Public sector

Microsoft's CSP enables e-government

7 May 2008

Governments at all levels are increasingly asked to respond to demands for improved service and efficiency. Microsoft and its partners have created an applications platform, the Citizen Service Platform (CSP), which it says will make it easier for governments to interact with citizens, streamline processes and, as a result, save time and money.

Together with its partners, Microsoft says its CSP offerings will help governments of all sizes more responsively deliver services to citizens via the Internet. The CSP application framework, announced originally by Microsoft in January 2008, is now available to customers along with free templates to help customers implement technological solutions to some of the most common issues governments face.

“Government agencies are looking for simpler processes, yet enhanced interactions, for the way they serve their constituents,” said Gail Thomas-Flynn, Microsoft's general manager of State and Local Government. “The common framework offered through the Citizen Services Platform enables efficient collaboration and productivity to provide better service, reduce costs and improve management insight.”

The CSP is an extensible package that enables repeatable implementation of local and regional government solutions. It leverages existing investments and easily scales as new business requirements arise. Built with Microsoft infrastructure components, it uses open standards and includes a set of common transactions so developers can build solutions that enable delivery of critical services to citizens, businesses and civil servants.

CSP availability includes templates available for existing customers to download at no cost, bolstering their ability to do more with existing technology investments. The eight new templates that focus on common government challenges are the following: 

• E-Councillor template. A Windows Live Agent that allows messenger communication with a virtual government worker to ask questions
• Web TV template. Allows government and citizen video hosting in Web 2.0 style
• Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 templates. Set of 40 templates to customise scenarios that address both site and system administration needs
• Local government communications template. Sample portal with intranet and extranet templates
• Role-based My Site template. Designed for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and the My Site functionality
• Agenda Management template. Allows organisations to streamline processes
• Electronic form templates. Microsoft Office InfoPath form templates addressing areas from building permitting to tax declaration
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM templates for municipal governments. Vertical templates including reference data models, predefined work flows, and role-based user experiences.

Governments are able to apply the templates to their own CSP configurations and customise them to further close the gap between citizen expectations and their own delivery of services. According to research conducted on behalf of Microsoft by Capgemini in 2007, features such as citizen portals, case management, intelligent forms, community Web sites and document management emerged as strong priorities for governments to focus their IT spending on; all are represented in the free template offerings.

Several examples of Microsoft and partner CSP solutions showcase how governments can adapt CSP to their most pressing citizen concerns and business needs. To date, numerous partners have signed up to build solutions on the CSP, including Infusion Development and AAJ Technologies.

Municipalities already using the solution include the city of Miami in Florida, which plans to expand its internationally recognised elevate Miami citizen empowerment program by adding Web 2.0 tools through the CSP framework. elevate Miami and its wide-ranging program to provide training and affordable technology packages for residents aims to increase household income, help residents save and accumulate assets, build an increasingly talented work force, enhance small businesses, and promote the capacity of faith-based organisations.

“A responsive, supportive, streamlined e-government process is one of the best ways we can serve our constituents and responsibly use resources,” said Peter Korinis, CIO of the City of Miami. “Microsoft’s CSP framework is flexible yet robust enough to enhance the investment we have already made, as well as meet the demands of our elevate Miami mission of empowering all of our citizens with 21st Century tools to boost their skills and strengthen their communities.”