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Putting People at the Centre - Executive Summary

Putting People at the Centre is Victoria's eGovernment vision. It is a vision of broad reform and improvement of Victorian Government operations for the benefit of Victorian citizens.

eGovernment is a fundamental re-think about how we can provide better public service to Victorians.

Putting People at the Centre is about using technology to link different government programs and resources in a seamless way. It will involve coordinating and integrating services and information from local and federal governments, and the private sector. This will make communicating and dealing with government more convenient, more relevant and far simpler than they are now.

By tackling these communication issues at a fundamental level, we can produce solutions that are tailored to the needs of individual citizens, communities and businesses. Our eGovernment statement takes us from one-size-fits-all to a truly customised interaction with government. At all times the interaction is on the citizens' terms, not the Government's.

As a vision, Putting People at the Centre is not intended to describe the things that the Government will do to get there. These things are being addressed by the Government separately and will be built into an implementation plan now under development.

Moreover, in the next 5 years a range of new programs and initiatives will be implemented as part of Putting People at the Centre. This will involve the completion of a number of initiatives that are currently in progress, and the establishment of new ones.

Putting People at the Centre's overarching goal is to put citizens at the centre.The Putting People at the Centre eGovernment statement has four pillars:

• Substantially improving support and services to citizens.
• Providing better community engagement and more effective democracy.
• Using innovation in finding new opportunities.
• Creating a framework for ongoing reform within government.

The Four Pillars of Putting People at the Centre

Substantially Improving Support Services To Citizens

eGovernment will make it possible to identify and deliver services that meet citizens' individual needs. This will be achieved by packaging services offered by a range of government departments and private partners.

The emphasis will be on providing Victorian citizens and businesses with more personalised services.

Strategies for achieving this are:

• improving all government services;
• creating services without borders;
• creating services that recognise and respond to individuals; and
• creating services that can be packaged by the user.

One of the important emerging areas of service delivery is in "online only" services. The Putting People at the Centre initiative will involve greater examination of this evolving area of service delivery. While it is clear that online only services are offering a new range of improved service and information options, the Government is cognisant of the fact that there is not yet consistent access to online services across the State. It will therefore be important to ensure that programs that aim to improve online access and skills continue to be emphasised.

Providing Better Community Engagement And More Effective Democracy

eGovernment will give citizens more information about and more say in government activities and provide them with greater opportunity than ever before to be involved in decisions of importance to them. Strategies for achieving this include:

• giving people access to competing sources of information and analysis;
• creating opportunities for community consultation and debate;
• improving opportunities for policy discussion; and
• protecting personal privacy.

As an example, the Victorian Parliament is currently investigating a range of possibilities for increased citizen involvement in decision-making as part of an inquiry into e-democracy.

Using Innovation In Finding New Opportunities

As technology becomes more pervasive and less expensive the Victorian Government is well-placed to reinvent and redesign its services. Governments that move early – and the Victorian Government is determined that it will - can blaze new trails and experiment in pursuit of greater benefits for their citizens.

Past experience has shown that the Victorian Government's aggressive approach to online service delivery has stimulated local industry development, as well as improving Victoria's profile both within Australia and overseas. As a result, strategies for achieving these benefits will involve an emphasis on:

• investigating and experimenting; and
• investment.

Creating A Framework For Ongoing Reform Within Government

eGovernment will reduce service delivery costs, eliminate unnecessary duplication and in some cases make it possible to meet emerging needs without restructuring agencies or programs. Smarter deployment of ICT infrastructure, including sharing of resources, should produce considerable savings.

In a more integrated eGovernment environment, agencies will be able to communicate and cooperate better, and allocate resources more efficiently. There will be fewer barriers to introducing new services, since online delivery channels can usually be scaled up at very little marginal cost. Strategies for achieving this include:

• responding to issues holistically across government;
• building capabilities within agencies; and
• effective sharing of resources.

Last updated: 20 October 2011

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