2010

Connecting and engaging

with the public

4 October 2010
Inmarsat, London
Attend this one day conference to discover
the most effective ways for public sector
bodies to engage with their audience.

speakers include:
Annie Dare, special adviser to the UK Digital Champion, Race Online 2012
Sarah Drummond, founder, mypolice.org
Andy Gibson, co-founder, School of Everything and author, Local by Social
Helen Milner, managing director, UK online centres
Gordon Scobbie, assistant chief constable, West Midlands Police

guardian.co.uk/ps-online
9.00
Registration and morning coffee

9:30
Chair’s opening remarks
Helen Milner, managing director, UK online centres

9:40
Opening keynote: Efficiencies and channel shift

As we face a period of massive cost cutting exercises across the public sector, web-
based access channels are an obvious and important way to achieve savings; not just
cost savings, also saving time and resources. How can your organisation make
necessary savings while delivering high quality services online?
• Customer mapping
• Management buy-in
• Using online support to complement / replace face-to face support
Annie Dare, special adviser to the UK Digital Champion, Race Online 2012

Race Online 2012 is a cross-sector campaign to give everyone in the UK, especially
those social groups who stand to benefit most from the opportunities it affords, equal
access to technology before the 2012 Olympic Games. The campaign was conceived
by Martha Lane Fox, UK Digital Champion.

10:10
Sharing public sector information

With greater use of the internet and the growth of online services, organisations have to
differentiate themselves through the enhancement of the online experience. As
government seeks to open itself up and have far greater involvement of the community
in public service delivery, how do you maintain a fine balance in making sure
information provision is right, relevant and recommended. Could we see a TripAdvisor
approach to public sector information in future?
• The value of personalising the web experience
• The impact of information everywhere
• Fact and opinion, getting the right balance
Sharon Cooper, director of proposition strategy and product design, Directgov

10:40
Session and speaker to be confirmed
Sponsored by Adobe

11:10
Morning coffee and networking break
11:40
Solution tutorials
Delegates should choose to attend either session 1, 2, 3 or 4

Session 1: Virtualised hosting for the public sector

Public Sector IT departments need to be able to respond to the transformation agenda
and the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme whilst facing increased budget pressures. How
can the challenges facing public sector IT departments be tackled through virtualised
hosting and shared services? Hear how the Department for Education has cut costs,
reduced carbon emissions and benefited from an improved service through the
Government Ready Platform shared virtualised hosting platform.
Julian Mitchell, public sector manager, Eduserv

Session 2: ESRI UK

Session 3: The role of the online channel in delivering on the promises of “Big
Society”
The Big Society programme challenges the public sector to fundamentally change the
way in which it engages with citizens. Web based technologies play a key role in
achieving this by providing a cost effective channel with which to give citizens,
communities and government the power and information they need to come together,
solve the problems they face and build the Britain they want.
Jonathan Woodward, CTO, WTG Technologies

Session 4: Sequence

12:15
Solution tutorials
Delegates should choose to attend either session 5, 6, 7 or 8

Session 5: Separating content from navigation

Large public sector organisations need to develop their websites and content to
improve content management and be prepared for Machinery of Government changes.
This year’s change of government showed how a site’s structure and navigation may
need to change at short notice. How can you manage content items that appear in
more than one place in the navigational architecture and in more than one URL while
making sure those different URLs don’t affect search engine results or Search Engine
Optimisation?
Stephen Pope, technical architect, Eduserv

Session 6: ESRI UK

Session 7: Case study: An innovative approach to online service delivery

As the public sector looks to the web to help improve service delivery, and operational
efficiency, this case study focuses on one agency’s use of online solutions to deliver
major cost savings and improved citizen self service.
Speaker to be confirmed
Session sponsored by WTG Technologies
Session 8: Sequence

12.45
Lunch

13:40
Good practice workshops
Delegates should choose to attend either workshop 1, 2, 3 or the developer showcase

Workshop 1: Customer access: Maximising channel shift to the web

As ways of accessing the internet change, and public expectations increase, how can
you deliver services the way people want them, increasing customer access and
making those all-important efficiency savings?
Martin Greenwood, programme manager, Socitm Insight

Workshop 2: Open data and open source

The recent launch of data.gov.uk is based on both open standards for sharing
information and open source software for developing online information channels. How
can your team utilise this openness and what are the challenges and benefits of
adopting them?
Paul Jenkins, senior project manager, Central Office of Information

Workshop 3: Developing mobile content: Public sector apps

People now have so many ways to access online information and services, wherever
and whenever they are, that they expect the same levels of service through each
access device. What challenges does this through out for web and communication
teams and how can they be overcome to develop mobile access as part of your web
strategy?
Charles Ewen, head of web and business services, Met Office

Developer showcase
The opening up of government data and the proliferation of Apps has lead to a sea
change in the use, delivery and look of information to the public. This session offers a
look at the technical challenges and benefits of delivering new online and mobile
applications from a developer’s perspective

14:40
Afternoon tea and networking break

15:00
Self-service websites

As the public sector look to identify areas for efficiency savings and move towards
small government, the time looks ripe for online self-service. What are the challenges of
developing and delivering self-service websites and what are the benefits to the
organisation and its customers?
Dominic Cain, head of client services, London Borough of Southwark
15:30
Closing panel: Innovation in social media

As more people use social networking sites to keep informed, and organisations use
them to spread information and market services, what are the best ways for public
sector bodies to engage with the public?
• The rise in the use of social networks as a line of communication
• Twittiquette – best use of Tweets
• Twitter as a public service
• Generating and monitoring content - Social media etiquette
• Online engagement – encouraging two way usage
Dave Briggs, community evangelist, Learning Pool
Sarah Drummond, founder, mypolice.org
Lauren Currie, director, mypolice.org
Gordon Scobbie, assistant chief constable, West Midlands Police
Andy Gibson, co-founder, School of Everything and author, Local by Social

16:30
Chair’s concluding remarks and end of conference
Sponsors
Product tutorial sponsors

Eduserv is dedicated to developing and delivering
technology services for the public sector. We are a
not-for-profit organisation and registered charity,
governed by a board of Trustees. We fulfil our charitable
mission by providing IT services for the public benefit.
These include hosting, web content management and
development.
WTG is a leading technology consultancy and online
solutions provider to the UK Public Sector, specialising
in the design, build and management of web
applications, designed to improve operational
efficiency, reduce costs and enable effective delivery of
a Gov 2.0 strategy

Corporate exhibitors

ESRI (UK) is the leading provider of geographic

information system (GIS) technology, helping
businesses become more profi table and public service
more efficient through a better understanding and
analysis of location-based information.
ESRI (UK) employs over 300 people across six offices
and offers GIS technology and an extensive range of
consultancy and training services. It is the only
company in the UK able to provide a complete and
entirely integrated GIS technical solution.
Shaw Trust is one of the leading providers of Web
Accessibility Services in the UK. Every day our skilled
and committed teams work with organisations to help
them achieve web compliance to the relevant current
guidelines and legislation, ensuring peace of mind
knowing their website is reaching the widest possible
audience.

Customers include Birmingham City Council, DEFRA,

the Environment Agency, Manchester City Airport,
Metropolitan Police Service and Ordnance Survey.
ESRI (UK) helps organisations to think and plan
geographically in order to make better decisions, keep
communities safe and create a more sustainable world.
Thomson Reuters Custom Web Solutions helps
organizations to harness the e-channel for public service
delivery. Key competencies include researching,
writing and editing content to ensure accuracy, policy
alignment, audience focus, plain English and usability.
We can apply established style and standards - including
Direct.gov and Businesslink.gov - or create a tailored
style guide.

Founded in 1995, Sequence became one of the first

agencies in the UK to market a cost- effective method of
making the internet interactive for website owners and
users alike.

The company's extensive digital services include

designing and building websites, developing online
applications, devising digital marketing campaigns,
providing online strategy & insight and creating mobile
phone applications.

Sequence employs 50 people, and counts Storm Model

Agency, Eversheds, Welsh National Opera, Rachel's
Dairy and the Welsh Assembly Government among its
clients.