Public Sector Roundup: Licensing for open content

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Content licences for education and museums

Museums and archives are posting content online, but not licensing such materials for use by the public or educators, according to a study by non-profit IT services group Eduserv.

Some 40 per cent of organisations surveyed were unfamiliar with open content licensing, the survey found.

Jordan Hatcher, a legal consultant at opencontentlawyer.com and principal researcher on the study, said: "Placing digital materials online without licensing information doesn't make resources accessible for the public. Open licences are a way, when appropriate, for the cultural heritage sector to ensure their online resources can be easily and legally accessed. Without clear licensing information, students, teachers, artists and other members of the public cannot be sure whether they're able to use the resources for their own websites and other projects without violating the law."

Handheld e-forms for fire service

Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has automated its fire inspection by moving paperwork to e-forms on handheld devices using Consilium Technologies' TotalMobile. When assessing businesses and homes for fire safety, inspectors no longer need to take notes to type up later, but input details which are directly sent to the service's servers, saving time.

"Enabling our staff to complete forms on the move cuts down the admin and removes the reams of paper we currently rely on throughout the process," said Station Manager Doug Gruchy.

The service has also implemented a new back office portal and server, to allow for better searching of past records.

Falkirk boosts complaints management

Falkirk Council implemented a new customer service platform, to manage complaints. The ciboodle platform from Graham Technology will let the council monitor the number and type of complaints.

Head of policy and performance review at the council, Fiona Campbell, said: "Addressing the handling of complaints was very much at the forefront of our objectives as it is an area where our citizens expect efficiency and responsiveness."

The platform will eventually be rolled out across all customer-facing areas, for taxes to roads, the council said.

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