IT trends in local public services 2009/10: Stretched to breaking point (article)
by John Serle
from eGov Monitor (UK) 08.02.2010
"IT Trends 2008/09 predicted that by 2010 public services would be stretched to breaking point as demand continued to increase and capacity declined. John Serle, IT Trends Editor discusses the latest report."

Indicator development as 'boundary spanning' between scientists and policy-makers (journal article)
By Helga Pülzl and Ewald Rametsteiner
from Science and Public Policy Vol 36 Number 10 Dec 2009, pp. 743-752
"In sustainability impact assessments the development of widely accepted indicators that structure the subject area and provide the framework for assessing sustainability impacts is clearly important. We argue that the development of sustainability indicators in science-based initiatives works across the science/policy interface where social and natural scientists as well as stakeholders and policy-makers both translate concepts and ideas to each other and thus make value judgments about the selection of indicators and related sub-classes. This explains why pure scientific indicator initiatives based on simple 'knowledge transfer' models are unlikely to succeed. Instead, sustainability indicator development requires a 'knowledge transaction model' which spans the boundary between the scientific and the political domains."

Sustainable development for public administration [book]

Authors: Deniz Zeynep Leuenberger and John R. Bartle

"Focuses on the application of sustainability and sustainable development theories to public administration practice. It's designed to guide planning, resource management, and outcomes measurement for future and current non-profit and public managers. ... Introduces sustainable development and related theories; ties these theories to public administration practice; and elaborates on applications to specific PA specializations including energy management, transportation, water, waste management, urban development, wildlife conservation, and higher education. It also includes a chapter specifically geared to outcome measurement of sustainability goals in public and non-profit agencies." - from publisher.

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Public sector intranets [book]

Author: Anna Shaw

"A unique guide to the particular challenges faced by those who develop, implement and manage intranet sites for public sector organisations. Based on the real-life experiences of the contributors, the report offers practical advice on topics such as securing buy-in and raising awareness at all levels of the organisation, improving accessibility and usability, use of web 2.0 tools and ensuring relevance with a thorough and effective user-consultation process." - executive summary.

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Reassessing Outsourcing in Ict-Enabled Public Management (journal article)
By Tino Schuppan
from Public Management Review Vol 11 Issue 6 Nov 2009 , pp 811 - 831
"Using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in public administration goes beyond online services, as it also enables new kinds of work sharing and information exchange between different agencies. These can be used to establish new forms of public service delivery, such as the separation of service delivery between front and back offices, which enable better access for citizens. This new kind of ICT enabled work sharing will be used as a basis to analyse whether outsourcing can be reassessed. First, existing approaches to such decisions will be explored against the backdrop of public service delivery processes which have been penetrated by ICT. Next, a framework will be derived which will be used to understand better the potential of different ICT functions to affect outsourcing decisions. Finally, ICT's effect upon outsourcing will be illustrated using examples from the United Kingdom. The UK findings demonstrate that new strategic issues are emerging which are not addressed in existing public management literature about outsourcing and which therefore require further exploration and examination."

Rethinking e-government services : user-centred approaches [online]

Author: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

"Gives a broad description of the shift in governments' focus on e-government development - from a government-centric to a user-centric approach. It gives a comprehensive overview of challenges to user take-up of e-government services in OECD countries and of the different types of approaches to improving it." - abstract.

E-government cluster boots up with $250k funding (journal article)
by Georgina Swan
from CIO Government, 10 September 2009
"A technology cluster aimed at supporting and strengthening government ICT industries in Australia will inject $150,000 into the industry in 2010, with a commitment for a further $100,000 per annum through to 2011-12.
The e-government cluster is a partnership between National ICT Australia (NICTA), the ACT government, several major international companies, ACT companies and other research organisations including the ANU.
It aims to develop technology that will enable governments to deliver better services, reduce costs and open up new opportunities for businesses. "

The Politics of climate change [book]

Author: Anthony Giddens

"Climate change differs from any other problem that, as collective humanity, we face today. If it goes unchecked, the consequences are likely to be catastrophic for human life on earth. Yet for most people, and for many policy-makers too, it tends to be a 'back of the mind' issue. ... [This book] argues controversially, we do not have a systematic politics of climate change. Politics-as-usual won't allow us to deal with the problems we face, while the recipes of the main challenger to orthodox politics, the green movement, are flawed at source." - cover.

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The Carbon Neutral Public Sector (journal article)
By Amanda Ball, Ian Mason, Suzana Grubnic and Phil Hughes
from Public Management Review Vol 11 Issue 5 Sept 2009, pp. 575 - 600
"This paper argues for research into the effectiveness of government strategies for a 'carbon neutral public sector'. We review initiatives in three OECD countries: New Zealand, Australia and the UK. In all jurisdictions, government agencies have consistently stressed 'leading by example' as a rationale for adoption. 'Direct mandate' by the Prime Minister (NZ); 'organic development' from wider central government sustainability initiatives (UK); and a more 'laissez faire' approach by Australian Federal and State Governments, were identified as the general pathways leading to implementation. Our assessment indicates: a lack of understanding of the implementation process for carbon neutrality; a need to identify and critically examine the 'offset threshold' at which mitigation efforts cease and offsetting is adopted; an absence of any evaluation of the 'leading by example' rationale; a lack of inter-country comparisons; a gap in understanding the relationship with economic and social aspects of sustainability; and a need to evaluate the utility of core government departments as the focus of carbon accounting. We urge colleagues to consider research in this area with a view to contributing to the interdisciplinary solutions which we believe are required."

Four Steps to Redefining the Economics of IT (journal article)
by Brenton Smith
from CIO 05 August, 2009
"CIOs need to drive more economic value from their IT investments and projects than ever before. A four-pronged approach is key."

Public procurement as an innovation policy tool: the role of institutions (journal article)
by Max Rolfstam
from Science and Public Policy, June 2009
"Policy-makers in the EU have increasingly emphasised the role of public procurement as a policy instrument that can be used to stimulate innovation. This development reflects and responds to a growing concern among EU member states about how to maintain competitive advantage in an economic environment increasingly subject to global competition. To contribute to these emerging policies, this paper develops an innovation theory-based approach regarding public procurement of innovations, by elaborating an institutional focus. In contrast to current institutional approaches in innovation studies, the approach applied here brings in the often neglected endogenous perspective. The empirical studies cited in this paper suggest that the needs of endogenous, or informal, institutions also need to be taken into account in order to understand better the institutional set-up enabling public procurement of innovations. "

Privacy worries grow over wireless monitoring devices: Tech investors weigh question of Big Brother (journal article)
By Matt Hamblen
From CIO 6 May 2009
"The wireless industry is abuzz with plans for expanding remote monitoring of just about any device over wireless networks. Examples range from reading water and power meters remotely, to helping police see how long a car has been parked on a city street or monitoring traffic congestion via wireless cameras. But with the growth in the technology, there's also growing concern that Big Brother will have more eyes and ears than ever before. "

White House wants cloud computing (article)
by Doug Beizer
From Federal Computer Week, 11 May 2009
"Cloud computing will play a major role in modernizing the federal government’s technology infrastructure, according to a White House document published today with the administration's 2010 budget request. Cloud computing refers to an arrangement in which an organization pays a service provider to deliver applications, computing power and storage via the Web. Under the White House’s plan, several agencies could access a common application from the cloud. "

Review of regulatory burden on the upstream petroleum (oil and gas) sector [book]

Author: Australia. Productivity Commission

"Identifies significant unnecessary costs from delays and uncertainties in obtaining approvals, duplication of compliance requirements, and inconsistent administration of regulatory processes." - foreword.

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Government strategies to attract R&D-intensive FDI (journal article)
By José Guimón
from Journal of Technology Transfer Vol 34 No 4 Aug 2009, pp. 364-379
"Competition among countries to attract the research and development (R&D) activities of multinational enterprises has increased substantially during the last years, but the strategies used by governments in this competition still remain largely unexplored. This paper addresses that gap by proposing a taxonomy of the policy instruments available to stimulate inward R&D-intensive foreign direct investment (FDI) and presenting the results of a comparative case study of two EU countries: Spain and Ireland. The main conclusion is that an efficient promotion of R&D-intensive FDI calls for a closer connection between innovation policy and inward investment promotion, which are two policy areas that have traditionally operated rather separately. In addition, investment promotion agencies targeting R&D-intensive FDI are advised to reconfigure the scope of services they provide by placing more emphasis on after-care, since R&D-intensive FDI tends to be evolutionary rather than purely greenfield."

5 secrets of leading-edge technology adoptors (article)
by John Moore
from Federal Computer Week, 3 April 2009
"Striking gold with a new technology doesn’t happen by accident, and it certainly doesn’t happen every time. The agencies that have a better success rate than others use a disciplined and judicious approach, particularly during tough economic times. Here’s how they do it."

The Complexity of Comprehensive Planning Partnerships: The Case of the Warnervale Town Centre (journal article)
By Kristian J. Ruming
from Urban Policy and Research Vol 27 Iss 1 Mar 2009, pp. 25 -42
"In recent years, urban partnerships have increasingly been utilised in the provision of master planned estates, which, in turn, are progressively becoming the norm for residential development in Australia and overseas. This article traces the formal and informal partnership arrangements which facilitate plan development and position partnership as a slippery and complex institutional arrangement. The case of one of Sydney's largest residential land releases—Warnervale Town Centre—in the period 2000-2005 is used. The article concludes that space should be made for both formal and informal institutional arrangements in the planning and delivery of large developments involving a variety of state and private actors. "

Tackling Big Problems Through Civic Information Technologies (journal article)
by Brian Behlendorf
from eGov Monitor, 23 March 2009
"Governments should maintain a roadmap of existing or potential CITs (Civic Information Technologies), and manage an awareness of that roadmap at senior policy levels says the author as he discusses the potential benefits."

Project management : some reflections on the management of projects in the Australian public sector. (journal article)
by Ian McPhee
from Public Administration Today No 15 2008
"Commentary on project management within the Australian public sector - interdependencies and variables in project management - influences shaping project management - role of project management in delivering outcomes for government - appropriate methodologies in risk management - Australian Government Gateway Review process - success factors in project management - case studies"

The Microguide to process modeling in BPMN [book]

Authors: Tom Debevoise and Rick Geneva
A straightforward guide to mapping your business processes using BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation). Offers real life examples and solutions that are useful whether you are in government, manufacturing or business.