By Leigh Andrews

The UK has appointed its first Director of Digital Engagement, Andrew Stott - one of the original sponsors of the Power of Information (PoI) work. It also considered a Digital Rights Agency. People are now asking whether the Director of Digital Engagement can help to open up UK Government. It seems highly possible, especially in light of the new digital engagement blog, which can be seen as an extension of the Power Of Information taskforce blog. This has been well-met, as in 2005, the British Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit released a joint report with the Department of Trade and Industry, titled ‘Connecting the UK – the digital strategy’. Many feel that the digital divide remains a British e-government hurdle, which could actually disenfranchise the area in the near future.

Digital Engagement team building on Power of Information’s foundation

The new British Digital Engagement team comes with an innovative new blog, promising many wonderful online opportunities for the public to engage with the government. The blog will keep citizens informed on what the team is involved with, as well as the technical challenges it faces, and will also use the blog to test out early solutions. It will incorporate everything from the Power of Information taskforce blog, as a continuation of this aim. The Power of Information principles were put into action, and said to be “no longer just recommendations in a report, but… core to the future development and implementation of government policy”. The internet is having a massive impact on how we live our lives. According to PoI, 65% of households in the UK have internet access, and nearly seven out of 10 of Britons go online every month, using the internet to find out about public services - for many, it is the first port of call to find information.

The Digital Engagement team aims to have an effective voice as a form of open information, as people need to be able to understand what is going on in their public services. The British government will thus build on what the PoI taskforce started, in terms of open information; open feedback; open conversation; and open innovation, under Tom Watson MP, Minister for Digital Engagement. Stott’s Digital Engagement team will publish information about public services in ways that are easy to find, use, and re-use. The public should also have a fair say about their services, through open feedback. The Digital Engagement blog lists www.publicexperience.com as a good example of this. Open conversation will also be fostered, with the promotion of greater engagement through more interactive online consultation and collaboration. Professionals will also be empowered with online peer-support networks in their area of work. Lastly, the blog promises to promote innovation in online public services, to respond to changing expectations.

The Digital Engagement team claims to be open to new ideas, and encourages users to speak their minds by leaving comments on the page, and by asking for suggestions about what a data site for the UK government should look like.

The Digital Britain Report

A joint Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS)/Berr press release details the upcoming Digital Britain report. It states that in addition to Britain’s new Digital Engagement team, an action plan to secure the UK’s place at the forefront of innovation; investment; and quality in the digital and communications industries will be developed by Stephen Carter, the first Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting.

It states, “Already a major force in the economy, worth over £52 billion a year, the digital and communication sectors are growing in significance as the country faces up to current financial and market challenges. Vital to underpinning global economic activity, they are critical to every business in our economy, acting both as a catalyst for creativity and allowing efficiency gains. And they have a major impact on our culture and quality of life.”

Drawing on expertise from across Government; regulators; and industry, Lord Carter’s report will be a comprehensive analysis of Britain’s digital economy. Digital Britain aims to accelerate the rate of growth, and cement the UK’s position as a world leader in the knowledge and learning economy.

In this light, Carter brings forth several proposals for Government and industry growth, which include: “identifying barriers to wider investment and development of digital radio platforms, and drawing lessons from the current digital switchover television programme; business models for content development in a digital age, and the impact of new media on the content market; and identifying the barriers to the release of spectrum and a fully functioning-market in the trading and use of spectrum; empowered and informed consumers and citizens fully equipped to take advantage of the opportunities convergence brings; looking at a range of issues affecting internet users, such as user security and safety and a workable approach to promoting content standards; identifying inhibitors to IT take-up and barriers to maximising the economic and social effects of digital technologies, including empowering consumers; providing universal access to high quality, public service content through appropriate mechanisms for a converged digital age; evaluating the impact of digitalisation and the new technologies on public service broadcasting assets and public service licences, in the UK as a whole and in its nations and regions; and examining how to ensure the health of a vibrant independent production sector, including examining the impact of the current quota system imposing a responsive regulatory framework that maximises investment and innovation by providing certainty and equipping regulators with the right tools to achieve their objectives”.

The UK Intellectual Property Office will take forward work to deliver a digital copyright framework, which supports creativity, investment, and job creation in these important sectors.

The extensive research already carried out by Government and industry regulator, Ofcom, will underpin this work. The Digital Britain report will draw on all the available evidence to develop a comprehensive action plan. It is clear that for many people convergence is already a reality, and content is increasingly being accessed through different technologies. The Digital Britain report will consider what future legislative and non-legislative measures are required to support the development of these critical sectors, and will be published in spring 2009.

Watson and Stott’s Digital Britain report and Digital Engagement team sound like footsteps to the future that South Africa should emulate - a step in the same direction as Obama's much-lauded social media campaign.

One can follow Andrew Stott, the UK’s new Director of Digital Engagement in the Cabinet Office, on twitter.

Click here to access the Digital engagement update on the Power of Information.