Nominations - Modernising government award

Bristol City Council has a proven track record of using new technology to broaden democratic engagement through e-petitions, discussion forums and campaign creation. Viewfinder’s underlying assumption is the fact that pictures, still or moving, are often the most effective way to communicate. This project uses Web2.0 techniques from successful sites such as YouTube and MySpace in order to create a new trusted and neutral social space. This use of multimedia techniques engages young people in the democratic process as well as addressing the fact that many people, of all ages, are turned off by the democratic process because “it is all about words”. The issue of user preference is also tackled by the ability to use mobile phones as one of the communication channels moving away from the dominance of the PC as the primary tool for eDemocracy.

A full evaluation is being carried out and will be fed back to the Department for Constitutional Affairs for wider circulation later this year. The main benefits anticipated are not just increased numbers of people being involved in the democratic process but increased levels of sophistication in users responses. The project has an expectation that by creating a more neutral/mutual space and by using a medium of choice for young people we are removing a major barrier and creating an opportunity for interaction with government. It is also hoped the young people involved with Viewfinder will gain a greater understanding of the relevance and importance of local government. Unlike other interactive sites Viewfinder, because it isn’t a commercial enterprise, has the unique position of being able to offer members of the community an opportunity to interact in a trusted environment and gain feedback which will encourage ongoing engagement.

Nominated by Catherine Howe, 08 May 2007

Great idea. Governments definately need to be catching up with their citizens in terms of application of technology, and this scheme appears to have the potential to improve confidence in goverments\' and councils\' abilities to communicate with their constituents.

Submitted by Duncan Nicholas, 08 May 2007

It is fundamental that Government websites are accessible in order to provide equal access and opportunity to people with Dyslexia, Literacy Difficulties, Visual Impairments and where English is a Second Language.

What is Browsealoud & how does it Modernise Government?

Browsealoud is an innovative solution for speech-enabling website content. Browsealoud continues to be the only speech enabling solution that offers dual colour highlighting, reads secure websites, alt tags, accessible Flash, form fields, MS Word and PDF documents.

Browsealoud has been enhanced to provide high quality voices, talking dictionary, MP3 option and text magnification display to improve the web experience of Government websites.

Browsealoud improves access to Government information to a further 20% of the population with literacy difficulties. Browsealoud will assist in Governments Legal Obligations (DDA, DED and PAS 78) and Social Responsibility towards their citizens.

Over the past number of years Browsealoud has been working closely with the British Council, Cabinet Office, Directgov, Home Office, Dept for Social Development, London Borough of Camden, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Bradford MDC, Coventry CC, Derby CC, Exeter CC, Herefordshire CC, Kent CC, Leeds CC, Liverpool CC, Manchester CC, North Yorkshire CC, Somerset CC and many more. Browsealoud currently has over 200 Local Government customers.

Testimonials

Mid Sussex DC chose Browsealoud as “it is a package that allows us to enable our website for those who do not find reading easy.”

Adur DC chose Browsealoud as “it is easy to use for the end user.”

Crawley BC chose Browsealoud as “it puts control in

the hands of the website user, because they have the Browsealoud plug-in.”

Browsealoud allows South Tyneside Council to adhere to important accessibility guidelines and it was so simple to set up on our website.

"Browsealoud gives us the opportunity to promote our products and services to a larger percentage of the population who have literacy difficulties and visual impairments. Through the introduction of Browsealoud on our site, we are very happy with the improvements in the accessibility of the website content."

Brent CC

30 May 2007

Browsealoud is a zero install solution and can be easily downloaded onto a PC or a USB keydrive and used anywhere. Browsealoud highlights each word as it is spoken to aid comprehension, improve reading and show users where they are on the page.

New Version

A new version of Browsealoud has been released with advanced features to make websites even easier to read. Browsealoud is the only truly accessible text-to-speech offering for website owners that reads all accessible website content aloud. Browsealoud is the only solution in the marketplace that will read secure web pages and Intranets with a free high quality voice and will read pdf documents in their original format. Browsealoud has a patent for the dual colour highlighting feature that highlights each word as it is spoken. This aids comprehension, improves reading and show users where they are on the page.

Reasons to choose Browsealoud:

Browsealoud software is chosen for its simplicity, user-friendliness and improvement to access of information.

Browsealoud:

• Improves user experience of the web

• Increases website accessibility

• Generates greater Digital Inclusion

• Reduces the cost of interaction with citizens

• Increases reading comprehension

• Is a free service to all website visitors

• Does not impact the security of the site

• Is easy to use

Browsealoud allows webmasters to:

• Reach a wider audience

• Make the site more usable to everyone

• Deliver a Positive User Experience

• Become part of a community of Browsealoud sites

“A greater percentage of the population will now be able to access information from Home’s website with ease. Home is committed to ensuring equal access to its services and Browsealoud is key to our commitment to equality, diversity and excellent customer service.” Mark McDonagh, Home Group

30 May 2008

Our approach has been to use existing mobile telephone technology and in particular it's texting capability and combine it with our council's E-mail system to put an innovative twist into communicating between the public and our CCTV Control Room.

The objective was to engage and empower the people living and working in the area we cover by encouraging them to take some responsibility in helping to fight crime and anti-social behaviour by giving them the ability to contact CCTV direct and by allowing them to provide information on things that concern them.

We believe that this is the first time that this type of interaction between the public and CCTV has been attempted in the UK or anywhere else.

Like all good ideas it was simple to set up and cost effective both in terms of money (entire capital cost was £7k) and in the work load, there has been no significant increase in the amount of work CCTV staff are required to do and yet we see a large increase in the flow of information.

This initiative has proved to be very popular with the public, media, our other partners and our own council who are considering rolling our texting services to other departments within the council. We have also been assisting other council's and police forces around the country who are considering setting up similar systems.

We believe that this is a good and cost effective use of existing technology and is worthy of your consideration.

Nominated by Martin Beaumont, 03 April 2007

The Texting service allows members of the public (and particularly young people)to report low level issues that can be verified by CCTV and ongoing incidents in a way that is highly accessible and immediate. This new service characterises the innovation used by the CCTV team to continual refresh their service and improve performance.

Nominated by Ste Thornley, 05 April 2007

This is an excellent example of best practice in a busy CCTV control room which I intend to copy when we open our new room early next year. It addresses a demand which needs to be met in a cost effective way and can easily be replicated in the CCTV conrol room which I manage.

Submitted by David Dodd, 15 May 2007

A very simple method of empowering the population to do something about crime and injustice.

Submitted by Rupert Cloke, 15 May 2007

Effective CCTV relies on accurate and current information. This initiative adrresses both and also engages community cohesion gaining peoples trust and support. An excellent idea that I shall be considering for my own location.

Submitted by Andy Jones, 15 May 2007

This is a really innovative idea and can be used to encourage young people to get involved in community safety action. It talks to them in a media they understand.

Submitted by Lynda Kilkelly, 15 May 2007

This excellent initiative seeks to connect young people to the CCTV system which is very relevent in a lively student/young persons city like Cambridge

Submitted by John Cowin, 15 May 2007

"The devil makes work for idle thumbs" - in this case an excellent piece of work. I'd like to copy this for our area, it makes excellent sense and should be highly commended.

Submitted by Andy Wells, 15 May 2007

Cambridge have a very active participation in developing new initiatives for Community Safety and especially CCTV. Another excellent idea and scheme

Submitted by Kevin White, 16 May 2007

The CSA’s website is a key tool in supporting Operational Improvement Plan delivery, and it had been long recognised that the existing site did not fulfil the requirements of the Agency, or its audiences (clients, stakeholders and media). The previous website was characterised by a high level of compliance with W3C accessibility standards, but otherwise marked by a lack of engagement with the audience, any serious consideration of usability in design, interface or architecture, and was, aesthetically, beyond bland: the entire site was laid out in a series of boxes, using the two primary colours from the Agency’s palette, and was clinical, unwelcoming and did not meet user expectations. The new CSA website, created through a process involving audience consultation, completely changes this approach with a vibrant and flexible design which has been proven to work through two rounds of user-testing.

This testing, and the over-arching revamp, addressed much more than just the visual appeal of the site; the Information Architecture has been completely revisited to ensure that the site meets the needs of its users, presenting the information in a task-based structure which seeks to avoid pigeon-holing users and enabling them to find the information they need quickly. Previously, that data had been laid out in a manner reminiscent of the CSA’s internal structure, which was neither logical nor intuitive for the audience.

In line with e-Government requirements, the site is accessible to the ‘AA’ level of the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and has been designed specifically to work in all modern browsers, as well as being fully compatible with assistive technologies.

Early evidence shows that the new website is a great success with the average dwelling time now 6 minutes and with far fewer visitors leaving after the homepage.

Nominated by Justine Ephgrave, 31 May 2007

Launched just over one month ago, the site has already attracted over 137,700 page views from 10,757 visits made by over 7,600 visitors – that’s almost 300 visits a day!

A range of interactive features such as ‘Dig and Discover’, latest news, the ‘countryside code’, online publications and research, and a vast array of information on the landscape, wildlife and environmental change, is helps educate the user. Interactive Mapping, designed to meet Double A accessibility standards, allows people of all abilities to explore walking routes and plan their Welsh countryside adventure, all from their own computer!

The website creates a great educational user experience which broadens knowledge and understanding on the environment. Aimed at users of all abilities and regardless of ages, the site is designed from the readers point of view and will be continuously updated as news becomes available.

Rob Owen, Head of Communication at CCW explains “As the site develops, our emphasis will be on ‘where you live’ – we will strive to highlight places, natural features and nature conservation projects near towns and cities, so that people can enjoy, and get involved with nature directly - without the hassle of travel.”

The site is also currently in the process of obtaining RNIB ‘See it Right Certification’ so it is officially recognised for its inclusiveness achievements – ensuring education about the Welsh countryside is available to all.

Nominated by Stel Grekos, 31 May 2007

Directgov mobile, built and tested by Cimex Media UK, is the first cross-government service available on mobile. For the first time, citizens can access key information and services on the move.

Key to Directgov mobile is location-based services that connect the citizen directly to local services. It enables the citizen to interact with government whenever they want to and wherever they are.

By entering a postcode or location, citizens can search for an ever-expanding range of services. For the first time, the NHS local service search is available on mobile devices. You can find local doctors, dentists, opticians, pharmacies, hospitals, walk-in centres and A&E.

Directgov mobile provides a fully searchable database of legal advice in England and Wales. Many of the people who need these services most do not have access to computers but do have an internet-enabled phone.

The service provides a gateway to local government services with a simple search of all local authorities in the UK. Users can find their council, and click the phone number to contact them directly. For people who need access to PCs and the internet, Directgov Mobile can tell you where to find their local UK online centre.

Directgov mobile also provides free access to the latest travel information from Transport Direct – latest delays to public transport and roads across the UK; as well as train arrival and departure times.

Whilst free from landlines, 0800 numbers are not free on mobile. Directgov Mobile includes a call-back service where citizens can access free careers and learning advice from learndirect and not pay for the call.

Nominated by Solange Nolan, 26 March 2007

Sounds very nice - even if it *is* being nominated by the marketing manager of the firm that built it. If DirectGov is anything to go by, though, I bet it doesn't work in Wales or Scotland.

Speaking of which, I have a question: if it's so bloody good, why don't you tell us where to find it?

Zero stars, I'm afraid.

Submitted by Peter, 25 April 2007

Your not the first person to mention this, Peter. It would seem the (many) comments have been removed, through sheer embarrissment I expect. So here are a few from a bookmarked page I luckily kept.

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What a steaming pile of manure! Local DirectGov has been a HUGE waste of taxpayers money and has delivered NOTHING of value. It stands as a shining example of this government's blundering incompetence in delivering IT projects (or anything else except perhaps illegal wars and undeserved death and misery for millions of Iraqis)

Submitted by Robert Johns, 11 April 2007

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This project has been an abject failure, and has served up nothing but unfulfilled promises. It was badly conceived, badly delivered and has wasted a mountain of cash. Those responsible for this farce of a project should be barred from public office for all time.

Submitted by Peter Lank, 11 April 2007

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I take it this nomination is some kind of April Fool's joke?

I'm a local authority webmaster; and LDG took stupendous amounts of my time to comply with whilst delivering essentially no traffic to the website. Typically we see a few 10's of referers per month from DirectGov / Local DirectGov compared with many tens of thousands per month from Google. No prizes for guessing where my time in search engine optimisation is better spent...

It would be worth investigating not just how much money has been directly spent on this shambles - and for what miniscule benefit - but also how much more has been spent in wasted time across 388 local authorities. perhaps a reputable magazine with an interest in civic society might care to carry out some enquiries.

Submitted by J James, 11 April 2007

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Congratulations to the Local Direct Gov team for once again giving everyone the opportunity to give them a public kicking. Welcome back, guys, you've been away too long!

I should like to pick up on one grain of truth in your self-congratulatory write up. The "engagement support officer" in my neck of the woods was indeed very helpful. In fact, the nature of the "support" was that they did ALL the work. 'Cos there was no way I was going to. I predicted a disaster at the time and I'm glad to see that my powers of prescience didn't fail me.

I loved the Prince2 comment too! Shame they forgot that every Prince2 project begins with a business case.

Can't wait for Government Connect to be nominated next year!!

Submitted by Jonty Grimbergen, 16 April 2007

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Bring back open.gov.uk!

Submitted by D Irectgove, 17 April 2007

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As Private Eye would say - 'trebles all round'!

Local DirectGov was a completely wasted opportunity to bring together disparate council information. This nomination consists of a tissue of half-truths, but does show how unknowledgable they assume those who award the New Media awards are. Now we know what happened to 'Comical Ali'...

Submitted by Marketing Gurus ahoy, 17 April 2007

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You can see how valuable Local Directgov is by taking a quick visit to www.directionlessgov.com

Submitted by Another LA worker, 18 April 2007

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In March my LA site received approximately 0.33% of its page views from visitors referred by Directgov and LocalDirectGov. Need I say more.

Submitted by G Brockbank, 18 April 2007

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As someone involved in the building of two sites that really links central and local government (www.bdirect.org.uk and www.bradford.gov.uk in case the award organisers want to take a look at how it should be done), can I just ask why there isn't the possibility of a zero, or even minus one, rating for this nomination.

Given that every local authority in England and Wales was required by the e-gov initiative to put a tick in the "register an interest in Local Directggov", it is extremely rich of them to say "all councils had to be engaged– a passive “done to” status was not an option."

Can anyone come up with a business case for the amount of time and money spent on providing a service to the customer who doesn't know which his local authority is (in our case these must be the citizens who have somehow avoided ever getting a council tax bill, as that certainly has our website plastered all over it...)

Submitted by Helen Clipsom, 20 April 2007

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As the escapade in Iraq showed us, you can throw as much money as you've got at something and get a result. Whether it was either the right result or a sustainable solution cannot, however, be guaranteed.

Submitted by Jonty Grimbergen, 23 April 2007

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This nominee is a joke right? Considering work being done by Local Authorities, which surpasses this nominee by far, I'd suggest it's a poor joke. Strike off this nomination. In fact, who is responsible for nominating this farcical site? Heads should roll (figuratively speaking of course)!

Submitted by Lee, 25 April 2007

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It's obviously some LDG saddo who nominated the programme, as nobody else would in a million years. What a joke!

Submitted by Lucy Davies, 25 April 2007

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Hey DirectGov, you're a month early with the April Fool!

Submitted by James, 29 April 2007

Submitted by Lee, 02 May 2007

Lee,

I think you may be a bit confused. Those comments were made in response to the Local Directgov nomination. http://www.newstatesman.com/nma/nma2007/nominations/20070301...

We do not censor the comments on this site just for being negative about an entry. This is an open forum to discuss these sorts of projects and we welcome everyone's opinions.

Submitted by charlotte, 04 May 2007

The HelpLive website delivers a unique service for deaf people and others with speech difficulties so that they may contact the DRC for advice and information on the DDA.

The service has been developed utilising innovative new media technology to provide an alternative and modern method for these very specific audience groups to contact the DRC easily and accessibly.

The website offers its audience a method by which they can register and book an appointment with DRC staff online through an attractive, accessible and usable interface. Once an appointment is approved through a bespoke administration system, users can chat online with an appropriate helpline advisor conducted through an easy to use, secure and accessible instant messaging service.

The entire site is fully managed by an administrator who will assign users with specific queries to advisors whom are best placed to provide guidance and advice.

Over 100 appointments were booked in the first month and the site has received positive feedback from users who had found it difficult using previous methods of communication. These include:

‘This online helpline is glowing for me because of its perfect accessibility for Deaf people. I prefer this rather than using a typetalk. I am really looking forward to contacting the DRC advisors again because it gains my self-confidence. I have already mentioned this wonderful system to Deaf people. I hope you will receive Deaf callers more than before.’

‘This is an excellent service for people with speech disabilities like myself. I wish more would consider it.’

The service offered by the HelpLive is a central government first!

Nominated by Stel Grekos, 31 May 2007

The main video sees Tony Blair congratulating Nicolas Sarkozy on becoming the new president of France. Visitors will also be able to watch the Prime Minister's sketch with comedienne Catherine Tate for this year's Red Nose Day as well as footage of his speeches and daily activities.

The site will allow all the usual YouTube features to be used, such as rating videos and adding them to playlists.

15 May 2007

Building and maintaining public confidence in its service has been at the heart of DVLA Personalised Registrations’ ethos since 1989 when the department was formed to make personal registrations widely available to the public. The advent of the web redefined how the public could interact with this DVLA service, creating easier access to the vast range of available registration marks, which now number in excess of 30 million.

In 2006 DVLA launched a new service specifically for the rapidly growing mobile environment and in-so-doing became the first department in central government to embrace this evolving technology.

The project was given three technical but public centric criteria that it must meet before the decision could be taken to commission it. These were:

1. The application must be capable of operating on most web enabled handsets

2. It must offer intuitive search capabilities to help customers explore the full potential of marks available within the huge database

3. It must deliver a fast response to data queries

As a result DVLA Personalised Registrations combined pda and wap mobile services supporting 2 distinct search functions; one designed for people who have some knowledge of the British registration system or already know what they are looking for and the other an intelligent search to take natural language keywords and query the entire database of over 30 million personalised registrations in under a second. For image-capable devices, the pda version also displays a graphical representation of the user’s results, providing helpful visual confirmation of their choice of plate.

This move to mobile technology has helped DVLA Personalised Registrations continue to deliver a more open and accessible environment for the public, further building on the department’s service orientation and it has become a pathfinder project, paving the way for the adoption of similar applications throughout DVLA.

Nominated by Louise Pierpoint, 31 May 2007

East Devon District Council is working with its recycling and refuse contractor, SITA (UK), to manage information flows seamlessly between the two organisations. This nomination relates to the management of requests for clinical waste collections, cancellations and changes. Data is collected and held once by the council's CRM database. It is presented on an externally facing webpage so that SITA can then pick up the jobs. The daily lists can be ordered by the crews or administrators using the Ajax technology and printed off the password-protected webpage up to the point that the collections begin at 4 in the morning. The council is using latest technologies to improve customer service and provide efficiencies in waste collections. These increase safety, effectiveness and value for money in partnership with a contractor. EDDC is unaware of any other council using technology in this way.

Nominated by James Corrigan, 19 April 2007

This sounds really interesting but is there any way of seeing it working?

Submitted by Paul Capaldi, 11 May 2007

Hi Paul. Thanks for the comment. I was going to ask to withdraw the nomination after jousting with The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/15/new_statesman_awards...) ;-)) so it's nice to get a bit of feedback!

Although we use a secure, password-protected webpage, this is an internal system with personal customer data on it, so we wouldn't be able to give you a view of the "live" system. I'll try to get a modified screen dump up, though, so you can see what it looks like and how it works. Feel free to contact me at EDDC and I'll talk you through it. Cheers. James

Submitted by James Corrigan, 16 May 2007

Previous eConsultations were run by the Hansard Society but this work has now been taken on by Parliament itself. Current consultations include:

Medical Care for the Armed Forces - Defence Committee

Local Government and the Draft Climate Change Bill - Joint Committee on the Draft Climate Change Bill

It's taken a lot of effort to get this far and many people could be credited. More details can be found here: http://www.idealgovernment.com/index.php/blog/parliamentary_...

30 May 2007

The number of people who suffer from food allergy in developed countries seems to have increased in recent years, and about 20-30% people in the UK believe they are intolerant to one or more foods. Tests show that about 1 million people in the UK actually have a food allergy.

People with some food allergies, particularly to peanuts, have to be extremely careful what they eat. If someone has a severe food allergy, this can cause a life-threatening reaction. About 10 deaths a year in the UK are caused by food allergy. Food intolerance doesn't involve the immune system, but if someone eats a food they are intolerant to, this could make them feel ill or affect their long-term health.

The Food Standards Agency carries out a range of work on food allergy and intolerance, including working with manufacturers and caterers to make sure that that any food they produce that may pose a risk to people with an allergy or food intolerance is labelled clearly. But sometimes products get onto the market that are not labelled correctly and so can put people with an allergy at risk.

So this year the Agency set up an Allergy Alert system so that people with an allergy or food intolerance can receive a message direct to their mobile phone as soon as the Agency has information on a product that could pose a risk to them. They can also sign up to email alert system. All details of allergy alerts that the Agency issues are on its website.

We see this as part of the Agency’s work to protect consumers and enable people to access this part of our work in the way that is most convenient to them.

25 May 2007

The Digital Dialogues initiative encourages central Government departments, agencies and ministerial offices to pilot ways of using emerging media (blogs, forums, webchats) to engage citizens.

The Ministry of Justice (formerly, the Department of Constitutional Affairs) commissioned the Hansard Society to oversee the project in December 2005. Since then, 18 case studies have been piloted and evaluated across central government, using mostly open source software. Examples include David Miliband MP’s blog and that of the Food Standards Agency’s Chief Scientist; the Law Commission and Party Funding Review deliberative forums; and Phil Woolas MP and Ruth Kelly webchats. These case studies provide practical examples of how technologies can be incorporated into formal democratic engagement processes and structures.

In addition to piloting technologies and techniques, the project has surveyed those involved to develop an understanding of user expectations and experiences of online engagement. Responses to the surveys offer unique insights into the behaviour, attitudes and background of users, which will assist Government to shape future public participation exercises.

The Hansard Society and the Ministry of Justice have made an excellent contribution to the eDemocracy field through the Digital Dialogues Project. Their innovative work in this area is at the forefront of activity to modernise government.

Nominated by Stephen Ward, 25 May 2007

In a short period of time, Jimmy Leach has transformed No10's apporach to new media. he executed the e-petitions strategy which has resulted many millions of people engaging with the website. He has also instituted a series of podcasts featuring the PM and personalities such as Eddie Izzard, Stephen Fry, Chris Evans, Bill Bryson and more.

Nominated by Mark Flanagan, 07 March 2007

The petitions and so on are important steps but what is the biggest change is in the attitude - the digital strategy now seems to be one of openness and awareness of the possibilities of the web, and that is extremely significant.

Submitted by Nikki Sturzaker, 21 March 2007

The change in the website has been significant. Going from a dry, unimaginative format to a more engaging and rewarding visit has been extraordinary. It may seem a small thing but as a citizen to have a direct voice into Downing Street has got to be a huge step forward and more listening to the people, not just hearing them, must become an increasingly valuable asset to any premier, now and in the future. Thank you Jimmy, long may this development continue.

Submitted by johnfcoll, 26 March 2007

Few people have made such an impact in such a short period of time - e-peitions has changed campaigning forever, the YouTube Channel is a stroke of genius and the podcasts are even interesting (unlike the Guardian's)

Submitted by Craig Blackmore, 24 May 2007

The Jobcentre Plus website has been designed to make finding the information you want easy, fast and efficient.

18 May 2007

For bringing government communications to a wider audience using a simple, accessible medium

18 May 2007

Local Directgov joined up all 388 local authorities in England. To do this all councils had to be engaged– a passive “done to” status was not an option. The team working approach planned and executed to achieve this result was both pioneering and unprecedented.

LDG employed 2 innovative strategies which contributed to the success of the project. First it employed (seconded) local government officers to engage with their peers and second, many of these staff were regionally based. Experience and local knowledge opened many doors which may otherwise have been closed. Further, these enagagment support officers did what it said on the tin – they offered support. This real, local and helpful approach was appreciated by the stakeholders. .

The network established proved a huge success, strengthening local/central government relationships and raising credibility in the Department for Communities and Local Government’s (DCLG) ability to deliver. The same formula will now be used to roll out Government Connect, a National programme supported by DCLG.

The projects and programme were successfully delivered with the effective use of 'PRINCE 2' Project management methodology and 'MSP' Programme management. Key to the implementation and deployment of LDG was effective stakeholder communication and management. Multiple channels of communication were employed including e-mail alerts, feedback forms from events, articles in magazines, journals, newsletters, ambient media, workshops, conference, 'How to guides' posted in website, face-to-face engagement.

LDG’s unique technical solution has changed public perception of accessing online Local Authoritiy services. The virtual one-stop-shop gives a simple seamless transaction from Central Government through to local services.

The programme also delivered “VOICE” an online toolkit including a website publishing tool which enables Local Authorities to support their community groups, Neighbourhoods and/or Parish Councils to create their own websites

Nominated by Joanne Chew, 01 March 2007

What a steaming pile of manure! Local DirectGov has been a HUGE waste of taxpayers money and has delivered NOTHING of value. It stands as a shining example of this government's blundering incompetence in delivering IT projects (or anything else except perhaps illegal wars and undeserved death and misery for millions of Iraqis)

Submitted by Robert Johns, 11 April 2007

This project has been an abject failure, and has served up nothing but unfulfilled promises. It was badly conceived, badly delivered and has wasted a mountain of cash. Those responsible for this farce of a project should be barred from public office for all time.

Submitted by Peter Lank, 11 April 2007

I take it this nomination is some kind of April Fool's joke?

I'm a local authority webmaster; and LDG took stupendous amounts of my time to comply with whilst delivering essentially no traffic to the website. Typically we see a few 10's of referers per month from DirectGov / Local DirectGov compared with many tens of thousands per month from Google. No prizes for guessing where my time in search engine optimisation is better spent...

It would be worth investigating not just how much money has been directly spent on this shambles - and for what miniscule benefit - but also how much more has been spent in wasted time across 388 local authorities. perhaps a reputable magazine with an interest in civic society might care to carry out some enquiries.

Submitted by J James, 11 April 2007

Congratulations to the Local Direct Gov team for once again giving everyone the opportunity to give them a public kicking. Welcome back, guys, you've been away too long!

I should like to pick up on one grain of truth in your self-congratulatory write up. The "engagement support officer" in my neck of the woods was indeed very helpful. In fact, the nature of the "support" was that they did ALL the work. 'Cos there was no way I was going to. I predicted a disaster at the time and I'm glad to see that my powers of prescience didn't fail me.

I loved the Prince2 comment too! Shame they forgot that every Prince2 project begins with a business case.

Can't wait for Government Connect to be nominated next year!!

Submitted by Jonty Grimbergen, 16 April 2007

Bring back open.gov.uk!

Submitted by D Irectgove, 17 April 2007

As Private Eye would say - 'trebles all round'!

Local DirectGov was a completely wasted opportunity to bring together disparate council information. This nomination consists of a tissue of half-truths, but does show how unknowledgable they assume those who award the New Media awards are. Now we know what happened to 'Comical Ali'...

Submitted by Marketing Gurus ahoy, 17 April 2007

You can see how valuable Local Directgov is by taking a quick visit to www.directionlessgov.com

Submitted by Another LA worker, 18 April 2007

In March my LA site received approximately 0.33% of its page views from visitors referred by Directgov and LocalDirectGov. Need I say more.

Submitted by G Brockbank, 18 April 2007

As someone involved in the building of two sites that really links central and local government (www.bdirect.org.uk and www.bradford.gov.uk in case the award organisers want to take a look at how it should be done), can I just ask why there isn't the possibility of a zero, or even minus one, rating for this nomination.

Given that every local authority in England and Wales was required by the e-gov initiative to put a tick in the "register an interest in Local Directggov", it is extremely rich of them to say "all councils had to be engaged– a passive “done to” status was not an option."

Can anyone come up with a business case for the amount of time and money spent on providing a service to the customer who doesn't know which his local authority is (in our case these must be the citizens who have somehow avoided ever getting a council tax bill, as that certainly has our website plastered all over it...)

Submitted by Helen Clipsom, 20 April 2007

As the escapade in Iraq showed us, you can throw as much money as you've got at something and get a result. Whether it was either the right result or a sustainable solution cannot, however, be guaranteed.

Submitted by Jonty Grimbergen, 23 April 2007

This nominee is a joke right? Considering work being done by Local Authorities, which surpasses this nominee by far, I'd suggest it's a poor joke. Strike off this nomination. In fact, who is responsible for nominating this farcical site? Heads should roll (figuratively speaking of course)!

Submitted by Lee, 25 April 2007

It's obviously some LDG saddo who nominated the programme, as nobody else would in a million years. What a joke!

Submitted by Lucy Davies, 25 April 2007

Hey DirectGov, you're a month early with the April Fool!

Submitted by James, 29 April 2007

Interesting to see The Register finally picking up on this — I would have joined the collective steam-letting before but it seems to be to - well - hot air.

We do need directgov. For one thing, every other country's got a portal.

But the fact is that the chief gatekeeper to government services online is currently Google, and will be for the foreseeable future.

Not only does Whitehall not seem to be dealing with this but neither do local authorities — so be careful casting too many stones.

Submitted by Paul Canning, 15 May 2007

Joanne Chew is the project manager for...errr. oh, Local Directgov. No shame.

Submitted by Oliver, 16 May 2007

A simple, easy to understand, feedback-loop equipped nationwide civic reporting tool built in a few weeks, for under £20,000. All the code is open source, and the service is undergoing continual iteration in response to requests from users and councils.

Nominated by Tom Loosemore, 29 May 2007

A simple, easy to understand, feedback-loop equipped nationwide civic reporting tool built in a few weeks, for under £20,000.

All the code is open source, and the service is undergoing continual iteration in response to requests from users and councils.

Nominated by Tom Loosemore, 29 May 2007

A simple, accessible, easy to understand, feedback-loop equipped nationwide civic reporting tool built in a few weeks, for under £20,000.

All the code is open source, and the service is undergoing continual iteration in response to requests from users and councils.

Nominated by Tom Loosemore, 29 May 2007

e.g. http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax

the site has clear advocacy benefits for anyone to be able to create a petition on an issue and allow others to state their support for the petition. The guy who created the traveltax petition was one guy typing into a web form - he didnt aim to start a national movement, but did because so many people agreed with his statement.

Anyone can advocate a position or change, have it posted to the site, and then see what happens.

Nominated by Sam Smith, 15 May 2007

The petitions site is an example of how government can potentially be more open and democratic.

29 May 2007

No.10 Web team deserve the award for having the cojones to do want to try something so obviously risky, but worth it.

MySociety deserve the award for building a typically simple site, while retaining all the safeguards regarding personal data that one would expect from the organisation responsible for WriteToThem.com and Pledgebank.com.

Plus, anyone who can engineer a technical solution capable of serving a sustained peak well in excess of 150 email-validated registrations a second on a few thousands pounds-worth of hardware deserves serious plaudits.

Finally, both deserve a medal for holding their nerve amid a mainstream media maelstrom of rare intensity, in circumstances that could hardly have been more adverse.

The fact that MPs are now keen to have their own e-petitions service on parliament.uk is testament to the power of a good idea, well executed. Good job all the MySociety code is open-source.

Nominated by Tom Loosemore, 29 May 2007

No.10 Web team deserve the award for having the cojones to try something so obviously risky, but worth it.

MySociety deserve the award for building a typically simple site, while retaining all the safeguards regarding personal data that one would expect from the organisation responsible for WriteToThem.com and Pledgebank.com.

And anyone who can engineer a technical solution capable of serving a sustained peak well in excess of 150 email-validated registrations a second on a few thousands pounds-worth of hardware deserves serious plaudits.

Finally, both deserve a medal for holding their nerve amid a mainstream media maelstrom of rare intensity, in circumstances that could hardly have been more adverse.

The fact that MPs are now keen to have their own e-petitions service on parliament.uk is testament to the power of a good idea, well executed. Good job all the MySociety code is open-source.

Nominated by Tom Loosemore, 29 May 2007

For innovative deployment of information using new media resources

17 May 2007

A great resource for anyone who need information about the workings of Parliament

21 May 2007

Radiowaves is an online resource that is now installed in hundreds of schools UK wide. It enables children and young people to create radio programmes on any subject safely and easily online.

Young people in Borehamwood decided to use Radiowaves as platform to discover more about democracy. Specifically they wanted to know why and how decisions were being made in their area and why they were never consulted. The DCA also got involved and the project team was actually invited to Houses of Parliament to present their findings to MPs and VIPs. This is the case study of Hertswood School:

Hertswood High School in Borehamwood set up their own radio station to make programmes on the issues that affected them in their community. They interviewed local people, the Local Council and the Police Force to discover how, where and why community decisions were being made.

The interviews enabled the students to discover how voting and democracy operated, and they then made further radio programmes to explain their findings. These included an election campaign, raps and documentaries. The Radiowaves site also allowed other students to vote on the issues concerned.

The local council has now revised its consultation plans and the student radio station now plays a part in representing the thoughts and opinions of the youth in Borehamwood.

The project proved hugely successful in using new technologies and real life experience to engage young people in local issues important to them, giving them the confidence to become more active citizens. The skills, knowledge and understanding gained have formed a strong foundation for sustainable democratic engagement.

Martin Owen from Nesta Futurelab commented on the project,

“Trying to enfranchise the disenfranchised in an incredibly important part of this project. To give voice to those who feel they are voiceless.”

www.radiowaves.co.uk/dca

Nominated by Al Fox, 04 April 2007

The Respect Task Force recognized that its website was failing to motivate either of its public and professional audience groups to engage more positively with the government’s Respect Agenda.

They established some ambitious goals for its new web presence. First to satisfy the informational needs of both of these audiences. Second it needed to accomplish a wide range of challenging tasks – perhaps the most complex of which was to encourage previously unconnected groups of professionals (eg, the police, doctors and health professionals, social workers, religious and community groups, teachers and outreach workers) to form online communities.

These new features and functions had to be incorporated into a common content management system and be easily updated by the client without support from its web development agency (MRM Worldwide). Due to the sensitive nature of the information being provided, the site also had to assure users of absolute privacy and security while still being easy to use.

It is rare for such an organization to undertake such deep and honest reflection, but this has paid dividends in enabling the Task Force to rebuild its online presence from scratch.

By focusing on the needs of its users, through user testing rather than the organisation’s internal agendas, they have overseen a radical transformation in the fortunes of its online presence.

The result is a fresh, dynamic website that motivates its users to spend more time there and engage more deeply with the content. In fact, the web statistics show that in the first few months there was a 1,117% increase in hits to the site, with commensurate uplift in duration of visits.

The Respect Task Force worked intelligently and patiently to guide the creation of a website that significantly improves the way that professionals and the public engage with one of the government’s highest-profile social policies.

Nominated by Nigel Hewson, 31 May 2007

Around 300 people in one of the UK’s most deprived boroughs are selling their Slivers-of-Time around other commitments as a result of our pilot. Their buyers included corporations, the public sector and small businesses.

Early signs are that “bits of work” can make a life changing difference for people who can’t accomodate an old-fashioned job. Purchasing those bits from trained individuals could lead to much more responsive public services.

29 May 2007

The underlying strategy was to improve the usability of a high content website with enhanced design, information architecture and accessibility, while keeping it easy to maintain and develop. Features include information on finance and grants, taxes, buying and selling businesses, starting up, health and safety, and more!! There is a ‘My Business’ section allowing users to personalise information and online forms. Other interactive tools include online guides, directories and business support.

This site has been redesigned to modernise government and ensure users get a great and easy user experience – thus building a stronger relationship. Site enhancements centred on increasing the overall visual impact of the site, navigational structure and clarity was dramatically improved, and page layouts were completely reworked. A programme of user testing further refined the interactive designs.

When first launched 400,000 unique visitors used the site every month and this had risen by 15.4% on average month-on-month. SBS were inundated from other government departments for advice on their approach to site design and usability. Users were finding this a really useful resource and registrations grew by 5% on average per week. When asked, 91% of visitors said they’d use the site again and 86% would recommend it to a friend or colleague.

Nominated by Stel Grekos, 31 May 2007

SolihullActive emerged from the borough's Physical Activity Strategy. It is a high-profile publicity campaign and branding exercise to reinforce health messages on physical activity. At the heart of the initiative is an online database of local leisure activities – www.solihull.gov.uk/activities. Solihull's ambition was to provide an impartial and comprehensive source of information on sport and recreation opportunities through a partnership spanning the public, private and voluntary sectors. The portal also provides a cost-effective and sustainable solution to the inactivity epidemic and obesity time bomb.

The project emphasises the role of Sport and Physical Activity in helping to deliver Solihull Council's strategic objectives and priorities – particularly:

* Objective 3: Closing the gap of inequality (improving people’s lifestyle choices, including diet, smoking and physical activity)

* Priority 7: Reducing inequalities in health, education, employment and leisure.

IMPACT & EVALUATION

* 270 physical activity providers had registered by April 2007 offering a total of 5,700 hours of sport and physical activity each week.

* SolihullActive was highlighted as a model of best practice by the Institute of Leisure & Amenity Management (ILAM) in the May 2006 edition of The Leisure Manager (double page feature). Also featured an Innovation case study in the 11 September edition of Regeneration & Renewal.

* Another SolihullActive case study has been published by The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) at www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/6448246

* With SolihullActive, Solihull Council was selected as a top finalist in the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Service Awards 2006: Best Information & Communication Technology Initiative.

Nominated by David Whitehouse, 24 May 2007

What an excellent service the SolihullActive database has been! I have had several people contact me as a result of using the website and there are now students on my Thursday evening course. My wife, Jackie has also received enquiries for her Ballet High dance school.

Submitted by Steve Lilwall, Soccer Start, 25 May 2007

The dozens of people involved in openinnovation.net took a bold risk to bid for a public contract. They elected to construct their bid online and in public, leveraging extra ideas and energy which ultimately can only benefit what the public gets for it's money. This could mark a whole new model for government tenders and the value of collaboration to deliver public good.

Nominated by Nick Booth, 18 May 2007

The Open Innovation Exchange bid process was really interesting to be involved in - and for me has already sparked off many new ideas and actions... hopefully it will have the chance to be put in place and to spark many more for many more...

Submitted by Tim Davies, 18 May 2007

Even playing a small role and exchanging ideas with one or two other participants was an interesting and stimulating exercise which allowed new connections to be made and other ideas to be generated. This is an approach I will use elsewhere.

Submitted by Paul Nash, 19 May 2007

At last - the opportunity to create without bending to the preconceptions of fund holders

Submitted by Barrie Duke, 19 May 2007

It was a brave step to take, and pleasing to see that it actually arrived at a result, with an open-ness of process that was both astonishing, rapid, and productive!

Submitted by Roger Greenhalgh, 19 May 2007

It was really good to be able to just challenge ideas and feed into improving the bid, without the requirement to 'carve out a slice' for my institution.

I could dip in and engage in the ideas, without devoting 5 days full time to bid writing. Great experiment. Deserves support. And what is an innovation exchange for if it's not about SHARING ideas.

Submitted by Andy Dearden, 21 May 2007

Whether or not the team win the bid or not, they’ve done something genuinely new. It’s one of the neatest institutional hacks I’ve seen in a long time.

Submitted by Paul Miller, 22 May 2007

A completely refreshing and original approach to writing a bid. They totally deserve to win!!

Submitted by Matt Stevenson-Dodd, 22 May 2007

A very innovative approach that encouraged reflection on the drivers of innovation

Submitted by Kerry McCarthy, 22 May 2007

It will be very interesting to see what results from this revolutionary idea. It deserves to succeed if only to embarrass all past and present bidders for not seeing that this is a way forward.

Submitted by Keyham Books - Rural Enterprise, 22 May 2007

If anyone wants to understand capacity building in it's real sense look no further.

The service development model that's been developed here turns current thinking on it's head. At last an opportunity for the sector to learn from itself through doing and developing new services. Much better than being trained to do by others.

Submitted by Simon Marshall - What's Your Point ?, 23 May 2007

An example of what can be done by people who are not afraid to try something different. Open Source in action and a worthy winner of the category.

Submitted by alex stobart, 23 May 2007

A model which, if widely adopted, has the potential to produce real change and save the time wasted in writing "failed bids"

Submitted by Peter Gray, 24 May 2007

This has to be one of the most simple but effective uses of social software I've seen yet. Hurrah for the commons!

Submitted by teterouge, 30 May 2007

I think the approach is fantastic and is a great model for an entirely different way of approaching tenders and bids.

Submitted by Dave Dawes, 31 May 2007

All too often public sector organisations spend time and money creating new technology solutions and fail to consult real users either in terms of (i) asking them what they want (ii) whether what is already there works for them.

The aim of the Usability Exchange is to transform the attitude of public sector organisations so that they engage with real users on a regular basis. In this way they can become genuinely user-focused and user-centered rather than technology led.

Nominated by Stefan Haselwimmer, 30 May 2007

All too often public and private sector organisations spend time and money creating new technology solutions and fail to consult real users either in terms of (i) asking them what they want (ii) whether what is already there works for them.

The aim of the Usability Exchange is to transform the attitude of public and private sector organisations so that they engage with real users on a regular basis. In this way they can become genuinely user-focused and user-centered rather than technology led.

Nominated by Stefan Haselwimmer, 30 May 2007

For exploring innovative communications in government from an interesting and unique first person perspective.

17 May 2007