[LINK] gov.au funds dotcom rescue?

[Ash Nallawalla]

> From: Chirgwin, Richard

> Hmmm. What's going on here, I wonder? A government owned organisation is
> going to spend money developing curriculum material for an in-trouble
> dotcom?

Hey, don't knock our eGovernment. :-)  They're on a roll.  See below (an
extract from a Forrester Research release):

MEDIA RELEASE

eGovernment: Will The Bulldog Learn New Tricks

9 January 2001 - On November 16, 2000, the governments of the UK and
Australia signed a Memorandum of Understanding about the development of
eCommerce and eGovernment services. According to a new research brief from
Forrester Research, the UK needs to steal a page from some of Australia's
eCommerce wins and apply them.

Issued by Forrester's UK research centre, the brief "eGovernment: Will The
Bulldog Learn New Tricks?" says that without concrete action plans in the
form of staffing, budget and legislation, the UK government's MOU with
Australia is "nothing but hot air". To get the best out of this deal for
consumers and businesses, the UK needs to:

-	Learn from Australia how to help local government get over
the eCommerce hurdle. Forrester cites the success of Victoria's state-level
Maxi system in addressing local government laggards.

-	Guarantee an experienced vendor base and shorter procurement
cycles. Australian eGovernment integrators like Aspect should help the UK to
shorten and simplify its procurement systems.

-	Become a driver for international eGovernment growth.
Building a network of the fastest-moving eGovernment nations in the world
will drive inter-governmental eCommerce strategies.

[snip]