Nearby: Workshop Page | Agenda | Papers

Background

Internet-connected computers and the World Wide Web are revolutionizing the ways in which citizens and governments relate. Citizens can use an increasing number of services (e.g. apply for a driving license, ask for a tax return) and have easier access to information of public interest including legislation and regulatory information, basic data generated about the operation of government, public policy debates, as well as the basic information about public resources such as geospatial data.

But there are many open questions to be explored in order to better understand the unique dynamics of government information on the Web.

• What are the long-range information policy goals that remain unmet by current eGovernment strategies?
• What new dynamics of information services and web publishing marketplace should governments consider in setting eGovernment strategy?
• How can governments leverage open standards (Web protocols, data formats, etc.) to achieve public sector information goals and better interoperability?
• Are there any significant differences between Web services created in commercial or other non-governmental environments, and those designed specifically for government application? If so, what can we learn from these differences about the unique requirements of eGovernment services?

Jointly sponsored by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI), this workshop will bring together government officials, computer scientists and other academics specializing in both technical and legal eGovernment issues, leaders in the Web standards community, as well as a wide range of companies providing products and services in the government marketplace.

Workshop Goals and Scope

This Workshop will help find ways of facilitating the deployment of Web standards across eGovernment sites, and help shape the ongoing research agenda in the development of Web technology and public policy in order to realize the potential of the Web for access to and use of government information.Thus, this Workshop will explore these questions:

1. What are the key public policy goals in the dissemination of government information?
2. What best practices can we identify that help serve government information policy goals?
3. Where should future research be directed to achieve currently unmet public policy goals?
4. What are the Web technologies currently used by Governments to deliver eServices? Are they working in practice? What are the most common problems governments find?
5. What best practices can be identified in the use of Web Architecture and Open Standards in eGovernment applications?
6. How can Governments achieve better interoperability at all levels between systems, applications and devices to deliver universally accessible eServices to citizens?
7. How are Governments dealing with security and privacy issues and how can they improve to build a trust context for citizens?
8. How can Governments improve their relationships with the Industry using Web technology?

The first day will be composed of invited talks and panels concentrating on public policy goals of eGovernment strategies, as well as investigation of leading edge eGov Web applications. The second day will explore current best practices that can be gleaned from specific eGov Web applications with the aim of learning about new standardization requirements, as well as identify means to disseminate knowledge about the best practices of successful eGov applications.

Our principal focus will be on policy, research and best practices related to the use of the World Wide Web so topics such as hardware security (smart cards, firewalls, etc.) and network infrastructure, while important, will be considered to be out of scope.

Agenda Outline

Day 1 - Invited talks and panels - 18 June 2007

Keynote: Carol Tullo (Office of Public Sector Information, UK)

A. Adapting to new social and economic dynamics of information flow on the Web

• traditional pricing and licensing models (marginal cost of product, no copyright (US) or strong copyright (EU)
• new models

B. Case studies of the Semantic Web as a data integration platform for innovative government services

C. Comparative approaches to government-wide taxonomy standards (XML Schemas, etc.)

<Lunch>

Keynote: Vanessa Lawrence, Director General and CEO, Ordnance Survey, United Kingdom

D. Challenges in interoperability and standards compliance

• official policy on interoperability and standards compliance
• the Copyright Office browser interoperability issues
• Hurricane Katrina interoperability failures

E. Case studies in providing online government-to-citizen services

Day 2 - Panels from Position Papers - 19 June 2007

Day 2 will be in workshop format centered around a series of panel discussions drawn from submitted position papers. Possible topics include:

A. Improving the delivery of eGovernment services through the use of Web technologies

B. Improving the citizen's experience: achieving eGovernment for all. The benefits of accessibility, usability, mobile-friendly content.

C. Creating a Trust Context for Citizens: reducing concerns about conducting sensitive transactions over the Web.

D. Semantic Interoperability of Information on the Web.

Requirements for Participation

• Position papers are strongly encouraged and must be submitted no later than 22 May 2007.
• W3C membership is not required in order to participate in the Workshop.
• The total number of participants will be limited. To ensure diversity, a limit might be imposed on the maximum number of participants per organization.
• Registration instructions will be available on the Workshop page. Space is limited and priority for registration is given to those who have submitted position papers.
• Workshop sessions and documents will be in English.

Note: For those who need extra time to arrange travel, we will be happy to entertain expressions of interest in advance of deadlines.

Position Papers

Position papers are the basis for discussions at the Workshop. Accepted papers will be made available to the public from the Workshop Page. Submitting a position paper acknowledges agreement to these terms for publication.

Papers should explain the participant's interest in the Workshop, and should contribute to the Workshop's goals as outlined above.

All papers should be 1 to 5 pages. Allowed formats are (valid) HTML/XHTML, PDF, or plain text. Papers in any other formats will be returned with a request for correct formatting.

The Program Committee may ask the authors of particularly salient position papers to explicitly present their position at the workshop to foster discussion. Presenters will be asked to make the slides of the presentation available on the workshop home page in HTML, PDF, or plain text. Position papers must be submitted via email to <[email protected]> no later than 22 May 2007. Early submissions are appreciated.

Deliverables

Position papers received for the Workshop will be posted publicly on the Web.

In addition, a final document summarizing the outcome of the Workshop and the suggested future actions, will be posted publicly. Conversations and results are public.

Venue

The workshop will be held at National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. Details will be included in the acceptance notification, and will be published on the Workshop Page.

Workshop Organization

Workshop Chairs

• Daniel J. Weitzner, MIT/W3C
• Ari Schwartz, Center for Democracy and Technology
• Nigel Shadbolt, University of Southampton, UK

Program Committee

At this time, the program committee is still being assembled. The list so far:

• José Manuel Alonso, CTIC/W3C, Co-Chair
• Peter Brown, Pensive.eu/CEN, Co-Chair
• Adam Bailin, Central Office of Information, UK
• Judy Brewer, MIT/W3C
• Brian Collins, Chief Scientific Advisor, UK Department of Transport
• James Hendler, RPI
• Marc Küster, University of Applied Sciences/CEN, Germany
• Bede McCall, MITRE
• Brand Niemann, EPA/SICoP
• Kevin Novak, The Library of Congress
• Serge Novaretti, IDABC Unit, European Commission
• Miguel A. Porrúa, Organization of American States
• Ari Schwartz, Center for Democracy and Technology
• Nigel Shadbolt, Univ. Southampton, President, British Computer Society
• John Sheridan, UK Office of Public Sector Information
• Micah Sifry, Sunlight Foundation
• David Temoshok, GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy
• Peter ter Haar, Ordnance Survey, UK

We plan to invite additional program committee participation in April 2007.

Schedule

The Workshop program will run from 8:30 am to 6 pm on both days.

Important Dates

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission through the creation of Web standards and guidelines designed to ensure long-term growth for the Web. Over 400 organizations are Members of the Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the USA, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) headquartered in France and Keio University in Japan,and has additional Offices worldwide. For more information see http://www.w3.org/

About the Web Science Research Initiative [WSRI]

The Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI) is a joint endeavour between the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT and the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton. The goal of WSRI is to facilitate and produce the fundamental scientific advances necessary to inform the future design and use of the World Wide Web. Since its inception, the World Wide Web has changed the ways scientists communicate, collaborate, and educate. There is, however, a growing realization among many researchers that a clear research agenda aimed at understanding the current, evolving, and potential Web is needed. If we want to model the Web; if we want to understand the architectural principles that have provided for its growth; and if we want to be sure that it supports the basic social values of trustworthiness, privacy, and respect for social boundaries, then we must chart out a research agenda that targets the Web as a primary focus of attention.