System failures holding back e-government

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

Big Bang solutions do not work - that's the lesson learned the hard way by both the British and New Zealand Governments attempting to introduce new technology in the public service.

Britain's visiting minister responsible for e-government, Ian McCartney, had heard of the police Incis computer fiasco before arriving here but that debacle pales in comparison to spectacular Government-related IT failures in Britain.

These have included a big systems problem at the Passport Office that left thousands of would-be holidaymakers unable to travel.

"It's a very lonely place to stand up at the despatch box and explain why there are 80,000 people standing out in the rain across Britain.

"They want a passport and can't go on holiday and what we've done is to give them free umbrellas," Mr McCartney said.

His aim is to establish a system of one-stop shops for residents to conduct all their Government business, in person, on the phone, or on the internet.

Now, a simple change of address in Britain can require someone to deal with as many as 10 different state agencies.

"It's bad enough for an able-bodied person but for a disabled person it's a nightmare. This is not the citizen's problem, this is the system's problem."

While technology had made e-government feasible, Mr McCartney said that it should not be driven by it.

Mr McCartney said services would be introduced progressively in Britain under priorities decided by 5000 people, representing all social economic groups, randomly selected by market research firm Mori, a company better known for its political opinion polls.

Mr McCartney believes New Zealand and Britain share similar aims in this area and that they have much to learn from each other.

"It's about building up relationships. I've met a lot of your senior officials and I've met a lot of your politicians, including your Prime Minister, and we are going to cooperate. The benefits that we bring we'll share them with you. There's no point in reinventing the wheel."

Mr McCartney has been impressed by some public sector initiatives in this country.

"New Zealand Post, for example, is at the leading edge of e-commerce. What they've done is looked at how they can maintain their network without relying on written communications. They've looked outside their traditional areas into book selling and distribution, for example.

"Because it got into e-commerce very quickly, it's able to go and have quite a lucrative business in advising other communications companies on their strategy.

"For example, the South African postal service has been reorganised by New Zealand Post and it's been recognised for this activity across the globe."

He pinpointed management failures as the cause of mistakes made in Britain over installation of new systems.

Such failures would not be tolerated in the future.

"That doesn't mean we are against risk, but you manage risk through proper assessment and that means continual reviews.

"We are not prepared any more to have millions of pounds of public money poured into a project that is poorly managed and when the money runs out they say sorry. Those days are over in the UK."