2 Introduction

2.1 Purpose

2.1.1 The purpose of this paper is to propose a policy, broad architecture and reference schema for an electronic Directory for use - in the first instance - in facilitating e-government activities between S.E.E. member agencies. This Directory is referred to throughout this document as the S.E.E. Directory.

2.1.2 While the scope of the proposed architecture is confined in this document to the S.E.E. project, it has been developed in such a way that it should not preclude extension to support use, both in the broader public sector (all departments and agencies plus local government) and potentially for government interactions with citizens and business, should the requirement for such extension be identified under other e-government initiatives.

2.2 Background

2.2.1 A good deal of the current e-government programme is predicated on the development of systems to support secure access to, and sharing of, information between government agencies. The S.E.E. project is developing proposals and specifications for a number of services of this nature, including:

• S.E.E. PKI

• S.E.E. Mail

• S.E.E. Shared Workspace

2.2.2 A fundamental prerequisite for secure information sharing is that all participants are able to:

• Identify themselves and each other as having appropriate and sufficient identity for the purposes of engaging in e-government activities (including authorisation where necessary)

• Identify the systems and services that they need to access

• Obtain and validate each others' digital certificates.

2.2.3 Electronic Directory services are becoming widely used as a means of facilitating the identification and location of persons, services and other items of interest. The purpose of a Directory is to act as a single, authoritative and unambiguous point of reference.

2.2.4 For the purposes of e-government, particularly in the context of S.E.E. projects in the first instance, there is a requirement for a co-ordinated Directory service that can provide a minimum uniform view of agencies, persons, systems and services across the core government sector. This requirement has been articulated by most e-government project teams who have been consulted as part of this directories project (see Appendix 2 for details of consultation that has been undertaken) and who see the existence of a Directory as an essential prerequisite to the roll-out of their own systems.

2.2.5 Such a service needs to sit 'over the top of', not replace, Directories at individual agency level (either existing or future).

2.2.6 The co-ordinated S.E.E. Directory therefore should:

• Be seen as the authoritative source for the information that it holds, but...

• Hold as mandatory only the minimum information consistent with effective facilitation of the objectives of S.E.E. projects, and...

• Also be sufficiently flexible and extendable to be able to hold further optional information at the discretion of subscribing agencies

• Not unduly constrain individual agencies in their own Directory developments

• Not duplicate services and facilities offered by individual agencies

• Not be dependent on any particular architectural approach or technology.

2.3 Match with e-government objectives

2.3.1 The S.E.E. Directory is a key element in achievement of the e-government strategy as described in the document government.nz@your.service [ State Services Commission, April 2001] .

2.3.2 In this document, one of the 'essential characteristics' of e-government is Integration and Efficiency, which is described as follows:

"Information and services will be integrated, packaged and presented to minimise cost for both customers and departmental administration."

The strategy for achieving this involves integration both of services and their delivery to customers, and of the supporting back office systems of government agencies.

2.3.3 The S.E.E. Directory will make a major contribution to achieving this strategy by providing the basis for:

• Sharing and integrating data across S.E.E. member agencies in the first instance

• Reducing duplication in the capture, updating and handling of data

• Integrating and rationalising services

• Enabling services, agencies, people and locations to be located in a simple and consistent manner.

2.3.4 Availability of at least a working prototype of a S.E.E. Directory is recognised as an enabler of many other S.E.E. projects, including:

• S.E.E. PKI

• S.E.E. Mail

• S.E.E. Shared Workspace.

2.3.5 It is also seen as potentially important to the successful introduction of other e-government services and activities, including:

• Portal

• Metadata/GUIDE

2.4 Project principles

2.4.1 The development of the S.E.E. Directory policy is based on a number of principles, which have been generally agreed throughout the project and consultation process. These are:

2.4.1.1 Simplicity. The Directory should be as simple as possible from the outset. Simplicity aids understanding and also makes the task of interfacing to the Directory easier for subscribing agencies.

2.4.1.2 Open-endedness. The directory can be expected to grow over time. Growth should not be constrained by decisions made at an early stage.

2.4.1.3 Sound industry-standard data management practices. The Directory should follow current 'mainstream' technologies and practices. Again, this will assist agencies in interfacing to the Directory.

2.4.1.4 Security. Once implemented the Directory will form an important element of the national information infrastructure, and as such will require a high level of protection. It should never be accessible directly by the public, but will rather act as a 'back-room' facilitator of front-line systems.

2.4.1.5 Information, not process. The Directory will act as a 'passive' repository of information, whose contents will be largely controlled by subscribing agencies. It will not dictate process.

2.4.1.6 Technological neutrality. The choices made for the Directory in terms of technology and vendor should pose the minimum constraints on future development options.

2.5 Audience

2.5.1 The intended audience for this paper in the first instance is the S.E.E. Steering Group. Thereafter it will be circulated for comment among IS/IT managers across all departments.

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