3 Principles

3.1 Outcomes for Government

• Convenience and satisfaction: Services provided anytime, anyhow, anywhere; people will have a choice of channels to government information and services that are convenient, easy to use, and deliver what is wanted. This outcome will be achieved when:
• • many services are fully or partially delivered electronically (as appropriate)
  • traditional service delivery channels (counter, postal, telephone, etc.) continue to exist but are enhanced by the use of technology.

By interoperating using the e-GIF, agencies will provide services and information electronically in the way that people want.

• Integration and efficiency: Services that are integrated, customer-centric and efficient; information and services will be integrated, packaged, and presented to minimise cost and improve results for people, businesses, and providers. This outcome will be achieved when:
• • front-office integration is well developed, with many services redesigned and bundled together in ways that better meet customer needs
  • back-office integration is advancing through adopting the e-GIF and progressively building components of the service delivery architecture.

By interoperating using the e-GIF, agencies can work together electronically, acting more like a single enterprise than a collection of individual agencies.

• Participation: People will be better informed and better able to participate in government. This outcome will achieved when:
• • online participation becomes an increasingly important part of policy development and service delivery
  • democratic processes may be electronically enabled (e.g. e-voting in local body elections).

By interoperating using the e-GIF, agencies can make information available to people in ways that help them to participate in the processes of government.

3.2 Aims of the e-GIF

The e-GIF aims to improve the practical application of information and communications technologies (ICT) between the public and government, within and between agencies, and within a global context.

3.2.1 Improving the public face of government

People generally access government services out of need rather than choice. Their needs are seldom confined to the business of a single agency. Rather, people typically have to deal with several agencies to achieve their goals or meet their obligations.

One of the aims of the e-government programme is to make it easier for people to deal with multiple agencies by making good use of ICT. By making ICT systems and the processes they support interoperate, people will find it easier to do business with government as a whole. This does not mean that everyone has to be online to benefit from interoperability. If agency ICT is interoperating effectively, people dealing with public servants face-to-face or on the phone will also receive better service.

3.2.2 Improving agency use of ICT

Adopting common technical standards for ICT means agencies can focus more on the business outcomes the systems are designed to support rather than on technical choices that have little impact on service delivery.

Common technical standards also mean the collection of ICT systems across government is more valuable than the sum of its parts. Disparate systems that cannot work together are only valuable in and of themselves.

Adopting common technical standards also means that, across government, knowledge of these technologies will be concentrated rather than spread across numerous alternative and often proprietary technologies.

3.2.3 Operating in a global environment

The Internet, and the value it can deliver to government and people, relies on an agreed, standards based approach. By using the same standards based approach, agencies support the infrastructure of technologies that they increasingly rely on to deliver services and conduct the business of government.

Adopting common standards also helps governments in various jurisdictions to interoperate. This becomes important when dealing with matters that can only be handled in a regional or global way.

3.3 Governance of shared inputs

Agencies interoperate to:

• make better use of information and communications technologies (ICT) within government
• deliver an integrated service directly to people or business.

In both cases, collaborating agencies jointly provide inputs and must allocate the decision-making rights accordingly. Guidance on how to go about allocating decision-making rights is available from the ICT Branch of the State Services Commission.

3.3.1 Project management

Before committing significant expenditure on an initiative involving more than one agency, those involved should agree and put in place appropriate project management processes (see "Guidelines for Managing and Monitoring Major IT Projects").

3.3.2 Operational management

There should be some form of agreement for the ongoing operation of any initiative involving more than one agency. The content of the agreement will depend on the nature of the initiative, but the following areas should be considered:

• roles and responsibilities of each agency
• processes undertaken by each agency and the required service levels
• performance measurement for each agency's service and problem resolution
• data quality and problem resolution
• cost recovery between agencies.

3.4 Governance principles

The following principles underpin the governance of the e-GIF and its operation:

• The e-GIF will align with the E-government Strategy and the recommendations of the Review of the Centre.
• There will be a clear chain of accountability flowing from a Cabinet Minister with appropriate portfolio responsibilities.
• Adequate organisational resources and capabilities must support the governance arrangements.
• The governance arrangements will be consistent with public sector legal requirements.
• The principles of stewardship and custodianship apply, as set out in the Policy Framework of Government-held Information [CAB (98) M 22/27 refers].
• Roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities will be clear.
• The governance arrangements will build confidence in, and commitment to, the e-GIF from all its stakeholders.
• With regard to the day-to-day operation of the e-GIF, the governance arrangements will show a close fit with the responsibilities and capabilities of the organisations involved.
• The processes for maintaining, developing, and implementing the e-GIF should be inclusive and as consensual as possible.
• The governance arrangements must account for the complexity of e-government stakeholders and operating environments.
• Agencies that are required to adopt the e-GIF will be given the opportunity to take part in its governance.
• Agencies that are required to adopt the e-GIF will have access to a process for raising concerns over decisions made by the Steward or the Management Committee.
• The collective interests of government should be balanced with the interests of individual agencies and their stakeholders. Where this is not possible, the collective interest should be given greater priority.
• Decision-making processes will be transparent.