A Whole-of-Government Approach to Information and

By 2004, the transformation of government will be taking shape. Reflecting the type of government people will want and demand, it is expected that the public sector will be working like a single, integrated organisation, rather than a collection of seemingly independent service providers.

The diagram below is a first attempt to show how this whole-of-government approach will translate into an operational environment supporting delivery of e-government goals.

The four layers

Access (Channels) Layer

There will be a wider variety of online and offline channels open to people, including face-to-face services, call centres or online self-service applications. Some of these will be offered by agencies working in partnership if this better meets people's needs. The government portal will provide a common way of finding all government information and services, whether online or offline.

Agency Delivery (Information, Services and Processes) Layer

Where traditionally people have had to approach several agencies in turn to get what they need, agencies will increasingly integrate their information and services with those of other government organisations. This will improve people's experience of government, and enable administrative savings and reduced compliance costs.

Agency Infrastructure (Business) Layer

Behind the scenes, public sector organisations will continue to use their own in-house and outsourced resources to support the people and business processes underlying the delivery of information and services. However, agencies will increasingly collaborate in the development and use of their infrastructure, where appropriate.

Common Infrastructure (Foundation) Layer

A common infrastructure is being jointly developed by agencies under the leadership of the E-government Unit. This will help both central and local government agencies integrate information and services, and build or better use access channels to reach people. There will be common applications for e-billing, e-procurement and metadata management. All-of-government policies and standards will include the interoperability framework. There will be shared services for authentication and infrastructure protection. Common information technology will support the portal and the Secure Electronic Environment.

[Based on GartnerGroup Research Note: Gartner's Four Phases of E-government Model. © GartnerGroup, November 2000]

Why develop this view?

There are three good reasons to have this view of e-government.

First, for the strategy to succeed, e-government has to move from being a major strategic intervention led by a central agency to being part of the fabric of government. We have to create an integrated e-government operating environment encompassing all public sector organisations participating in e-government. This will require the use of common foundations in the design and delivery of information and services, and all the supporting business processes and technologies.

Second, having a shared view of how e-government will work by 2004 provides us with a common basis for making strategic decisions at both the individual organisation and all-of-government levels. Having this shared view means everyone can see opportunities and how they can best coordinate their efforts.

Third, this view provides a framework for us to address the governance issues that arise out of the new environment of e-government, and a context for understanding why a change of culture based on greater collaboration between agencies is essential to the success of the e-government programme.

This is the first, not the final, version of this view of e-government. Over the next 12 months, the E-government Unit will work with agencies to

• refine the view and develop consensus over it; and

• establish the roles and responsibilities that this view entails.