Tuesday, 7 September 2010
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Central Government
Hackers raise cyber security fears in Philippines
The vulnerability of the Philippines’ government web sites was again exposed by hackers last week, prompting renewed calls for the introduction of a Cybercrime Bill which has been on the legislative backburner for a decade.
Central Government
India targets Google and Skype on data security
First BlackBerry. Now Google and Skype. The government of India ...
Central Government
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Taiwan reveals e-govt plans at FutureGov Summit China
Speaking to 120 senior government officials at today’s FutureGov ...
31 August 2010 | News
Australia's open govt data drive
The economic value of government information can increase four-fold within a year if it is made freely available to public. Its social value could increase by even more. So thinks Peter Harper, Chief Operating Officer of Australia’s Bureau of Statistics, who says that public services are on the “cusp of a revolution” driven by open government data.
30 August 2010 | News
Philippines' new govt ICT chief on challenges ahead
Ivan Uy, the newly appointed Chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology in the Philippines, has revealed his priorities in an interview with FutureGov. The CICT’s future has been in doubt since before the general elections in May, when a bill to create a full-fledged department of ICT was thrown out by congress.
23 August 2010 | News
E-elections put to vote in Australia and Indonesia
The government of Australia, currently in the throes of a general election, is toying with the idea of automated polling for the next election, an Australian Electoral Commission official has told FutureGov. Meanwhile Indonesia has revealed plans to introduce electronic voting in time for the country’s next presidential election in 2014.
17 August 2010 | News
HK govt puts cloud to the test
Hong Kong’s Office of the Government Chief Information Officer has said that while cloud computing could have “profound implications” for how government procures IT, “major issues” stand in the way of adoption.
16 August 2010 | News
Is Facebook suitable for govt transactions?
Last week, an airline in the United States became the first company to allow customers to book directly through its Facebook page. Will citizens soon be able to transact directly with government on social media? In interviews with FutureGov, officials in Indonesia, Australia and Singapore say that despite data security concerns, some government transactions on Facebook or Twitter will very soon be possible.
6 August 2010 | News
BlackBerry data encryption in Asia
After a jittery week for Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry, the Indonesian government has said that it will not ban the popular device. But what about governments elsewhere around the world?
30 July 2010 | News
How useful is Twitter’s government service?
The news that Twitter will launch a service for public servants has been met with interest from prominent tweeting officials in Asia. However, Trudy Rankin, CIO of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, told FutureGov that government business should not be dictated to by the popular micro-blogging site.
28 July 2010 | News
Australia’s GCIO talks tough at FutureGov Forum
Australia’s Government Chief Information Officer, Ann Steward, urged civil servants to become “Gov 2.0 activists” at the FutureGov Forum Australia this week (Tuesday 27th July). She also had strong words for government agencies on the accessibility of their online services.
12 July 2010 | Feature
Should policy be debated in social media?
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez recently appointed 200 people to read through the 50,000 messages he has received from his 250,000 followers since he opened a Twitter account. His critics complain that the rambunctious President should spend less time tweeting and more time trying to solve the country’s problems. But are the two …
30 June 2010 | Feature
Easy ways for govts to go green
As we enter the coming decade there seems to be a nagging question, a question that is frequently answered without any concrete proof. The question is simple yet profound in its implications for global citizens: ‘Is IT part of the problem or part of the solution to Climate Change? In his own words, Mike Mudd, the chief representative of the Open Computing Alliance (OCA) for Asia Pacific, argues why it is the latter.
29 June 2010 | Research
Sharing in govt: HK Vs Singapore
It’s good to share. But in government, sharing information between departments is not always easy, as a FutureGov Research report reveals.
29 June 2010 | News
Japan reveals key e-govt projects
In an exclusive interview with FutureGov, Japan’s e-government expert Kyosuke Tsuji, Deputy Director, Administrative Management Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, revealed his country’s priority projects - IT consolidation and improving citizen service delivery.
22 June 2010 | News
Open data guru urges govts to let go
One of the architects of the Obama Administration’s technology policy has hailed open data as a means to usher in a new era for accountability, collaboration and innovation in the public sector. But he insisted that for open data to live up to its promise, governments must learn to “let go” and embrace a culture of openness and accountability.
7 June 2010 | Interview
Australia's GCIO reveals priorities
In the wake of major reviews of the cost structure of government IT, and the use of social media by government, FutureGov sat down with Ann Steward, Australian Government Chief Information Officer, and General Manager of the Australian Government Information Management Office.
7 June 2010 | News
UN reveals changes to E-Government rankings
In an interview with FutureGov, the director of the United Nations E-Government rankings has revealed how the next survey will be modified to stay up to date with emerging trends.
31 May 2010 | News
Should civil servants be paid by performance?
Civil servants have a reputation for complacency at work, and doing only the bare minimum to get by to keep their jobs. Unfair? Probably. With this in mind, FutureGov asked senior public sector modernisers in China, India, Malaysia and Singapore if they think civil servants should be paid by performance.
24 May 2010 | News
Facebook warns govt users on privacy
More than 2000 Facebook pages are used by 35 federal agencies in the United States. Many more government agencies in Asia are now on Facebook, amassing millions of fans. But government Facebookers should be mindful of privacy issues when archiving content, a Facebook spokesman has cautioned in an interview with FutureGov.
18 May 2010 | News
OECD plots next generation e-govt indicators
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has entered talks with the producers of the major global e-government surveys with a view to launching new e-government indicators that focus on public sector performance.
11 May 2010 | News
Singapore reveals US$800m ICT procurement plans
The Singapore government has unveiled plans to spend S$1.1 billion (US$800 million) on ICT in the 2010 financial year, with a new government portal and a revamped road monitoring system among the 350 government ICT projects in the pipeline.
11 May 2010 | News
World Bank opens up development data
The World Bank is the latest information-rich organisation to free up its data for public consumption. The portal data.worldbank.org will give policymakers access to more than 2000 financial, business, health, economic and human development statistics, information that was previously exclusive to paying subscribers.
5 May 2010 | Interview
India: role model for govt transformation
India’s government is transforming apace. Since the introduction of the National e-Governance Plan in 2006 it has leapfrogged into a new era of governance. The world’s largest democracy still faces many challenges, but great opportunities lie ahead.
4 May 2010 | News
Why the Philippines needs a GCIO
Without a Government Chief Information Officer and an IT department with clout, the Philippines will be left behind the rest of Asia in terms of the efficiency and accountability of its government. So says the head of the Chief Information Officers Forum, a foundation set up to promote ICT-led governance in the archipelago.
28 April 2010 | News
How govts are making sense of social media
Social media presents government with a headache-inducing glut of unstructured data from which it is difficult to make any sense. But as governments in Australia, Hong Kong and Europe reveal in interviews with FutureGov, analytics tools that trawl blogs and social networks are helping to test public sentiment and shape policy with increasing efficiency and effectiveness.
21 April 2010 | Spotlight
Japan's green government cloud
Asian governments are aggressively exploring how they can leverage cloud computing to enjoy the benefits of scaleability, costs and manageability. Japan is no different. But Japan’s key driver, uniquely, is the desire to reduce its environmental impact. Director Hideaki Sugiura from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry explains why to Kelly Ng.
11 April 2010 | News
Why gov 2.0 calls for risk managers
If governments are to use social media more effectively, they must learn to operate in environments over which they have no control. In interviews with FutureGov, government modernisers from Hong Kong, Australia and the UK said that the “wild west” of web 2.0 calls for a new approach to risk management.
9 April 2010 | Spotlight
The 5Cs
A Fuji Xerox Vision for Education. Aware of the challenges the education industry faces, Fuji Xerox’s broad approach to helping education institutions achieve Lifelong Learning Beyond Classroom, is outlined by the 5Cs to allow teachers, IT and administrators to focus on their value added work.
9 April 2010 | News
Korea exports e-government model to Japan
One hundred years after South Korea adopted Japan’s administrative system under colonial rule, Korea has struck an historic deal to sell its e-government model to Japan. In an interview with FutureGov, a leading Korean academic in public administration said the deal marked a shift for Korea “from playing catch-up to leading the way” for e-government in East Asia.
8 April 2010 | News
Do the benefits of open govt data outweigh the costs?
“Data belongs to the people, particularly that held by the public sector,” Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said recently. But putting government data online is not without risks. FutureGov asked officials in Singapore - which launched an open data initiative last week - South Korea, the UK and the Netherlands whether they feel that the benefits of open government data outweigh the costs.
7 April 2010 | News
India’s IT chief calls for closer private sector ties
Speaking to over 150 senior government officials at the FutureGov Forum India 2010 this morning, R. Chandrashekhar, Secretary IT, Ministry of Communications and Technology of India, revealed the growing opportunities of citizen service delivery through mobile phones and the need for closer Public Private Partnerships (PPP).
29 March 2010 | News
Singapore Health Ministry on social media
With its Minister blogging personally about topical healthcare issues and sharing policy issues on Facebook, the Singapore Health Ministry is now seen as an example of how to engage citizens using social media. Karen Tan, the Ministry’s Director of Communications, shares the journey as well as the learning points.
26 March 2010 | News
Hong Kong revamps govt portal
Hong Kong’s government web portal has been revamped with a new layout and enhanced functionality. The simple and goal-oriented design aims to make the GovHK more useable and efficient, providing a ‘lively and close-to-market’ experience for users.
19 March 2010 | News
Will Facebook profiles replace govt web sites?
It’s all the rage for ministries and agencies to have a Facebook pages these days. Government is going where its citizens are. So why bother having a web site at all? The idea may seem farfetched. But as officials from Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Netherlands reveal in interviews with FutureGov, government web sites could disappear into the ‘social cloud’ sooner than we think.
19 March 2010 | News
Dalian to host inaugural FutureGov Summit China
FutureGov magazine and the Dalian Municipal Government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the organisation of the first ever FutureGov Summit China, to be held on the 1-2 September 2010.
17 March 2010 | News
India’s govt performance guru delivers key speech
It is nine months since the Government of India announced a plan to overhaul the way it measures how well it is serving the public. The man behind that plan is Dr Prajapati Trivedi, a former economist at the World Bank and now the Indian government’s Chief Performance Officer, who will reveal how India is living up to its performance …
12 March 2010 | News
How government web sites build citizen trust
Government modernisers in Asia and Europe have stressed the importance of building transparent official web sites as a way to boost citizen trust. In interviews with FutureGov, public sector experts from Singapore and the Netherlands said that more needs to be done to make information on government web sites more accessible, timely and searchable if closer ties are to be built with netizens.
9 March 2010 | News
OGCIO reveals 2010 priorities at FutureGov Forum HK
Hong Kong’s Government Chief Information Officer Jeremy Godfrey laid out his department’s plans for this year and beyond at the FutureGov Forum Hong Kong this week (Tuesday, March 9th 2010). Joined-up government, driving greater efficiencies, exploiting opportunities of cloud and social computing, and using IT to tackle climate change will be the “big five policy drivers” for Godfrey’s team in 2010.
2 March 2010 | News
Turkey’s GCIO reveals success of citizen ID
Speaking exclusively to FutureGov, Dr. Ramazan Altinok, Head of E-government Project Group, Office of the Prime Minister of Turkey revealed how the government successfully implemeted a national ID database which formed the backbone of the country’s e-government infrastructure.
1 March 2010 | News
Citizens of Asia speak out on ID cards
In the run-up to the launch of the biggest citizen identity project ever attempted, privacy concerns are playing a defining role in the Unique Identification Authority of India’s plans to issue 1.2 billion people with their own ID number. With this in mind, FutureGov quizzed citizens in Asia for a regional snapshot of what people really think about ID cards.
1 March 2010 | News
UN defends relevance of e-government rankings
The United Nations has refuted suggestions that its E-government Survey has lost relevance in an era of increasingly diverse e-government ecosystems. The survey’s director, Haiyan Qian, told FutureGov that the rankings continue to serve as a guide to more efficient, open and transparent governance, and help public sector modernisers “put money in the right places” and avoid commonly made mistakes.
21 February 2010 | News
New Korean IT Agency President reveals priorities
Korea’s National Computing and Information Agency has placed cloud computing technologies, green IT and information security as top three priorities for 2010. Newly appointed President Chang Kwang-soo revealed to FutureGov his five-pronged strategy for the challenges ahead.
21 February 2010 | News
Korea hails California’s govt IT strategy
The South Korean government’s Director of Green IT has described the government of California’s plan to cut the energy its IT operations use by 30 per cent by 2012 as “very aggressive” as Korea embarks on its own mission to reduce energy consumption from 40 ministries and agencies by 15 per cent by 2013.
9 February 2010 | News
Eat an elephant bite by bite, and digest accordingly
Business process is an incremental journey. Will government CIOs become government Chief Process Managers in the future?
9 February 2010 | News
Should govts archive social media posts?
It is fashionable for government agencies to have a Facebook or Twitter account these days. But should tweets and status updates be backed up to leave a digital trail for transparency’s sake? Not all policymakers have made their minds up, as perspectives from the United States, Europe and Asia reveal in interviews with FutureGov.
9 February 2010 | News
How top US care network stays ahead
“Vigorously promoted” clinical guidelines combined with computerised decision support systems make Intermountain Healthcare a resounding success
9 February 2010 | News
Philippine govt ICT agency’s future in doubt
A week after a bill to create a fully-fledged Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) in the Philippines was thrown out by Congress, the future of the current agency responsible for IT hangs in the balance. As President Gloria Arroyo’s administration makes way ahead of elections in May, the Commission on Information and …
4 February 2010 | News
Medicine ‘much more complicated’ than aviation
People often compare safety of medical practice with that of flying an airplane. Dr David Bates, Chief of General Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a leading researcher in Health IT, told FutureGov that while medicine as a whole could never reach the safety level of civil aviation, there are areas which IT can help bring medical safety to comparable levels of civil aviation.
25 January 2010 | News
Time running out for Philippine govt IT agency
A bill to create a Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) in the Philippines, which has been pending in the national legislative for almost a decade, has just a few days to be passed before Congress is adjourned in time for general elections in May. Ray Roxas-Chua (pictured), Chairman of the Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT), told FutureGov that the bill faced “an uphill battle” to win the attention of Filipino lawmakers.
25 January 2010 | Spotlight
The next generation of green technologies
The need for climate and environment friendly initiatives has been well-documented in recent years: if businesses go on as usual, with no regard to the adverse impact their processes may have on the earth, the result will be natural disasters on an unprecedented scale.
19 January 2010 | Feature
Should data centres be outsourced?
Government data centre outsourcing contracts can help local IT players grow. This creates jobs and boosts the local economy. But the real dynamics of data centre outsourcing have been slow to take off in Asia. Why?
19 January 2010 | News
OGCIO leads green IT in HK
Hong Kong’s Office of Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) has been looking at how it can reduce the environmental impact of its public sector. Speaking exclusively to FutureGov, GCIO Jeremy Godfrey revealed the opportunities and challenges of green IT initiatives.
13 January 2010 | News
Asian govts eye gains from setting data free
More of the huge reserves of information locked away in the basements of government buildings should be made available to the public. So say government modernisers in Hong Kong, South Korea and Australia following the news that the Mayor of London has sparked an “information revolution” in the British capital by putting data online for public consumption for the first time, free of charge.
13 January 2010 | News
Korea e-govt helps cut emissions by 10%
The Korean government aims to reduce carbon emissions by 10 percent by 2012. Young-il Kwon, Director, Green IT Department, National Information Society Agency (NIA) revealed to FutureGov how the public sector will lead the way by greening its IT system.
13 January 2010 | News
Vietnam e-govt scam case prompts procurement rethink
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has urged developing countries to embrace transparency and accountability in their procurement practices following the news that a former Vietnamese deputy minister faces corruption charges over the failed e-government venture Project 21.
4 January 2010 | News
Singapore and China forge public sector training alliance
China and Singapore have struck a deal that will see the two governments share their experiences in public administration and training. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by China’s State Administration of Foreign Experts (SAFEA) and Singapore’s Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) at the …
18 December 2009 | News
Australian govt centralises ICT procurement
All information communications and technology products and services will be centrally procured by the end of this financial year, the Australian government has announced.
14 December 2009 | Interview
NZ local govt boosts communications
The City Council of Porirua in New Zealand has implemented organisational changes with a strong emphasis on improving communications among its staff, 30 per cent of whom mobile as well as with residents of the city. It is also quite innovate in greening its IT operations.
11 December 2009 | News
Hong Kong Police act over peer-to-peer data leakage
The territory’s personal data privacy watchdog said he was satisfied with the measures taken to mitigate the consequences and prevent reoccurrence of the recent leakage cases where confidential police documents appeared on the internet through a peer-to-peer file shairng application
10 December 2009 | News
British Library unveils futuristic storage facility
The £26m building will keep literary records in a safe, high-density environment with automated storing and retrieval by robots governed by algorithm
30 November 2009 | News
Crossing Hong Kong-Macau border made easy
Hong Kong residents will soon be able to enter Macau through electronic auto-clearance gates using their Hong Kong ID cards while those living in Macau will have the same privilege, according to a joint agreement by the two governments.
29 November 2009 | News
Malaysian hospital revamps data centre architecture
A practical approach to address the issues of down time and insufficient cooling which had been troubling Sunway Medical Centre’s IT department for a number of years
19 November 2009 | News
Asians split on the future role of government
Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and just as the global economy begins to recover from a painful downturn, Asian citizens have mixed feelings on whether government should have more control over industry and the distribution of wealth, according to a global BBC poll.
12 November 2009 | News
Mobile apps and internet of things to take off in China
With the availability of mobile broadband infrastructure, mobile applications for governments will take off in China, Professor Qu Chengyi, Member of the Advisory Committee for State Informatisation, has told FutureGov.
10 November 2009 | News
Govt calls IT industry’s green bluff
IT industry leaders are not doing enough to deal with electronic waste, governments, environmental activists, and community groups have claimed.
30 October 2009 | Interview
A new order in an old hospital
Dr Chan Wai Sin, Deputy Director of Macau’s Health Bureau and Director of Hospital Conde S. Januário, actively promotes e-health based on international standards, amid strong resistance in a 135 year old hospital.
14 October 2009 | News
IMPACT boss warns of long struggle with cyber crime
Datuk Mohd Noor Amin, the Chairman of the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats, or IMPACT, has warned governments of the “long-term struggle” with cyber criminality and the need for international cooperation to fight it.
13 October 2009 | News
Standards up at Government Technology Awards 2009
Winners at the Government Technology Awards 2009 have received praised for the “very high quality” of entries, particularly from developing countries in the region. However, there is still room for improvement in the Green Government category, noted Laurence Millar, former Government Chief Information Officer of…
5 October 2009 | News
South Korea greens national data centres
South Korea has committed to reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions of its national data centre by 18 per cent by 2013.
22 September 2009 | Spotlight
Three ways to go green: Fuji Xerox
Fuji Xerox recently launched The Eco Solution that will empower organisations to reduce cost, improve productivity, strengthen security and save the ecosphere in one seamless and efficient workflow with our know-how in document management.
22 September 2009 | News
Winning the war against cyber crime
What are governments doing to ensure that critical online operations remain operational when under attack from cyber criminals? FutureGov asked senior civil servants in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and the Philippines to reveal how they are preparing their defences against hackers.
18 September 2009 | News
One-stop cloud source launched for US federal agencies
The US government has launched Apps.gov, a dedicated web site for federal agencies to ‘quickly browse and purchase cloud-based IT services for productivity, collaboration and efficiency’.
15 September 2009 | News
Chinese city embraces paperless culture
The Office of Chengdu Environmental Protection Agency in Sichuan Province in China is pushing for public sector agencies to embrace paperless office culture. The idea is to improve operational efficiencies and reduce the government’s impact on the environment.
14 September 2009 | News
Can Cambodia play e-government leapfrog?
The government of Cambodia’s long awaited e-government guidelines have provided agencies with a roadmap for how to take their services online as the Kingdom looks to get up to speed with the global ICT sector. There is an opportunity for Cambodia to ‘leapfrog’ other developing countries and avoid past mistakes, Madhav Ragam, Director, Government & Education, Healthcare & Life Sciences at IBM’s Growth Markets Unit told FutureGov.
8 September 2009 | News
Malaysia rethinks green technology strategy
Malaysia’s new inter-ministerial green technology council has promised to galvanise efforts to form an integrated national green strategy.
8 September 2009 | News
US cyber security system sparks privacy row
A new version of a computer intrusion detection system being developed by the United States Department of Homeland Security has raised concerns from advocacy groups over privacy and the involvement of the National Security Agency (NSA) in the development of the software. The new system, known as Einstein 3, can reportedly read email as well as its original function, to detect malicious software.
3 September 2009 | News
Taiwan fake govt web site saga remedied in one hour
The sabotage of a Taiwan government web site by hackers last month was dealt with by the authorities in just one hour, and the perpetrators have now been caught, according to Liu Tian-cai, Administrative Court Commissioner for the Central Personnel Administration (CPU), the agency that came under attack.
1 September 2009 | News
E-voting in the Philippines on trial
There is not enough time to reliably and effectively test the electronic voting machines that will be used in next year’s general elections in the Philippines. So says Dr Pablo Manalastas, IT consultant for the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), a policy think tank that has been pushing for the source code of the voting machines to be released ahead of the polls on May 10th next year.
25 August 2009 | News
South Korea to launch smart offices
South Korea’s civil servants will be able to work in smart working centres in their own neighbourhood instead of commuting to their offices, according to Dr Kim Seang-Tae, President of the National Information Agency (NIA).
12 August 2009 | News
Korea forms commission to boost e-gov exports
South Korea’s Ministry of Public Administration and Security is organising an International Information and Communication Technology Collaboration Commission (ICTCC) to help the country export its e-government model.
11 August 2009 | News
US cybersecurity guidelines come under fire
A new set of guidelines on cybersecurity released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States has fallen short of the protection needed for government systems, a cybersecurity analysis group has warned.
4 August 2009 | News
Thailand plans e-patent system
Thailand’s Intellectual Property Department is planning to develop an e-Patent system that will enable citizens and companies to apply for patent protection or access information on intellectual property rights via the web.
29 July 2009 | News
Philippine president pushes for govt IT dept
Gloria Arroyo, President of the Philippines, has made an appeal to local lawmakers to pass a bill to establish a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), a bill that has been pending in the national legislature for five years.
29 July 2009 | News
HK expands cyber centre network
A pilot scheme to roll out District-Based Cyber Centres (DCCs) is to be expanded in Hong Kong as part of the government’s Digital 21 Strategy, which aims to give needy residents throughout the territory access to information and communications technology (ICT).
28 July 2009 | News
UK govt launches Twitter guide for civil servants
The UK government is developing a strategy for civil servants to use the microblogging service Twitter in the hope of giving government an “informal, human voice” with which to communicate with the public.
28 July 2009 | News
Calls for e-health to better serve rural Australia
The Australian government must focus on e-health initiatives to better serve rural areas, the Australian Medical Association has urged.
27 July 2009 | News
China and UK cooperate on network security
The Chinese State Council Information Office and the UK’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have agreed to combine their efforts to safeguard national network security and collaborate on information sharing and intelligence gathering.
23 July 2009 | News
US govt admits to being a web 2.0 laggard
Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra has admitted that the United States government is lagging far behind its citizens in its use of the internet to communicate, collaborate and solve problems using social networking platforms.
20 July 2009 | News
Vietnam deputy PM: consensus key to e-govt
Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has said that high levels of determination and agreement among government agencies are key to making e-government a reality in the fast-growing Southeast Asian country.
20 July 2009 | News
Cloud could boost inter-agency collaboration: US GCIO
Vivek Kundra, the United States Federal Chief Information Officer, has said that cloud computing could enable governments to better share information and boost collaboration among federal, state and local government agencies.
17 July 2009 | Feature
Legislator keynotes at Hong Kong govt event
Honourable Dr Samson Tam, Hong Kong’s Legislative IT Councillor, will open the Government Information Forum in Hong Kong on 19 August at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
13 July 2009 | News
Vietnam seeks India's help in IT development
Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communication Le Doan Hop has sought India’s assistance in building Vietnam’s e-government and developing concentrated Information Technology (IT) industrial zones.
13 July 2009 | News
Japan plots one-stop public services portal
Japan plans to create an online portal that will give citizens ”one-stop” access to a wide range of public services by 2013, the government’s IT Strategic Headquarters has announced.
7 July 2009 | News
India to help African state with e-government project
The government of India is set to help the African Kingdom of Lesotho set up a statewide e-network to facilitate services such as tele-education, tele-medicine and net connectivity for video conferencing among the heads of state.
7 July 2009 | News
Poor progress for Britain’s green govt strategy
A recent study by an environmental non-governmental organisation has highlighted the inadequacies of Britain’s green government strategy initiated a year ago.
6 July 2009 | News
Green mandate for China's civil servants
Government workers in China must start going green in order to keep their jobs. So says He Jiankun, Deputy Head, Committee of Experts, at the National Climate Change Coordination Committee.
1 July 2009 | Spotlight
Going Green – the Eco-Smart Way: Fuji Xerox
A green office is no longer just an indication of an organisation’s responsibility to the environment, and it is not just the IT department’s problem. The business case for a green office, in terms of reduced costs, improved efficiency and greater security controls is easy to see.
30 June 2009 | Spotlight
HP proposes a path to greener printing
Public sector organisations are often expected to take the lead in environmental sustainability. With tightening budgets and rising energy costs, green initiatives are seen as critical, if not necessary. And it is not just for branding reasons. Green initiatives can reap much desired cost savings in a challenging economic climate.
30 June 2009 | News
Dubai promotes ICT in push to save energy
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has launched a nationwide educational campaign to promote the use of modern information and communications technology and e-payment services that save time and energy.
23 June 2009 | News
Singapore Minister: govts should embrace culture of transparency
Many countries in Asia resist adopting better governance measures because it is the inefficiency and lack of transparency when issuing government licenses and permits that enable them to reap personal gains, a top Singaporean Minister has declared.
23 June 2009 | News
Supply chain management key to green govt: analyst
Supply-chain management software has a key role to play in helping the public sector meet its green mandate - but the products available are far from mature, according to analyst firm Ovum.
16 June 2009 | News
E-elections get green light in Philippines
The Philippines is pushing ahead with plans to hold its first automated elections next year.
16 June 2009 | News
E-govt is low on UN Development Agenda
While countries such as Singapore and Canada are recognised leaders in e-government, other United Nations (UN) member countries are still backward in their embrace of e-government practices, a UN representative has told FutureGov.
15 June 2009 | News
Obama electioneer worried about waning social media appeal
Scott Goodstein, the brains behind United States President Barack Obama’s online election campaign, told delegates at a conference last week (Wednesday 10 June 2009) that the effectiveness of social media platforms as a communication tool for government is likely to wane – and fast – in the coming months.
15 June 2009 | News
Mobile workforce poses cybersecurity threat: expert
Governments need to develop strategies to bolster cyber security as their workforces become more mobile, an information security expert has urged.
15 June 2009 | News
Australian e-project abandoned
The Australian federal government has ignored a funding request and has withdrawn its involvement in a national online conveyancing system.
15 June 2009 | News
San Francisco govt contact centre now on Twitter
San Francisco residents can now reach the government customer service centre through Twitter, a free social messaging tool.
15 June 2009 | News
Tight govt IT budgets boost cloud appeal: Google
A senior Google executive has said that tight public sector information technology (IT) budgets are provoking interest in cloud computing, but adoption of the media giant’s services in Asia has so far been limited to the education sector.
8 June 2009 | News
Asian govts to spend more on software in downturn
Governments in Asia Pacific will continue to spend on software despite the economic downturn, an IDC study has shown.
2 June 2009 | News
Seattle CTO to speak at Hong Kong govt event
Bill Schrier, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Seattle, Bob Correll, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Australia’s Immigration and Citizenship Department, and Lee Hsang-Chen, the Director of Information Systems for Taiwan’s National Police Agency are the latest additions to the speaker line-up for the Government Information Forum (GIF) in Hong Kong this summer.
2 June 2009 | News
US Cyber Czar role plagued by political wrangling
The announcement of the US Government’s first Cyber Czar has been delayed amid speculation that the newly created role has become embroiled in a political row.
2 June 2009 | News
Is Singapore's e-govt model exportable?
Singapore wants to sell its e-government model to the world. But do other countries want or need what Singapore is offering? FutureGov asked government information officers in India, China, South Korea and the Philippines…
1 June 2009 | News
Qatar to set up government agency network
Qatar has launched a project to interlink government agencies over a secure communications platform in a bid to improve data sharing and enhanced security for government e-services.
1 June 2009 | News
Indian govt info now a phone call away
The Indian authorities are set to make information from central and state governments available to all citizens over the telephone, enabling the poor and uneducated to file Right to Information (RTI) queries.
28 May 2009 | News
US Cyber Czar frontrunners revealed
Melissa Hathaway, Rod Beckstrom and Paul Kurtz are the frontrunners in the race to be the US government’s first ‘Cyber Czar’. So tips Don Adams, the Palo Alto-based Chief Technology Officer, Worldwide, Public Sector for tech giant Tibco.
27 May 2009 | News
GCIO to deliver keynote at Government Information Forum 09
Hong Kong’s Government Chief Information Officer Jeremy Godfrey is delivering the keynote presentation at this year’s Government Information Forum in Hong Kong.
26 May 2009 | News
Academic: 80 per cent of e-govt projects fail
The Head of Online Services at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development has revealed the government’s plans to increase e-services from six to 35 per cent of business transactions by 2012. However, 60 to 80 per cent of e-government projects around the world fail, Dr Nabeel Al Qirim, Associate Professor, College of Information Technology, UAE University, warned in an interview with FutureGov.
26 May 2009 | News
Swine flu calls for tougher IT security for home workers
With the threat of a global swine flu pandemic looming, IT consolidation and virtualization initiatives may be the solution to enable workers to work from home, an IT infrastructure and security vendor has suggested.
26 May 2009 | News
Singapore uses new media in recruitment drive
Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has seen recruitment numbers for its police, civil defence and prison functions rise significantly this year, thanks in part to MHA’s use of new media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to appeal to young Singaporean job-seekers.
26 May 2009 | News
Bahrain e-government services now on mobiles
The government of Bahrain is the latest country to introduce e-government services that can be accessed through mobile phones.
25 May 2009 | News
Thailand hatches plan for private cloud
The government of Thailand is planning to set up a cloud computing platform as part of efforts to improve the development and implementation of e-government applications.
19 May 2009 | News
Stimulus packages to add to rising data burden
Government efforts to stimulate their economies will lead to a dramatic increase in the volume of digital information created, a report by EMC and IDC has predicted.
19 May 2009 | Feature
Elections electrified: the end of the paper ballot?
Election fever is gripping Asia, from India to Indonesia. And the elections are increasingly going digital. Why is electronic voting gradually displacing the paper ballot? Robin Hicks sizes up the candidates
19 May 2009 | News
Indonesian transparency drive opens doors for vendors
The Indonesian government’s efforts to become more transparent and efficient by embracing e-government initiatives are opening opportunities for IT vendors, says a senior executive at the Indian information technology firm Tata Consultancy Services.
18 May 2009 | News
Japan govt plots private cloud
Japan’s government is planning to build a private cloud environment that could eventually host all Japanese government software.
15 May 2009 | News
Singapore shapes Qatar's e-govt model
Singapore’s Infocomm Development Authority is assisting ictQATAR in implementing the Qatar Services Infrastructure (QSi) project, a fast developing e-government initiative.
14 May 2009 | News
South Korea Commits to Green Investment
The Green Growth Commission announced yesterday (13 May) that the South Korean government will commit to spending 12.6 trillion won (US$10 billion) to develop environmental technology in the next five years.
12 May 2009 | News
Singapore Announces Government IT Priorities For 2009
More than US$1.18 billion of new IT initiatives were announced this morning (12 May) at a dedicated IT briefing organized by Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore.
12 May 2009 | News
Obama: healthcare cost-cuts can amount to US$3 tril
US President Barack Obama has won a big victory in his battle to reform the American healthcare system. Some former opponents of reform are now offering their support.
11 May 2009 | News
India calls for local govt participation
New ideas, transparency and accountability are still being resisted at various levels in the government, according to the National Knowledge Commission (NKC)—a body set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005 to prepare a road map for transforming India into a knowledge society.
8 May 2009 | News
Chinese Municipal Government undergoes radical restructuring
“In principle, there will be only one department in charge of a specific policy area after the reform”
6 May 2009 | News
Asian govts must urgently adapt to climate change: ADB
Governments in Asia Pacific must urgently develop strategies to adapt to climate change or face soaring economic costs in the future, a seminar audience heard at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) this week.
5 May 2009 | News
Bhutan government goes online
The Bhutanese government has decided to bring public administration online. Department of information and technology (DIT) director Tenzin Chhoeda said that the online system will link every police station in the country with the ministry of home and cultural affairs.
5 May 2009 | News
Japan offers US$100bn for Asian economies
Japan has offered US$100 billion in financial assistance to Asian countries hit by the global financial crisis in a move that rubber stamps its economic leadership in the region in spite of its own severe recession.
4 May 2009 | News
Malaysian youth: least concerned about climate change
A survey has revealed that 67 per cent of Asia’s eight to 24 year-olds are concerned about the effects of climate change, however 13 per cent of young Malaysians said they do not believe that the climate is changing.
4 May 2009 | News
Swine flu prompts teleworking rethink
The threat of a pandemic are prompting governments to evaluate the role of teleworking to keep essential services up-and-running.
29 April 2009 | News
Hong Kong University staff accused of IT contract fraud
Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has charged a professor at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) for alleged conspiracy to defraud the university in relation to an information technology (IT) service contract.
28 April 2009 | News
China's local govts embrace green procurement
China’s State Council has asked local governments to buy more energy-efficient products, reflecting the country’s determination to make its economic growth cleaner.
27 April 2009 | News
Russian Minister: e-government to curb bureaucracy
The creation of an e-government in Russia will rid people of bureaucratic procedures, Minister of Mass Communications Igor Shchegolev has said.
22 April 2009 | News
Government to buck trend for cutting green IT
Governments are expected to buck an industry-wide trend for diverting spend away from green IT projects due to the global economic downturn, according to IT analyst Gartner.
22 April 2009 | News
Bangladesh plans for strict cyber-crime laws
Bangladesh is planning stringent measures to fight cyber crime amid the rapid expansion of information and communication technology and telecommunications networks in the South Asian country.
22 April 2009 | News
Technical glitches trouble Indonesia's elections
Technical glitches to the electronic vote-counting system used in Indonesia could delay the elections, the archipelago’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has warned.
21 April 2009 | News
Thailand govt to go all-electronic by 2015
Thailand’s Information and Communications Technology Ministry plans to launch an ‘E-government Road Map’ as a framework for the digitisation of government between 2010 to 2014. The project is expected to cost of US$5.61 million.
16 April 2009 | News
Bahrain hires e-government measurement firm
Bahrain’s eGovernment Authority has signed an agreement with Nielsen Company, a provider of market information and indices, to assess public satisfaction with electronic services in the kingdom.
15 April 2009 | News
Hong Kong's tax office casts doubt over the cloud
Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue has voiced concerns over the security of using cloud computing services to manage tax payer information.
15 April 2009 | News
China vows to promote transparency in government affairs
The Chinese government will make more effort to keep the public informed of government affairs, said the National Human Rights Action Plan of China released Monday by the Information Office of China’s State Council.
15 April 2009 | News
E-governance makes slow progress in Sindh
Five government departments in Sindh — one of Pakistan’s four provinces — were connected via information technology last year, but officials have been reluctant to use the network, according to Minister for Information Technology Raza Haroon.
15 April 2009 | News
Australia to harmonise emergency services communications
Senator Stephen Conroy, Australia’s Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, has welcomed proposals to harmonise the spectrum for emergency radio services across the country.
10 April 2009 | News
Philippine president orders state agencies to cut waste
Cut government waste. Tighten your belts. Live within your means. Those were the orders of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to all government departments and agencies to save money for food, fuel and rice subsidies for the poorest of the poor.
7 April 2009 | News
Asian govts unaware of serious data leaks: CA
Data losses are much more serious than governments in Asia are aware of, an executive at Computer Associates has revealed to FutureGov.
7 April 2009 | News
Japan to invest US$3bn in ICT
The Japanese government plans to inject 3 trillion yen (US$29.8 billion) into ICT infrastructure over the next three years in a bid to boost growth in the sector.
7 April 2009 | Interview
What women bring to government: academic
If there were more women in government in Asia, more attention would be paid to family and social issues and the welfare of children, a leading academic on Southeast Asian gender issues has told FutureGov.
7 April 2009 | News
Govts invest in fuel-saving air traffic system
Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the US are among the countries to have supported the adoption of a new technology to reduce fuel consumption - and so carbon dioxide emissions - of air traffic.
7 April 2009 | News
Australia plots $31bn broadband network
The Australian government is to build a A$43bn ($31bn) national broadband network, the country’s largest infrastructure project, after abandoning a A$4.7bn tender process that it said failed to offer value for money.
31 March 2009 | News
The Philippines admits need for cybersecurity programme
Government web sites in the Philippines are vulnerable to computer attacks and without a nationwide cybersecurity programme, government cannot keep hackers at bay, says the National Computer Center (NCC), an agency under the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT).
31 March 2009 | News
Glass ceiling hangs over Asian civil service
A glass ceiling is still firmly in place for women in the top echelons of the civil service in Southeast Asia. So says Dr Susan Blackburn, Associate Professor at Australia’s Monash University, and an expert on Southeast Asian politics.
30 March 2009 | News
Record Earth Hour participation from Asia’s governments
Many countries and municipalities switch off lights for an hour in support of the WWF-led initiative
25 March 2009 | News
Hong Kong govt steps up recruitment
The Hong Kong Government will step up its recruitment exercise and hire 6300 people over a one year period starting from now.
24 March 2009 | News
Singapore takes green roads route
Japan, United States and the UK have been using recycled materials to build roads for sometime - now Singapore’s roads are going green too.
24 March 2009 | News
SAS: business analytics should be a strategic priority
Governments are facing many priorities in tough economic circumstances, and business analytics should be a strategic priority, according to SAS head of technology practice, Singapore & emerging markets, Shanmugar Sunthar.
24 March 2009 | News
Singapore reveals plan behind Jobs Credit Scheme
Singapore’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) has revealed details of the plan behind the Jobs Credit Scheme, the S$4.5 billion (US$3 billion) initiative introduced earlier this year to save jobs by subsidising part of employers’ wage bills.
18 March 2009 | News
South Korea sells e-govt expertise to Kyrgyzstan
The central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan is to become the eighth country to embrace an e-government master plan with South Korea’s help. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 10 March 2009 that mandates cooperation on educational training programmes that will enable Kyrgyzstan to introduce and operate its own e-government system.
18 March 2009 | News
Three quarters of gov agencies to embrace GIS
Three-quarters of government agencies in Europe and North America have, or plan to implement geographic information systems (GIS) for crime monitoring, urban planning, traffic monitoring and national defense, according to a survey by market analyst Datamonitor.
18 March 2009 | News
Victoria crime reporting practices slammed
The Ombudsman of Victoria, an independent officer of the Victorian Parliament who investigates complaints about state government departments, has slammed the Victorian Police’s crime reporting practices.
17 March 2009 | News
Pressure grows on India’s e-governance mandate
India’s government has come under increasing pressure to “reach out” to its citizens as elections grip the world’s largest democracy.
16 March 2009 | Feature
The identity management catch-22
FutureGov’s research arm has identified ‘ID Management’ as one of the top three priorities for the public sector in 2009. A few years ago, the United Kingdom’s Customs and Revenue admitted to losing the financials details of 25 million citizens.
11 March 2009 | News
Tibco: new US CIO needs discipline and focus
Tibco’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Don Adams has praised President Barack Obama’s appointment of Vivek Kundra as Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the United States government, but warns that Kundra will have to have “laser beam focus” on where he can achieve early successes.
10 March 2009 | News
Singapore agency saves millions through Green IT
SINGAPORE’S Land Transport Authority has saved over US$5.55 million since embarking on its Green IT initiative.
6 March 2009 | News
Singapore government shows confidence in cloud computing
Despite security fears raised by the “G-fail” incident last week, when an overloaded data centre in Europe prevented millions of Gmail users from accessing their accounts, the Singapore government has given cloud computing its vote of confidence.
5 March 2009 | News
Malaysia: how to create a more agile government
Governments must become more agile to meet rising citizen expectations for service delivery, Haji Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, Undersecretary of Malaysia’s Ministry of Information urged delegates at the Government Information Forum last week (Wednesday 4 March).
3 March 2009 | News
Govts should release more data for innovation’s sake
The research director behind a 12-country study on ‘generation Y’ has suggested that governments in Asia should cede more control of information to citizens in the name of innovation.
2 March 2009 | News
Rising to governments’ data centre energy challenge
Green energy projects have come under mounting pressure as the economic situation worsens, but governments should be thinking about energy conservation now more than ever, insists a consultant at APC, the Schneider-owned cooling services giant.
2 March 2009 | News
Philippine CICT chairman cool on cloud computing
The Chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) in the Philippines has said that the “inherent risks” of cloud computing need to be addressed before government embraces it is a viable way of managing information.
2 March 2009 | News
Japan introduces ID cards to sniff out illegal immigrants
The Japanese government plans to strengthen its efforts to prevent foreigners from staying in the country illegally by consolidating administrative systems for foreign residents in the nation, according to a draft bill to revise the immigration law.
27 February 2009 | News
Green Growth Commission launched in Korea
Korean President Lee Myung-bak has announced the launch of an agency – the Green Growth Commission – which has a brief to implement the country’s vision for “low carbon, green growth”.
27 February 2009 | News
India rolls out US$351 million e-services network
The Indian government has approved a US$351 million initiative to deliver government-to-government, government-to-business and government-to-citizen e-services in 32 states and Union Territories (UTs) across the country.
25 February 2009 | News
Australia’s net filter plan under attack
Australia’s controversial Federal Cyber Safety Plan (FCSP), which could see internet service providers filtered for illegal and illicit content, has come up against staunch resistance from citizens and ISPs involved at the test stage.
25 February 2009 | Feature
Governing in a downturn
Tough times call for tough decisions. FutureGov investigates how governments are modernising as the global economy begins to unravel
25 February 2009 | Interview
How the world has changed
Lindsay Tanner, Australia’s Minister of Finance & Deregulation, talks about the role of government ICT in the face of the economic downturn.
25 February 2009 | News
Blunkett: UK becoming a 'big brother' state
David Blunkett, the former home secretary of the United Kingdom, has warned that the UK is in danger of becoming a ‘big brother’ state.
24 February 2009 | News
Singapore to engage new media at general elections
Singapore’s government has signalled its intention to embrace new media at the next general election.
18 February 2009 | News
Japan govt revises "green purchase" law
The Japanese government has revised its guidelines for the so-called ‘‘green purchase’’ law, which requires offices of government ministries and agencies to use environmentally friendly products for designated equipment.
18 February 2009 | Spotlight
Improving Citizen Services and Patient Relationships Using CRM
One concept that now transcends both commercial business and the Public Sector is the notion of customer relationship management, writes Jonathan Farmer, CRM Lead - Asia, Microsoft. For over 15 years, businesses have used Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technologies to drive competitive…
18 February 2009 | Feature
The need to know: Business Intelligence & the public sector
With torrents of information flooding into your organisation, do you have that sinking feeling? Amelia Kwok learns how government agencies are leveraging Business Intelligence for operational effectiveness.
18 February 2009 | News
Singapore's IDA launches e-govt consultancy
Singapore’s Infocomm Development Authority has launched an international consultancy to help other countries develop their e-government infrastructure.
18 February 2009 | News
Philippines govt looks to improve communications strategy
More than 100 Government Information Officers from 50 government agencies in the Philippines have met amid concerns that poor information supplied to the media will lead to bad press.
17 February 2009 | News
Singapore govt to respond to citizens via web
Government officials in Singapore will soon respond directly to comments on an internet discussion board.
15 February 2009 | News
Is your agency equipped to repel a ‘cyber attack’?
The more government leverages technology to automate core business processes, the more vulnerable to cyber attack it becomes. In the United States, experts have been warning for years against an ‘electronic Pearl Harbor’, a ‘digital September 11’ or a ‘Cybergeddon’.
5 February 2009 | News
AGIMO restructures for watchdog role
The Australian Government Information Management Office has been restructured for its new role as Canberra’s technology spending and governance watchdog.
4 February 2009 | Spotlight
Tax challenges in the digital age
In a profession with such a long history dating back to the ancient Egyptians, the tax sector has seen numerous changes and survived them all, says Rob Delnoij, Regional CRM solution Principal, SAP Asia Pacific & Japan.
4 February 2009 | News
New Zealand discontinues Government Shared Network
State Services Minister Tony Ryall has announced that the government’s Government Shared Network (GSN) is to be discontinued because it is financially unsustainable. Participating government agencies will be moved to a new provider in the private sector.
4 February 2009 | Feature
CRM & citizen-centric government
As the pressure for government mounts to do more for the community, the deployment of CRM solutions enables the effective targeting of resources to where they can best meet citizens’ needs. Report: Amelia Kwok.
3 February 2009 | News
China passes new medical reform plan
China’s State Council passed a long awaited medical reform plan which promised to spend 850 billion yuan (US$123 billion) by 2011 to provide universal medical service to the country’s 1.3 billion population.
3 February 2009 | News
Taking the best of Web 2.0 into the public sector
With the widespread use of the internet and the enormous success of social network platforms, governments around the world are jumping on the bandwagon and work on strategies how to expand their services by incorporating Web 2.0 technologies.
2 February 2009 | Feature
Building resilient government data centres
If you are going to put all your data eggs into a single basket, it had better be a secure one.
28 January 2009 | News
Asian countries' e-govt rankings revealed
According to the “Improving Technology Utilisation in Electronic Government around the World 2008” report by the Governance Studies of the Brookings Institution, the most highly ranked e-government nations are South Korea (securing the 1st position for the second consecutive year), Taiwan, the US, Singapore, Canada and Australia.
21 January 2009 | Feature
Australia govt adopts Gershon's recommendation
How should government spend on ICT? Australia has decided to implement in full the recommendations of Sir Peter Gershon UK Treasury’s former Chief Executive.
21 January 2009 | News
Rampant e-govt plans for Vietnam
The Vietnamese government will upgrade its IT infrastructure in tandem with requirements for modern e-government activities.
20 January 2009 | News
Cambodia drafts law to regulate internet
The Ministry of Information is currently drafting a law that will extend current print media rules to other media platform, including the internet.
9 January 2009 | News
China to reform public healthcare
Responding to growing public criticism of soaring medical fees, lack of access to medical services and poor doctor-patient relations, the Chinese government will launch a pilot programme to reform its public hospitals.
9 January 2009 | News
Australia to spend US$2M on homeless aged
Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Justine Elliot, Minister for Ageing have announced a US$2 million grant to Wintringham, a Melbourne-based organisation that provides affordable housing and support services to elderly homeless people.
9 January 2009 | News
Korea: IT to tide over economic crisis
In wake of the economic crisis, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said the more difficulties they will face, the more investment the government should make in technology.
7 January 2009 | Research
Chinese find public feedback channels ineffective
Channels for public feedback remain inadequate despite government efforts in recent years to solicit more views on the ground, according to a recent survey conducted by People’s Daily newspaper in China.
6 January 2009 | News
South Korea in US$87b public sector boost
The South Korean government will spend the bulk of the local administrative budget for 2009 in the first half of this year and also aims to create some 70,000 new public sector jobs.
23 December 2008 | News
Australian govt invests US$3.2 billion
The Rudd Government in Australia has announced a US$3.2 billion investment in the nation’s education infrastructure, along with changes to the tax system to stimulate the economy and help Australian businesses.
23 December 2008 | News
More Arabic web sites in the Middle East
A new project to digitise approximately 18,000 books in Arabic has been implemented in Qatar and the Gulf.
22 December 2008 | News
Australian govt trials blog for public feedback
In Australia, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy is trialling a blog in a bid to use public feedback in developing a ‘Future Directions Paper for the Digital Economy.’
22 December 2008 | News
Broadband centre for every parliamentary constituency in Malaysia
The Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission aims to establish a broadband community centre for every parliamentary constituency in the country, which currently numbers 222
19 December 2008 | News
E-govt in Vietnam must tie in with administrative reform
In Vietnam, Minister of Information and Communications Le Doan Hop said the implementation of e-government should go hand-in-hand with administrative reform rather than simply an effort at computerisation. He was speaking to audiences during the 6th annual Vietnam e-government Symposium held recently.
19 December 2008 | Research
US youths pick up social and technical skills online
Results from an extensive US study by the Digital Youth Project on teens and their use of digital media show that America’s youth are developing important social and technical skills online – often in ways adults do not understand or value.
18 December 2008 | News
UN launches e-learning initiative in over 160 countries
A new UN e-learning initiative will offer developing countries opportunities to draw upon a rich array of training and capacity-building resources.
11 December 2008 | News
Vietnam’s online ministerial e-govt dialogue
Deputy Ministry for Information and Communications affirms government’s strong pushes of e-govt in an online dialogue session.
26 November 2008 | News
ADB funds green projects in India
The Asian Development Bank is to help set up a fund that will mobilise financing for energy efficiency projects in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
26 November 2008 | News
Myanmar rolls-out urban Wi-fi network
Myanmar has announced plans to install a Wi-Fi network in Yangon by early next year. The system will be in service starting with the coverage of 16 main townships in the former capital city of Yangon.
25 November 2008 | News
Queensland pilots clean coal burning
A pilot programme in the Australian state of Queensland aims to burn coal more cleanly by capturing and storing carbon dioxide. This demonstration plant is the first of its kind to burn coal in oxygen instead of air.
25 November 2008 | News
Shanghai university receives UNESCO prize for ICT
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, has named the laureates of the 2008 UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa Prize for the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Education.
24 November 2008 | News
Digital inclusion a main strategy for rural development
The State of Sarawak has listed narrowing the digital divide between urban and rural communities as one of the main rural development strategies for 2009.
20 November 2008 | Feature
Public sector information management
Government organisations need more effective strategies to manage their information and create better knowledge sharing and collaboration within their organisation.
13 November 2008 | News
Brunei GCIO candid about e-govt inadequacies
Over ambitious moves to e-government led to ‘fragmentation’ of effort, says GCIO and Permanent Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office in Brunei.
12 November 2008 | News
Korea helps Myanmar implement school project
The Korea International Cooperation Agency of South Korea will help Myanmar to implement a technical school project in the country’s Thagar area.
11 November 2008 | Deals
UAE signs environmental pledge
UAE pledges for presevation and sustainability along with United Nations, IAHC and LG Electronics.
10 November 2008 | News
Bahrain, a rising IT hub in the Gulf
Bahrain has strengthened its position as the IT hub of the region, with more international IT companies establishing their regional headquarters in the kingdom.
31 October 2008 | Feature
Industry veteran to join IDA Singapore as assistant CEO
James Kang, an IT industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience, will join the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore on December 1st, 2008 as the Assistant CEO.
30 October 2008 | News
Australian govt’s carbon plan
Australia’s plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions through carbon trade will not be the “company killer” feared by business and no major polluters will be forced to move offshore, the government said.
30 October 2008 | News
Brunei and China ink MOU for IT collaboration
The Ministry of Communications in Brunei has inked a memorandum of understanding with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology during the Asean-China ICT Week 2008 held recently in Nanning, China.
28 October 2008 | News
Australian govt to consolidate 130 data centres
The New South Wales government has plans to consolidate its 130 data centres into two facilities in a bid to cut down on maintenance costs and energy consumption, according to the state’s CIO Emmanuel Rodriguez.
15 October 2008 | News
Taiwan recycles 50 per cent of its e-waste
Taiwan has seen a dramatic increase in the volume of waste electronic and electrical products in recent years. Following several years of implementation of the “4-in-1” recycling scheme, the recycling rate of these products has now surpassed an impressive 50 per cent. Working to put the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system into full play, and make recycling targets more easily achievable, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) is actively guiding manufacturers in the setting up of self-administered recycling, clearance and treatment systems.
14 October 2008 | Feature
Green office: reducing government’s environmental impact
How civil servants can reduce their carbon footprint by working smarter and greener in the office.
13 October 2008 | Research
Does green IT really help you save money?
83 per cent of respondents stated that going green results in cost savings, while 17 per cent believed that green measures are not necessarily cost efficient.
12 October 2008 | News
Singapore earmarks US$4 million to train energy managers
The National Environment Agency (NEA) in Singapore has set up a US$4 million grant to help defray the course fee of the Singapore Certified Energy Manager training programme. The grant will cover a substantial part of the training cost at the Professional Level.
10 October 2008 | Feature
Grey govt - Asia's public sector learns to cope with an ageing population
Asia is ageing. We look at the impact an ageing population has on government service delivery and its efforts to retain talent and knowledge as a large percentage of workers reach retirement age.
9 October 2008 | News
Korean govt spurs green rooftop plans
In a bid to ‘greening’ Seoul, the city government has been encouraging building owners to construct rooftop gardens as one of its “green Seoul” projects.
9 October 2008 | News
Nature-based enterprises to help rural poor
Expanding nature-based enterprises can increase income for the world’s rural poor. This approach, as outlined in World Resources Report 2008, can also develop the rural poor’s resilience to social and environmental threats such as climate change.
9 October 2008 | News
Thai govt unveils first open-source software development roadmap
The Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) has developed Thailand’s first open-source software-development roadmap to transform the country into a leading open-source development centre by 2011.
8 October 2008 | News
Australian universities must upgrade network to keep up
Professor Larry Smarr, an internet expert in the US, has urged Australian universities to roll out new superhighways to ensure that scientists and innovators remain competitive in global research.
5 October 2008 | News
Reducing IT carbon footprint by 80-90 per cent
‘Carbon Calculator’ and online ‘Server Consolidation Analysis Resource’ released.
2 October 2008 | News
Queensland ICT Industry Launches Green Initiatives
More than 170 Information Technology leaders from government and business participated in the launch of a new Green IT Industry Special Interest Group (SIG) and Taskforce in Brisbane to help the ICT industry move from discussion on Green IT to action and best practice.
1 October 2008 | Interview
Green management makes sense for polytechnic
One of Singapore’s tertiary education institutes has a long-standing commitment to go green, shares Andre Ahchak, Deputy Director, Nanyang Polytechnic.
30 September 2008 | Feature
Building e-government in Macao
A major e-governance initiative undertaken by the Macao SAR Government in collaboration with the United Nations University International Institute for Software Technology through its Centre for Electronic Governance, and major local institutions, the e-Macao initiative aims to build a sustainable foundation for the effective use of ICT by government agencies.
30 September 2008 | News
Korean govt bans personal e-mail and storage device for work
According to the guidelines announced by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, civil servants will be banned from using e-mail services provided by commercial companies like Naver, Daum, Google and MSN.
23 September 2008 | Feature
Home alone: Govt gets serious about remote working
In the past decade, working from home, otherwise known as telecommuting, has been drawing attention globally in both the private and public sectors.
17 September 2008 | Interview
Singapore govt experiments with social media
The Singapore government is on Facebook. Why? Dr Amy Khor, Member of Parliament, Mayor of Singapore’s Southwest district and Chairman of government feedback agency REACH, has the answers.
17 September 2008 | Feature
Why WiMax?
The wireless broadband technology has been the ‘next big thing’ for some time. FutureGov assesses when and in what circumstances it will take off and what it means for the public sector. Report: Jianggan Li.
9 September 2008 | News
Queensland govt tenants offices at green building
Queensland Government’s Crime and Misconduct Commission, and Collection House will hold its offices at Brisbane’s Green Square Complex’s North Tower.
Billed as one of the world’s most environmentally friendly office developments, North Tower, part of the US$230 million Complex, has its own gas-driven power plant, was built using recycled timber and steel, and will save 1.7 million litres of water a year.
4 September 2008 | News
Dubai E-government sets US$276 million revenue target
Dubai’s integrated electronic payment system (ePay) has collected US$163 million so far this year and is expected to record revenues of US$276 million by the end of 2008.
2 September 2008 | News
UAE authorities emphasise importance of green buildings
Ali bin Towaih says, “The EGBC goal this year is to align its members from the industry with local and Federal Government initiatives. The partnership will be the council’s way of conducting business with its stakeholders in addition to its role in public awareness.”
1 September 2008 | Deals
Fuji Xerox pushes green IT solutions
Fuji Xerox has just launched a range of multifunction devices – focusing on efficiency, security and crucially, the environment.
29 August 2008 | Feature
The rise and rise of green printing
Amelia Kwok reviews solutions that can help largescale public sector organisations conserve energy, reduce waste, and use other environmentally-friendly features.
29 August 2008 | News
India launches national environment portal
Sam Pitroda, Chairman of India’s National Knowledge Commission, has launched the India Environment Portal, a one-stop information resource centre aimed to promote informed decision-making and environmentally sustainable practices.
29 August 2008 | Research
Having everyone equipped with PCs has green flaws
Across the globe, the number of personal computers in use has exceeded one billion and the figures will double by 2014. This development will account for PCs dumped into landfills without consideration for its toxic content, says Meike Escherich, Principal Research Analyst at Gartner.
27 August 2008 | News
Free green power for Canadian government IT
Canada’s provincial governments are setting the wheels in motion to move their IT processing to greener IT data centres that are powered by renewable hydro-electricity.
25 August 2008 | News
Australia to complete govt ICT review
UK-based government productivity expert set to unveil IT spending recommendations.
25 August 2008 | Spotlight
Accenture appoints new Public Service head
Barcelona-based Accenture veteran to oversee company’s business serving public-sector clients.
22 August 2008 | News
Chinese ministries push UOF document format
China’s International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, the Ministry of Commerce, and the State Archives Administration have started to promote the Chinese-made Uniform Office Format standard.
21 August 2008 | Interview
Indian e-govt 'faces corruption threat'
“Corruption is the biggest enemy of e-government,” Tanmoy Chakrabarty, Vice President of government industry solutions at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has announced to the press.
14 August 2008 | News
Singapore launches ASEAN e-govt fellowship programme
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has launched a fellowship programme for ASEAN countries in the areas of e-government.
11 August 2008 | News
Local government takes the lead in US
Green initiatives are being given a push from the bottom upwards in Arizona. Don Stapley Supervisor of Maricopa County says, “We want counties to be a catalyst for the change in the mindset of Americans.
11 August 2008 | News
Hong Kong establishes task force on digital inclusion
The Government announced at the end of July the setting up of a Task Force on Digital Inclusion.
8 August 2008 | News
Bahrain shares e-govt plans with United Nations
A high-ranking delegation of officials from Bahrain is visiting the United Nations headquarters in New York to benchmark the Arab country’s e-government plans.
6 August 2008 | Research
UK civil servants want more access to Web 2.0 tools
A new study by Huddle.net - ‘Social Collaboration and Public Sector’ - has indicated that local government workers in the UK are straining at the IT department’s leash to use social internet tools.
3 August 2008 | Feature
IT recycling
As awareness about toxic e-waste grows, more of the region’s government agencies are promoting the message of re-use and recycle.
1 August 2008 | News
Malaysia, Brunei collaborate for ICT
Brunei’s Authority for Info-communications Technology Industry (AITI) hosted Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC) and more than 20 other MSC status companies from Malaysia for a two day meeting. This is the second time the event has been held, with an earlier gathering in March 2007.
1 August 2008 | News
Hong Kong’s administration works under green roofs
With environmental policies in place since the 1980s, a number of Hong Kong’s government departments—Hong Kong Government’s Architectural Services Department (ASD), the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) and the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA)—have been actively pushing for green buildings.
1 August 2008 | Feature
Why e-government isn’t working
E-government needs to go niche if it is to remain relevant and it needs to be relevant if it is to succeed online. James Smith thinks aloud.
25 July 2008 | News
Singapore's polytechnic wins green recognition
The education sector in Singapore has been using technology for environmental purposes with Singapore Polytechnic (SP) clinching top honours at the Singapore Environmental and Social Reporting Awards organised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
17 September 2007 | News
Estonian Tax and Customs Board offers e-Service to local authorities
The Estonian Tax and Customs Board has offered e-Service to local authorities which will allow them to make inquiries on the incomes of the taxpayers living in their area.
29 August 2007 | News
Sri Lanka launches e-Champions
The program was intended to equip 30 CIOs with the skills to drive a successful e-Government
21 August 2007 | News
Australians' medicare records to go online
Abbott told a health conference in Sydney that electronic records help to streamline care for patients, from a range of health professionals.
20 August 2007 | News
Business solutions to be deployed at the Abu Dhabi government
The Abu Dhabi System and Information Committee (ADSIC) signed an agreement to deploy Oracle’s business solutions throughout the Abu Dhabi government’s IT infrastructure.
9 August 2007 | News
Qatar rolls-out new citizen service
ictQATAR and the Ministry of Interior kick off online Exit permits service.
2 August 2007 | News
Australian city rolls-out asset tracking solution
Wollongong City Council deploys enterprise asset management solution to manage the City’s A$2.5 billion worth of assets.
1 August 2007 | Deals
Singapore shares ICT development experience
Singapore and ITU collaborate on training programme in ICT policy and regulatory frameworks.
2 May 2007 | Feature
Korean e-government for export
South Korea lends a helping hand – with strings attached.
29 December 2006 | Feature
Banking on information: KM at the Bank of England
Simon Mills, Head of Information Management for the Bank of England, discusses the role of Knowledge Management at the United Kingdom’s central bank with Sarah Sim.
20 December 2006 | Feature
Fiji inaugurates e-government programme
Ratu Jone Kubuabola, Fiji’s Minister for Finance and National Planning, shares details on the Pacific state’s US$20 million e-government plans. Report: Gerald Wang.
22 September 2005 | News
UK unveils biometric standards for ID cards
The BS ISO/IEC 19794 series of standards cover the science of using “biological properties” to identify individuals, such as fingerprints, iris scans and facial recognition.
6 April 2005 | News
Reducing the regulatory burden of government
The Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) has reduced the burden of compliance for enterprises in Singapore. Report: James Smith.
9 March 2005 | News
European citizen feedback portal launched
The European Commission has officially launched ‘Your Europe’, a comprehensive web site providing information for citizens and businesses within the EU.
1 January 2005 | Interview
Building New Zealand’s e-government ecosystem
New Zealand has ambitious plans to establish a rich e-government ecosystem that syndicates content and services through the national government portal, individual agency sites as well as the private sector. Laurence Millar, Director of the E-Government Unit at the State Services Commission talks about the country’s current progress and future plans.
9 August 2004 | Feature
Engaging Singapore's citizens
As Singapore celebrates its 39th National Day today, it is worth taking a closer look at the achievements one of the region’s e-government leaders writes James Smith.
31 May 2004 | News
Ho Chi Minh City's online business registration project
Ho Chi Minh City’s Planning and Investment Service has successfully migrated business registration online. Report: Edmund Tan.
28 January 2004 | News
New Zealand police improve emergency response times
The New Zealand Police have implemented a new communications system to improve the flow of emergency calls to officers in the field. Reporting: Edmund Tan.
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