25.11.2002 - Seminar on new eGovernment Masters Programme

I would like to welcome the guests from Northern Ireland to Dublin who are joining with a number of public servants from throughout the State to start an interesting and unique process with the University of Ulster and the Letterkenny Institute of Technology.

This afternoon is an opportunity to meet with others who share an interest in the transformation process which is encapsulated by the term 'e-Government' and it is an opportunity to establish a new network connecting people from two jurisdictions whose citizens interact at a business, social and family level and for whom as public servants, you discharge an obligation to serve across a whole range of activities.

For Letterkenny Institute of Technology and the University of Ulster, it is a unique opportunity to capture the minds of key players in the field of e-Government and to seek your assistance in the formulation of a new curriculum.

Today is the first of a number of seminars and the initiation of a new network of 'eGovernment types' who will be able to share experiences and discuss issues using on-line facilities being hosted by the University and the Institute.

Today is a significant event in that two education institutions are joining in a common cause to create education content which is relevant to the two administrations.

It is also the genesis of a new relationship between the two administrations focusing on the way they work and what they actually do in the service of their citizens.

It is a recognition too that the task of transforming bureaucracies is not simple - it is not just a matter of building technological solutions - of automating existing processes and procedures - it requires a considerable level of effort and re-skilling across the public service to bring about the monumental changes that are required to achieve the levels of effectiveness and efficiency that are possible in this new age of sophisticated technology and connectivity.

eGovernment is an evolutionary process - the boundaries of which continue to move further and further as the potential of technology increase and opens up new possibilities.

Ultimately, it means changing cultures and relationships both within and between public bureaucracies and with citizens - and it inevitably means that the many organisations that comprise the public sector will have to change the way they operate.

Clearly, therefore, the IT dimension to e-Government is only a small part of the equation - it is easy to changes and automate the processes and procedures - it is relatively easy to create common front ends and public facing web-sites - but it is not so easy to model new service paradigms, new organisational structures and new cultures.

For the users or consumers of public services, technology gives us the tools to simplify their experience of interaction - whether for compliance or for assistance - it should also prompt us to continually ask ourselves how this new era of instant connectively and sophisticated computing power can impact on what we do as servants of the public - and, as a politician, I am very aware of the potential impact this greater level of connectivity and access many have on the way we politicians do our work.

For public servants, technology creates the opportunity to reshape our structures and build greater responsive agility in terms of service delivery, policy formulation and internal administration.

When you look at the complexity of Government and public administration, there are many stakeholders to be embraced and won over to make the transformation possible - and there are many aspects of the operation of the public service that will be affected by the process of transformation. The importance of this event is that it affords an opportunity to both educationalists and public servants to focus on these aspects of modernisation, which will ultimately lead to a new concept of a 'corporate' public services.

This is clearly breaking new ground for the public service - and taking it into entirely new directions. The scale of the task demands that there are highly-skilled e-Government 'champions' at all levels of Government - people who are prepared and equipped to innovate in the many aspects of service delivery and internal administration.

Today's seminar has been organised at the request of the two colleges and is designed to initiate a short process of curriculum building, with a view to course commencement next year. I have to commend their foresight and determination to work on a cross-border basis in this way, and to set up a mechanism whereby public servants can contribute to the design of a focused active learning curriculum.

By opting for an active learning approach, they are creating an environment in which participants can engage in applied knowledge acquisition through relevant project work in their own organisation and by sharing real live experiences from which potent and useful lessons can be learnt.

Following today's seminar, there will be a more focused meeting, tomorrow, of officials from North and South, with course designers from the two colleges. It is also intended to have further seminars over the coming months - the next one being in Belfast - to look at some specific areas of transformation, with a view to deepening the curriculum around some key disciplines and competencies. 

The intention is also to create an on-line collaboration space to facilitate on-going discussion and information sharing on this whole complex area of e-Government.

With the line-up of speakers for the afternoon, it should prove to be an interesting and enlightening experience for all of the participants.

In welcoming you all here this afternoon, I also want to wish you well in your deliberations and I hope that the outcome of this afternoon's seminar will bear fruit in terms of content and new connections.

When any organisation embarks on a process of change, the most important asset it can have is people with the skills and know-how to make it happen. In today's world of rapid change and development, the ability of shill and re-skill is becoming increasingly important for organisations that want to survive.

The public service is not like other organisations - it is large and complex - with a geographical and functional spread, which is hard to mirror in other sectors. Those who have been prepared and educated for the task can only address that complexity.

I want to commend the colleges on this initiative and I hope that it produces many skilled and qualified people, suitably equipped for the tasks that lay ahead. It is an exciting venture for the two colleges - and an exciting and interesting opportunity for the two public services involved in this process.