EURIM Monthly Newsletter

Summary Version

The full text for the newsletter summarised below is at http://www.eurim.org.uk/activities/newsletter.pdf

Some items link to material in the members’ area. Please email admin@eurim.org if you do not have your password to hand.

1) Setting the Information Society Agendas for the Next Government

The event for Parliamentary Candidates on 10th December on “Smarter Britain” heard examples of very rapid payback (one under 14 days) from giving mobiles to health visitors and other front line service delivery staff to cut desk-bound paperwork. We are working with the Industry and Parliament Trust on joint events for candidates. Contact JessicaCampbell@ipt.org.uk for details. An additional event for candidates has been suggested on how we could/should protect content that is being distributed over the Internet, including tracking and tracing those whose traffic is in dispute or illegal.

2) Setting the Information and Identity Governance Agendas

On 3rd February the Identity Governance Subgroup will discuss objectives and terms of reference for an exercise to address the issues of responsibility, liability, accountability and interoperability across civil-military, public-private and international boundaries as well as across departmental or application boundaries - including topics like voter registration. The Security by Design report is being revised to reflect reviewers’ comments and will be launched with a briefing for candidates on why political action is needed. Recent studies by the Audit Commission show performance correlating with quality of information management and massive variations in both. We are working together on a high level round table on the afternoon of 22nd February, on the political implications.

3) Setting a Realistic "More for Less" Public Service Delivery Agenda

The meeting of the Public Sector Procurement subgroup on 12th January agreed objectives for the visit to Holland on 4th February, co-operation with the Industry and Parliament Trust on an exchange programme with service delivery suppliers (hopefully joint with Intellect) and an exercise (joint with the Communications Group and others) to identify good practice in the planning and procurement of shared network services. It also agreed an exercise on security procurement, including to support implementation of the recommendations in the Security by Design report.

4) Implementing the e-Crime Reduction Agenda

On 26th January e-Skills-UK will host a meeting to discuss the creation of the security section of the National Skills Academy for IT: qualifications, courses and materials to meet known employer needs. The aim is to identify a team of employers (law enforcement, security agencies, financial services, telcos, ISPs etc.) and suppliers (relevant accreditations, qualifications, courses, materials etc.) and agree broad terms of reference and an initial action plan. Meetings are also being organised to bring together those working on the needs of small firms, on awareness programmes and on first point of contact exercises. Meetings on the other areas for which we have volunteers will follow.

5) Rebuilding and Sustaining the UK High-Tech Skills Base

The funding crises in Further and Higher Education in the face of rising applications for vocational courses from all ages and at all levels, raise the need for innovative thinking. There are a growing number of global lifelong learning networks but UK players appear more interested in co-operating with partners in China or the US than in other parts of the UK. Meanwhile ICT employers are moving up the value chain in their use of imported staff for those tasks not being outsourced overseas. Please e-mail eurim@eurim.org if you would like to support, or help organise and drive, work in this space.  

6) Communications

The Prime Minister has written on the need to deliver high speed broadband across the UK. The next Communications Group meeting, on 18th January, will look at the EU timetable and agenda for 2010 and guidance for candidates supporting campaigns for local Next Generation Networks. We expect to work on this with ApComms, the All Party Group on Rural Services and others. Several candidates have already volunteered to help review the material with a view to using it in their own election campaigns. The meeting will also discuss a possible joint exercise on EU Patent Law Reform and on IPR enforcement, including the practical side of collating reports and intelligence and organising action against commercial pirates in the context of the proposals in the Digital Britain Bill.