response to our report.
Though I must confess as an outsider, it seemed just plain commonsense, when we started the Taskforce almost no government documents had been licensed ‘creative commons’ (CC). Now the government has accepted our recommendation that CC be the default, and indeed that the default be one of the most permissive licences CC-BY which allows complete freedom to reproduce, and remix subject only to the acknowledgement of the original source. Read more
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Behind the blog: Web 2.0 record-keeping and blog comments
We always intended this blog to have a dual purpose. First and foremost, it’s an online engagement tool used to keep in touch with people interested in the redevelopment of the Web Publishing Guide. But, importantly, the blog is also meant to provide lessons and examples about blogging for Australian Government agencies interested in setting up their own blog.
With this second purpose in mind, in this post I’ll look at record-keeping issues involved in managing comments submitted to our blog. Record-keeping may not be the most exciting topic, but it plays a crucial part in making sure that government agencies are accountable to the Australian people. Records provide evidence of agency activity and help create transparency as agencies go about serving the public.
However, as recent US Government policy acknowledged (PDF), and as the Government 2.0 Taskforce said in their final report, there are some issues that agencies need to consider when capturing records generated from third-party Web 2.0 sites and services.
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Social Media 101: A beginner’s guide for Finance employees
Firstly, an introduction: I’m the manager of the Online Services Branch of the Australian Government Information Management Office, which is part of the Department of Finance and Deregulation (Finance). My branch is responsible for redeveloping the Web Publishing Guide.
We know from our stats and from agency queries that some of the most popular pages on the existing Guide are those dealing with Web 2.0 issues. As part of the redevelopment of the Guide we’ll look to update this content to include new developments in this area.
In doing this we won’t just be providing agencies with proper advice – we’ll also be in line with the push in the last year or so for greater use of Web 2.0 tools in the Australian Public Service. Leading the way was the Government 2.0 Taskforce, which disbanded in late 2009 after making 13 recommendations about greater online engagement and release of public sector information to the Australian Government. The recently-released Ahead of the Game: Blueprint for the Reform of Australian Government Administration (the Moran Review) also made some recommendations in this space – see Reform 2: Creating more open government.
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