RSS & NZGMS added to e-GIF

Two Standards, RSS (RDF Site Summary) and NZGMS (New Zealand Geospatial Metadata Standard), have been added to the e-GIF (E-government Interoperability Framework) with the status of Recommended.

The e-GIF (e-Government Interoperability Framework)

The e-GIF is a set of policies, technical standards and guidelines covering ways to achieve interoperability of public sector data and information resources, information and communications technology (ICT) and electronic business processes. It is a collective asset of the public service and as such is intended that it be widely used in central and local government, not just by those agencies that have been explicitly directed by Cabinet (Cab Minute (02)18/2C refers) to adopt it.

Background

At the March 2005 meeting the e-GIF Management Committee agreed that the RSS (RDF Site Summary) standard and the NZGMS (New Zealand Geospatial Metadata Standard) should be added to the e-GIF with a status of Recommended.

What does this mean for your agency?

Agencies are strongly urged to use recommended standards. However, agencies do not have to take any action unless they are implementing new systems or updating existing systems and processes, at which point they must consider whether there are e-GIF standards that need to be used in the new work. A recommended standard is very likely to progress to an adopted (mandatory) standard once certain conditions are met. Therefore, it is to your benefit to start using recommended standards as soon as possible.

Please pass this information on to:

The attached document has further details about the two standards. Would you please make sure that anyone with responsibility for planning, managing or developing new IT systems, databases, etc. or undertaking major revisions of existing systems has access to this information. Interested parties might include CIOs, Technical Architects, IT Strategists, Solution Architects, Developers, Project Managers, Geospatial Data Producers and Managers, Data Custodians and Administrators, Application Builders, etc.

For feedback or more information:

If you have any questions or comments (favourable or critical) about either of these standards please email e-GIF@ssc.govt.nz, or write to Trudy Rankin, State Services Commission, PO Box 329, WELLINGTON.

Yours sincerely

Warren Tucker
Chair, e-GIF Management Committee

Distribution: Public Service Departments
Non-Public Service Departments
Selected Crown Entities
Local Authorities
Offices of Parliament