Moving Governments On-Line: Implementation and Policy Issues

Abstract

Genie N. L. Stowers, San Francisco State University National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council. (1995). Common Ground: Fundamental Principles for the National Information Infrastructure--First Report of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council. (On-line). Available World Wide Web: http://nii.nist.gov/common-ground.txt (52k) Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. (1995). Fact Sheet # 18: Privacy in Cyberspace. (On-line). Available Gopher: pwa.acusd.edu Path: 3. USD Campus-wide Information System/10. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse/3. Fact Sheets/ 1 8. Privacy in Cyberspace File: Privacy-in-Cyberspace (25k) Public Technology, Inc., Surfing the `Net: A Local Government Guide to Internet Connection. (Washington, DC: Public Technology, Inc., 1995), 56 pages. Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights. (I 994). A Preliminary Draft of the Report of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, (On-line). Available FTP: ftp.cpsr.org Directory: cpsr/intellectual-property File: copyright_draft.txt (198k) A new type of publication has arisen during the past several years. Online publications, documents placed on the Internet or computer bulletin board systems (bbs), are increasingly used by citizens, private firms, public interest groups, and governments to reach segments of the population. Still lagging behind the private sector, governments are beginning to take advantage of these new technologies to allow managers and citizens access to up-to-date government information quickly and cheaply. By utilizing these new ways of making information available' governments can provide another means of access to many different topics and improve communications with citizens about public issues. This article describes a mixture of traditional hard-copy and on-line documents which can assist public sector managers and academics to understand some of the implementation and policy issues involved in moving governments on-line. Governments On-line More governments today are taking advantage of on-line communication and publications to provide citizens easier access to information, easier communication with officials, and new ways of providing services. Much of this new activity takes place on the Internet or on computer bulletin board systems (bbs). The Internet is a network of many different computer networks, operating by means of common standards, that allows users to communicate with one another and access information. Computer bulletin boards are standalone systems which allow users to connect to a government's system in order to access information, to engage in discussion groups, or to send messages on a limited basis. Public Technology, Inc.'s new guide, Surfing the `Net: A Local Government Guide to Internet Connection, addresses many of the implementation issues an organization or government faces in deciding whether to establish an Internet presence and if so, how to make the connection. The PTI guide is written for those with a more technical background who will be making the decisions about how and when to move onto the Internet. It is not a primer for those just beginning to use the Internet, although each section includes some of the basics. Surfing first discusses the basic Internet tools used today. The first of these is electronic mail, or e-mail, the most widely used communications tool. Three other tools--gophers, the World Wide Web, and file transfer protocol (ftp)--are currently used to store, present, and access information. Many decisionmakers would have to be presented with additional introductory materials and examples in order to make an informed decision about establishing an Internet presence with these tools. The guide goes on to discuss the pros and cons of the various ways a government could connect to the Internet, whether on an individual or an institutional basis. Whether individual staff members or an institution makes the connection, there are four basis ways of connecting: (1) through a local area network (LAN) or network of computers set up at the office; (2) through a commercial on-line service; (3) through a private Internet service providing only basic service; or, (4) through an Internet reseller providing more extensive connections. …