Guidelines for the Development and Promotion of Governmental Public Domain Information
UNESCO Cluster Office Almaty
PublishedbyUNESCOClusterOfficeAlmatyforKyrgyzstan, KazakhstanandTajikistan
050000, Almaty, 67 Tole-Bi st.. Tel: +7 (7272)582643. Fax: +7(7272)794853Эл-email:
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ISBN:
Guidelines for the Development and Promotion of Governmental Public Domain Information
The author is responsible for choice and presentation of the facts contained in the report, and also for the opinions expressed here which unnecessary reflect a position of UNESCO, and do not impose the obligations to the organization.
The designations used in the report and presentation of a material do not reflect UNESCO opinion concerning a legal status of any country, territory, city or region, or their authorities, and also demarcation of boundaries or borders.
Authors: Tattu Mambetalieva, Lira Samykbaeva,Alexey Bebinov.
English translation: Lira Samykbaeva
Illustrations:
Foreword: TarjaVirtanen, SergeyKarpov
Cover page designand layout: CIIP
Printedby: CIIP
Signed to print 10.12.2008. Format А5. Copies 10
Web address:
Foreword
UNESCO Almaty would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Center for Internet Civil Policy Initiative of the Kyrgyz Republic (CIIP) to the creation of thisGuidelines for the Development and Promotion of Governmental Public Domain Information.
These guidelineswill bea useful tool for government employees responsible for implementation of the access to information law. They help to create permanent electronic services to simplify access to government texts. The model forretention of electronic records outlined in the text is based on UNESCO records management policy. The guidelineswhere elaborated in the framework of UNESCO Communication and Information Programme within the UNESCO/CIIP project: Capacity-building for records management and online access to public information.
Theseguidelineswill helpgovernment institutions to develop information distribution solutions,such as website or electronic portal. They outline the managerial responsibility of the key people involved in the creation and maintenance of governmental online information.
Tarja Virtanen, Sergey Karpov
Table of contents
Internet web site as an instrument to provision of information access
Management of works on provision of information access
Responsible persons
Terms of the information update
Forms of interaction with the web site visitors
Condition/quality of information
Information price
Creation of mailing lists
Guidelines on the retention of electronic records
The retention schedule
Types and terms of information subject to obligatory publication in the Internet web sites of State authorities and Local Self Administration bodies
Normative-legal Acts
Current decisions and official events
Work schedules and dates of the working meetings
Information subject to publish not less than once a year
Conclusion
Content
Vision editor
Content management systems
Standard web site structure
Approaches on working with the text information
Standards of the text document design
Work principals with the graphic information
Standards of the graphic material design
Common requirements on information security for the state bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic. Principles of arrangement of information protection within the interdepartmental interoperability
Security requirements
Threat
Some specific types of intrusion
Assessment of threat, risk level and countermeasures
Security strategies
Technical requirements to the information security within the interdepartmental interoperability
Requirements to ensure integrity of information and IT
Requirements to physical protection and protection of IT environment
Requirements to identification and authentication
Requirements to access control
Requirements to security of IT and communications
Special security measures
Encryption
Mechanisms of digital signature
Mechanisms of access control
Safe transfer of Web-content and authenticity of a Web-server
Web-services
List of the main terms and definitions
Internet web site as an instrument to provision of information access
Legislation puts huge obligations on the state authorities, concerning dissemination and promulgation of the information, with a provision of a small list of instruments of these liabilities realization:Mass Media, informational desks and panels. Even though, we still do not have a clear definition of the Internet and Internet web sites in the legislative field, many state authorities today have their own web sites. To have ones own web site is very important for many reasons, one of the main and practical reason is the usage of the web site as an instrument for the provision of information access to the citizens. An officer,who is responsible for information dissemination, can use organization's web site for the information promulgation and distribution, as well as to uphold a wide activity in this sphere, and substitute panels, stands and some of the Mass Media. Information dissemination and promulgation is one of the responsibilities of the state authorities.
Management of works on provision of information access
Responsible persons
It is important to remember, that there must be a concrete person, who is responsible for the on-line information dissemination and promulgation. It can be one officer, or a number of officers, whose responsibility will be clearly assigned, in accordance with the type of organization, as a dissemination of any information is associated with not only duties, but also with responsibilities. There are many cases of the court responsibilities calling of persons who has disseminated information in the legislation of the country. State authorities must assign a special staff or to entrust an authority, concerning on-line information dissemination, on the already existing person. However, it is still recommended to create a separate staff, where there will be such an officer, who understands not only technical aspects of the on-line information management, but also a person who can work with information itself.
Terms of the information update
The more often an information on the organization's web site will be renewed, the more visited it will be. It can also serve as an indicator of work, not only of a particular worker, but of the whole organization. Furthermore, an active web site with many visitors can also serve as a mechanism of the organizations' idea distribution, as well as to assist for the particular reforms holding.
There are such types of information, which must be published, examined or promulgated in the concrete time frame. Such time frames vary depending on the type of information disposable in the state institutions and local administrations.
Information must be published on the organization's web site, informational stands or panels on the same day, when it was published in Mass Media. In other words, on-line content must not be subjected to discrimination, in comparison to the other instruments of providing information access. Any publication must have a clear date, when it has been posted on the organization's web site. Web site visitor must clearly see an exact publishing date or to have an access to the checking of the date of the publication, as from that exact moment, the rights and duties of information publisher as well as to the information occur.
The person who is responsible for the web site, must religiously look after any changes and additions to the information, which is posted on the organization's web site. In particular, it is directly related to the normative legal acts. One should not allowed a user to use obsolete normative acts, that may bring negative judicial or any other circumstances.
Therefore, organization's web site must be updated and controlled in the daily base.
Forms of interaction with the web site visitors
The most effective way of interaction with the web site visitors is an interactive space creation in the question-answer type, block with offers and comments or even forums. In the future it can not only decrease a number of references to the content manager, but also a number of references to the organization as a whole. However, in practice such a situation may take place when a visitor of the web site, after not being satisfied with the information available on the web site, can refer directly to the person responsible for the web site for additional information, or for the clarifying information, either in oral or in the written format. A visitor can refer to the contact numbers, which are posted on the web site. In this case, a government officer is obliged to fix such a call in the incoming registry and to answer on the asked questions, concerning short questions which do not require a detailed answer. In regard to the written require, responsible worker is obliged to answer on the asked questions within a two week period time. A require without an answer within a period of two weeks, even if it is considered as “not an important one”, will be considered as a violation of the web site visitors' rights, according with the legislation.
Condition/quality of information
First of all, information must be readable and a clear one, i.e to have an ordinary type and size of the font. It is also important that information is detailed and written in the easy-to-understand manner for the public, in order to eliminate additional requests in regard to these or that questions. This requirement is not referred to the information on the normative-legal acts, decisions and to the other documents of the same character.
Technical possibility of a free access provision is also very important. In other words, organization is responsible to look after a technical availability of the web site. Absence of access to the web site for long period of time, will be qualified as a violation of the legislation requirements, if other measures of information access provision haven't been taken.
Information price
Information, which comes from the government authorities and local government bodies must be provided on a free base order. As for the hard copies, organizations have a right to charge prices only in those cases, when required information is on the more than 5 pages of the A4 format. For the next pages, organization has a right to take money equal to the prime cost of the paper. As to the on-line requests, than organization is obliged to post information on the web site on the free base order. A responsible worker has a right to ask money for the
e-request from the web site visitor, only in that case, if a sending of the requested information will cost a significant amount of money, which exceed the prime cost of the 5 pages of the A4 format. Organization must not limit an access to the copying of the information from the web sites.
Creation of mailing lists
It is required to create mailing lists with inside and outside e-mail addresses.
Outside mailing lists must include e-mails of the Mass Media, independent journalists, public and partner organizations, state authorities and bodies of the local administration, with which an organization cooperates often. All official information and information published on the web site, can be send to this mailing lists. It can prevent occurrence of many requests, as well as to demonstrate a quality of work and activity of the organization. Inside mailing listsmust be active within the organization and include e-mails of the departments, as well as their heads, and e-mails of officers responsible for handling of outside and inside information requests. Having mailing lists can make content manager's job easier, as well as to shorten time for theinformation collection and distribution.
Guidelines on the retention of electronic records
All electronic records shall be retained[1]. The guidelines are:
- Retain electronic records in original electronic format
- Retain print-outs of electronic records only if there is a specific need, such as signature or distribution on paper
- Apply clear and comprehensive titles to electronic records and folders
- retain only electronic records that are directly related to your actions and activities
- Store e-mail records in your organization public folders (for instance Outlook pst files)
- Store organization/units documents in your organization/units shared drive
The retention schedule
The periods of retention for electronic records
Picture 0.
The screenshot of UNESCO manual on records management.
Types and terms of information subject to obligatory publication in the Internet web sites of State authorities and Local Self Administration bodies
Normative-legal Acts
Normative-legal Acts must be posted on the web sites from the moment of their acceptance, or maintenance in the state authorities and local self administration bodies. Herewith, it doesn't matter, which body was accepting this or that normative-legal act. State authorities and local self administration bodies must publish all of the normative-legal acts, which are accepted by their departments, it is also suggested to post those acts, with which organization come across more often. Normative-legal acts include: Constitution of Kyrgyz republic, Laws of the Kyrgyz Republic, Presidential decrees, Parliament decisions, Acts of the National Bank, Ministry's Acts, acts of the government committees and administrative departments, decisions of the local government administrations and local self-administration bodies.
Current decisions and official events
This category includes all official events and decisions, which take place in the organization. This category of information must be published immediately from the moment when they took place. This category of information includes designations or dissmissions of heads of the organization. Under “heads” we implydeputies of director, alternate directors, regardless of period of the temporary post as a director of the organization. It also includes an information concerning change of rates, forms of tax payments and duties, including payments for utility and other services, which are somehow related to the organization’s activity.
Workschedules and dates of the working meetings
Information on work schedules, planed meetings and available contact details, must be allocated in the visible place. It is one of the main interlinks of the organization with the citizens. Planed or scheduled organization meetings must be published at least one week in advance. Information about meetings must include information concerning who will be participating the meeting, which questions are raised on the agenda, and whether it’s open or close meeting. Open meetings are all the meetings, except of those meetings, where questions related to the government or military secret, or secret of other people, or an information, which has a status of the information with a limited access in accordance with current legislation.
Information subject to publish not less than once a year
There is a list of information, which is subject to compulsory annual publication. It is recommended to have a separate place on the web site for this purpose; a separate section or a reference, where such an information would be storage. First of all, this category of information is vary with its quite a big list and a volume of information; secondly it does not require frequent update, as in comparison to the information about current activities. This category includes almost all of the information, which is not in the category of the limited access, and includes a wide spectrum of questions. For instance, if a state authority offers different types of the services to the population, than a detailed list of these services, prices, and terms must be published. Also, a detailed information about organization, aims of activities, information on the staff, resources and the capacity of the financial activity, reports on the realized work as well as results of the organization as a whole must be published on the web-sie.
Conclusion
Any government authority must understand that their activity is aimed at the creation of the favorable conditions for society activity. Society, by being the only source of power in the country, has all the rights to receive a detailed information concerning activity of the government authorities. Based on that, it is important to understand, that in the century of information, a detailed information on the organizations' web site and its active usage can not only unload government authority in their work with the citizens, but also to demonstrate transparency and a readiness of the authority to work with the society.
The most important aspect in the on-line access provision to information of the organization is still active update of the web-site and constant control for the “freshness” of the information.
Content
Due to your work responsibilities, every morning of youshould start from the review of your mail box and news reports. You have to look through many different web sites during the day, either through the entertaining ones, news agencies or the sites, which are dedicated to the specific theme. Each and every web site has its unique content. Any content of the web site is constantly updated. As a rule, content manager is responsible for the website updating.
Responsibilities of the content manager include:
- creation and deleting of the web site sections;
- informational fulfillment of the sections;
- writing, editing and design of the materials;
- selection and processing of the video-photo materials;
- forum, guest room and blog support;
- registration of the web site visits.
Vision editor
Modern approaches to the web site creation imply a possibility of the independent web site updating, without a help of the soft-developer. Most of the web sites at the present time are developed based on content management systems (CMS).
Content management systems
(or CMS), created for an ordinary user, and do not require a specific knowledge, except for the basic computer and Internet literacy. Such systems are created specifically for particular web sites, and allow editing only that web site. Sometimes content management system is called simply as a “slider of the web site.” (picture 1).
CMS can be either paid, if created by the web studios, or free of charge. Decision on which CMS should be used depends on the financial capabilities and customer preferences.There is a short description of some of the free and popular CMSs.
PHP-Nuke ()
This is one of the popular content management systems. It is written on the PHP with the usage of the MySQL data base.
Post-Nuke ()
Content management system with stress on the flexibility and security.
phpWebSite ()
One of the web site management systems, which allowed to manage pictures, links and forms.