Local Government on the Web

Local Government on the World Wide Web

A summary of how Local Government Authorities can use the Internet and the World Wide Web to benefit their region.

Centreline 2000
May 1996

Executive Overview

The "Information Super-highway" is with us now. Local authorities around Britain are using it to promote their region around the UK and abroad. They are shouting their success stories. They are providing valuable public service information to their community. They are helping their region's economy to develop.

They are using the Internet, and specifically the World Wide Web (or Web for short). This computerised technology connects computers all round the world to provide a single and simple access to information on any topic, any where, any time.

The Web allows you to present written and graphical material to people in your own offices, your own street, or Hong Kong and New York.

The Web offers the benefits of printed materials, but with no cost of delivery. Users can ask questions and communicate over the Web.

Web pages - usually short documents of written and graphical material are collected together at a Web Site. The pages are presented so that viewers can access them from selection menus, or by automatic searches. The pages are linked, so related topics can be seen together. Users can print the information from their own computer.

What is the Web being used for?

• Public Relations
• Public Information
• Economic Development
• Education
• Employment
• Social Services
• Tourism

And this is just a partial list. Local authorities each have their own needs and agendas. The Web is flexible enough to support any requirement.

Who is on the Web?

There are millions of organisations and individuals on the Web. Although you need a computer to access the Web many already have such access. You do not need a computer at home, many schools, colleges, libraries and businesses already have Internet and Web connections.

Which authorities are on the web?

As of April 1st 1996 there were 63 local authorities registered on the Web with new arrivals weekly. There are more but who have failed to make their presence known - a common failing amongst new web sites.

Is it difficult to get on the Web?

No, not particularly. Many authorities existing IT departments have already put their organisation onto the Web. The problems are in different areas:

• In-House staff time and skills
• Computer Security problems
• Ensuring timely and accurate updates
• Marketing and promotion

Can Centreline 2000 help us?

We provide a complete Internet and Web service. It aims to launch your Web site to its best effect. It minimises the impact upon your own resources.

Your Web site will be managed, developed and enhanced.

You will receive regular reports on the success of your Web site.

We will work with you to determine how best to continue making the most of your Web site.

Contents

1. Why should I be on the Web?
2. What should I put on the Web?
3. What makes a successful Web Site?
4. How do we make a Web Site?
5. How do we get started?
6. Further Information

Why Should I be on the Web?

The Web promotes your region.

There are a number of key reasons for having your own web site:

• Public Relations
• Public Information
• Promoting and assisting commerce within the region
• Encouraging new business into the region
• Promoting Tourism
• Supporting Education
• Helping local employment

Each region will have its own hot topics, but the common threads are clear.

Public relations and information

One: The Web is an ideal vehicle for making large volumes of public services information and public relations materials available. Once published it is free to deliver, unlike paper based equivalents that are more costly to produce, store, deliver and dispose of.

Economic Development

Two: The web is a commercial opportunity to help your local economy. By promoting commerce within your region you help local firms. By advertising your regions' services not just nationally, but world-wide, you help bring new business to them. You can reach an international audience for encouraging new investment within your region. These benefit your regions economy and employment prospects.

Support of existing services

Three: It can support and complement your existing services, such as Tourist Information, Library services, Health Education. This should result in lower cost delivery of information, delivery on a wider scale, and 24-hour free access on demand by the user. This frees staff to more productive tasks.

What Should I Put on the Web?

Your web site should provide useful content. In turn, the content must help you meet your overall objectives for your web site. Your site can cover a very wide range of topics and areas.

In the following few pages we discuss these topics more fully:

• Public Relations
• Public Information
• Useful Information
• Economy and Development
• Education and Employment
• Tourism and Entertainment

But other regions have picked up on their own special topics, for example Birmingham has web pages devoted to its Chinatown; Chester describes its heritage and connection with Ireland.

It is easy to see that while Blackpool might focus on tourism, Brent may focus on commerce.

Public Relations

The Web provides you a means of telling your story direct to the public. You can describe council plans and achievements directly. You can keep constituents informed of changes and developments within the area.

While this cannot replace your normal press relations and printed literature, it does provide another route for getting your message across unfiltered.

Topic Headings

• Plans
• Achievements
• Press Releases
• Success Stories

Public Information

The range of information you can provide is enormous. While the Web cannot replace your statutory publishing requirements it can complement them. It is a cost effective means of delivering any volume of information without printing costs.

As a method of distributing regularly changing information it is second to none, as it is always up to date. There are no printing and distribution delays.

Much of the information content is fairly static and would be updated infrequently. However, some will need special technical facilities to manage, for example planning applications or council minutes.

Topic Headings

• A-Z of Services and Contact Information
• Useful Telephone Numbers
• Charter Statistics
• Polling Information
• Councillor Details and Contacts
• Council and Committee Minutes
• Schools and College Information
• Planning Information
• Maps, Streets, Postcodes
• Community programs
• Housing
• Environment
• Neighbourhood Watch
• Playgrounds and Playgroups
• Clubs & Societies
• Citizens Advice Bureau

Economic Development

This is one of the most exciting areas of the Web. Commerce is starting to happen in a big way on the Web. This new business is international. Companies are turning to the web for three reasons:

1. Easy access to information on products and services
2. Searching for suppliers of products and services
3. Advertising and selling via the Web

You should be promoting all companies within your region to help you develop your own local economy. Local business to business arrangements will help trade within your region rather than companies seeking suppliers outside your area.

New Investment

Your economic development team will already be active promoting your region to potential investors around the UK and abroad. Of course the Web offers a very cost-effective means of taking your message anywhere in the world.

Local Facilities

Your region will also have a number of facilities available to local companies that can help them build and develop their business. For example:

• Business parks and development sites
• Local technology and research capability
• Business consultancy and assistance
• Grants and other funding help

You can help bring your local companies together with local assistance, developing an infrastructure of support and collaboration.

General Topics

• Education and Training
• Commercial Training
• Business Parks
• Development Sites
• Consultancy
• Business Assistance Schemes
• Employment Assistance Schemes
• Technology and R & D
• Manufacturing
• Investment and Grants

Development within the region

• Local Business Details
• Contact Information
• Products & Services
• Facilities
• Tenders for Supply or Want Ads
• Services to Local Business
• Grants and other assistance
• Links to other trade and business organisations

New Opportunities

• Why your region is the best place to come
• Local Economy and Markets
• Grants and Assistance
• Regional and District Authority provided services
• Regional workforce skills and training
• National and International links
• Transport Infrastructure
• Successful ventures within the region

Education and Employment

Here you have an opportunity to tell potential students and employers about the educational facilities within the region. For new investors they can see how well you aim to develop the local work force.

If you have colleges or universities with international appeal you can reach out across the world to promote them. Commercial and non-profit training agencies can also benefit.

You can also use the Web as a forum for informing parents and students about educational facilities and policies. You can provide curricula support materials and other research facilities.

Topic Areas

• Schools and Colleges
• Adult Education
• Current and Forthcoming Courses
• Work Place Training
• Commercial Training
• Job Opportunities
• Career Planning and Development
• Educational Resources
• Education Department Services
• Education Policies
• Education and Employment Success Stories

Tourism, Heritage. Leisure and Entertainment

You can promote all aspects of your region's heritage and how visitors can benefit. Almost anything your current tourist information services provide can also be delivered by the Web, but at less cost.

You can provide accommodation, hotel and resort information. You could even provide direct booking capability as part of an advanced Web site.

You can also easily provide more transient information, such as "What's On This Week" at very low cost. Some regions allow venues to post their own information directly to What's On pages with no need for your involvement.

These allow you to provide detailed and attractive brochure format information cheaply, anywhere within the UK or abroad. You can help develop your region's entertainment and leisure facilities.

Topic Headings

• What's On
• Diary of Events
• Major Events
• Introducing the region
• Places of Interest
• Visitor Centres
• Heritage
• Hotels and Accommodation
• Eating Out
• Airports, Sea-Ports, Road and Rail links

What makes a successful web site?

You must measure the success of your web site against your objectives for the site. Like much advertising, you cannot directly measure your success. However, you can draw conclusions from three key areas:

1. number of visitors to your site
2. how often they return
3. which areas of your site they visit

There are a small number of attributes your site must have in order to encourage use of the site.

• Appropriate design
• Useful content
• Information which is current
• A dynamic site, where new things are seen regularly
• An interactive site, which encourages people to participate
• A commitment to the process

In particular, the need to keep information current and timely requires an on-going commitment. You may need several teams within your organisation to work on their topic areas. For example: Services, Economic Development, Education will each have their own needs and can provide their own skills and talents.

How can Centreline 2000 Help?

We can provide you with assistance from start to finish, as either a complete service or to assist you with parts of the service.

• Web Site Planning
• Web Site Design
• Web Site Development
• Preparation of materials, documentation and graphics
• Hosting of Web Site
• On-Going management of the Web site
• Custom Development:
• Council Minutes Retrieval and Display
• Integration to other computer systems
• Special Web programming
• Web Site Registration
• Domain Name Registration
• Press Materials and Market Promotion
• Arrange links from other sites

If you already have some of these skills or facilities in-house we are happy to work with your existing team to fill out areas where time, resource or skills are not available.

Every site has its own needs, we can offer you "off-the-shelf" solutions, or we can tailor make a site specific to your requirements.

We have already invested in developing a range of tools that enable us to deliver web sites quickly and efficiently, saving you money. These tools include document conversion facilities, web site management tools, reporting facilities and quick-start design tools.

How do we get started?

Step 1

We will work with you to determine the overall layout of your site. You will select which areas are important to you and the timetable for their roll-out.

Step 2

From this design we provide a CIC-Pack. This is a Collation of Information Content Pack. This breaks down the various pieces of information we will need you to prepare and collect. Much of this information you will have already, in printed materials you already produce.

Step 3

We take your materials, either in computer format or as printed matter and convert them into Web ready computer format. We will also handle graphics and pictures for your site in the same way. Where material is available in computerised format this saves significant time in site preparation.

Step 4

While this is going we are also arranging a location for your Web site, that is the computer upon which your Web site will be held. If required we will register domain names and handle other technical details at the same time.

Step 5

Against the agreed timetable we launch the first pages of the Web site. We feel it is important to establish your presence early and then keep building upon it. Additional information is applied quickly after the initial launch.

Step 6

As the site is launched we provide you with Press and Marketing materials to help you promote the Web site. These materials will also tell you how to refer to the site in printed matter and how to maximise its potential in other media.

Step 7

The Web site is registered at the main search sites. These are the on-line equivalent of telephone directories. They are used by web users as road-maps and locators to sites around the world. By being registered at these sites, they can find your region, or even individual services or businesses within your region.

How do we continue?

Your web site should be an on-going, growing and developing place. As you have new information it should be made available. Old, redundant or inaccurate information should be removed. The Web site will need "housekeeping" ensuring that it is running effectively and productively without failures.

Step 8

As time goes on we work with you to develop the next stages in the Web sites development. We will ask you to review the site and agree new CIC-Packs (Collation of Information Content Pack) at regular intervals. This ensures the material is current and accurate.

Step 9

We will introduce new options to you. As a provider to a number of government and commercial organisations we will continue to develop new Web features. These can be used on your own Web site, without you needing to fund the research and development.

Step 10

We will provide you with regular reports detailing the success of your Web site. We will be able to show the number of visitors and
their geographical location. We will be able to see which parts of the Web site are most frequently visited and returned to.

From this information we identify weak spots which may need development. We also find strong points from which we can leverage the success of the whole site.