Just half of the UK population has used the internet in the last year to access information about government or local council services or completed a government form or process online, according to Ofcom research.

Forty-two per cent of people interviewed said that they had looked for information online about a government or local council service, or used services such as paying their road tax or registering for Child Tax Credits online. Among people who have the internet at home, this rises to 55 per cent who have used these services online.

However, only 15 per cent of people from areas of multiple deprivation have used similar information or services online. Areas of multiple deprivation are defined by a range of factors including economic, social and housing issues.

The research comes as more and more services, such as central and local government services, are available online.

EASIER TO ENGAGE
The majority of people (70 per cent of the online sample, 60 per cent of the general population) say that the internet has made it easier to engage in citizen participation activities, such as contacting an MP or signing a petition. But in areas of multiple deprivation less than half of people interviewed agreed (42 per cent) and 20 per cent disagreed.

LACK OF AWARENESS
However, respondents were not always aware of what can be done online (for example, contacting your MP, getting in touch with the local council or joining a campaign). Among the online sample interviewed, 31 per cent were unaware of online citizen participation opportunities and lack of awareness increases to 72 per cent amongst those in areas of multiple deprivation.

A recurring theme throughout the research was a desire to keep traditional methods of contact. Thirty three per cent of the online user sample would rather deal with someone face to face, for example, when contacting their MP. Sixty three per cent of people living in areas of multiple deprivation expressed the same view.

TRUST AND CONFIDENCE ISSUES
Trust and confidence were also issues. Almost half (46 per cent) of those from areas of multiple deprivation said that they did not sufficiently trust the internet for civic activities and 40 per cent said that they lack confidence to participate in citizen activities online. Among the online users, one in ten (9 per cent) said that they lack confidence to participate in citizen activities online and the same proportion (9 per cent) agreed that they don’t sufficiently trust the internet for citizen activities.

MOTIVATORS FOR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
Feeling strongly about an issue or cause is the most important reason for people to take part in citizen activities (whether on or offline) among both online users and multiple deprivation area populations (42 of online user sample and 43 per cent of people living in areas of multiple deprivation). Being invited to take part also plays a role with just under a third of people asked.

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Figure 1 Taleb’s  classical metaphor: A Turkey is fed for a 1000 days—every day confirms to its statistical department that the human race cares about its welfare “with increased statistical significance”. On the 1001^st day, the turkey has a surprise.

Figure 2 The graph above shows the fate of close to 1000 financial institutions (includes busts such as FNMA, Bear Stearns, Northern Rock, Lehman Brothers, etc.). The banking system (betting AGAINST rare events) just lost > 1 Trillion dollars (so far) on a single error, more than was ever earned in the history of banking. Yet bankers kept their previous bonuses and it looks like citizens have to foot the bills. And one Professor Ben Bernanke pronounced right before the blowup that we live in an era of stability and “great moderation” (he is now piloting a plane and we all are passengers on it).

Taleb, looking at the current banking crisis, points out that “the banking system, betting against Black Swans, has lost over 1 Trillion dollars (so far), more than was ever made in the history of banking”.

His essay does however helpfully provide a map outlining where statistics can be valuable and where they should be discarded.

We can identify where the danger zone is located, which I call “the fourth quadrant”, and show it on a map with more or less clear boundaries. A map is a useful thing because you know where you are safe and where your knowledge is questionable. So I drew for the Edge readers a tableau showing the boundaries where statistics works well and where it is questionable or unreliable. Now once you identify where the danger zone is, where your knowledge is no longer valid, you can easily make some policy rules: how to conduct yourself in that fourth quadrant; what to avoid…

…The “wisdom of crowds” might work in the first three quadrant; but it certainly fails (and has failed) in the fourth.

Read: THE FOURTH QUADRANT: A MAP OF THE LIMITS OF STATISTICS

Civil servants fear the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on struggling IT projects will mean that all 111 public sector projects will now be tarred with the same brush- A Silicon Republic Report in the Irish Independent 17 January 2008

The C&AG’s report is due before the Public Accounts Committee in the coming months and secretaries general, consultants and civil servants may be asked to account for themselves.

It is understood there is concern amongst civil servants that a wide array of well-performing e-government projects will now be unfairly tarred with the same brush.

A spokesman for the C&AG said there was no agenda at play to deride government IT projects. “IT systems are something the C&AG has been returning to periodically over recent years. Our job is to factually report on whether the public are getting value for money as projects should be maturing. If anything, it is an opportunity for departments that got it right to provide lessons to teach colleagues.”

Dr Joe McDonagh, a senior lecturer in business studies at Trinity College Dublin, believes the perception of e-government projects could be damaged. “When all is said and done, the departments still have a job to do in modernising processes.

“The danger is that with the negative press and opposition politicians making capital out of it, this could have a negative effect on public sector innovation. Major ICT investments are risky but public sector managers could now be more apprehensive and cautious.”

He says that to put it in perspective, the e-government project investments totalled €420m over a six-year period and projects such as Motor Tax Online and ROS are demonstrable successes.

“In this sense e-government adds up to €70m invested each year. However, the Government spends €51bn every year and employs 350,000 people in almost 600 departments and agencies. The e-government spend is peanuts in this context so the whole thing is blown out of proportion.

The main danger is that now people in government, in IT in particular, will be afraid to innovate.”

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With €180m in turnover in 2007 and 70 indigenous companies, the mobile telecoms sector in Ireland is healthy to say the least but more than that, a certain few are beginning to emerge as global leaders in the area.

This change, says David Moran, CEO of University College Dublin spin-out company ChangingWorlds, is due to scale being judged as a measure of success, with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland creating programmes that will nurture the global aspirations of these companies.

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The emerging internet giant is considering the Republic as one of two possible locations for its European hub, in a move that could bring a major employment boost.

More from the Irish Independent 16th January 2008

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Ranking for foreign direct investment is on slide

Ireland’s foreign direct investment (FDI) ranking fell four places to 14th out of 30 countries in 2007, according to a survey from National Irish Bank and OCO Consulting.

But the index, which is adjusted to take the size of a country into account, also showed that Ireland was one of the leading developed economies, falling below only Australia. The US ranked 21st and the UK 25th.

According to Ronnie O’Toole, chief economist, National Irish Bank, Ireland continues to outperform virtually all major developed economies when adjusted for size.

Ireland attracted a particularly high share of projects involving research and development (R&D) in 2007, with around 12pc of jobs won involving a significant element of R&D.

According to Mark O’Connell, chief executive of OCO Consulting: “R&D projects are the cream of inward investment projects globally, and investment projects involving a significant R&D content are highly prized amongst governments and development agencies.

“The strong performance of Ireland in this regard in 2007 is particularly notable given the fact that this is an area where historically Ireland has not performed so well.

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