Press Release

OASIS Launches New Group to Promote Open Standards for Citizen-Centric Government

Boston, MA, USA; 5 December 2007 — Interoperability in the public sector is the focus of a new effort at the OASIS open standards consortium. Representatives from local, national, and international agencies, as well as technology providers and systems integrators, have come together to form the OASIS eGovernment (eGov) Member Section. The group will assess interoperability frameworks of relevance to the public sector and promote more inclusive and citizen-centered eGovernment initiatives through the adoption and implementation of open standards.

"All those concerned with enabling more efficient use of new technologies to deliver better quality government services are encouraged to contribute to this effort," noted Carol Cosgrove-Sacks, OASIS Senior Advisor on International Standards Policy. Dr. Cosgrove-Sacks, widely known for her previous role as Director of Trade for the United Nations, will be working closely with the OASIS eGov Steering Committee, which includes government representatives from Belgium, Canada, and New Zealand, and enterprise executives working closely with public sector agencies in China, UK, USA, and the European Union.

OASIS eGov will address standards related to election and voter services, identity management, tax, information access, emergency management, public procurement, and long-term archiving. The Member Section will work with technical committees that are involved in these and other issues of particular concern to public administrations.

"We will build consensus on the public sector’s requirements for open standards and communicate those requirements to the groups that are engaged in developing the standards," said Bob Sunday of Canada’s Public Works and Government Services. Sunday, who holds a seat on the OASIS eGov Steering Committee, added, "Governments will be able to leverage investments they’ve already made in standards by exchanging information on best practices and use cases and by coordinating government-oriented interoperability demonstrations."

"OASIS eGov will serve as a focal point for discussions of governmental and public administration requirements for e-business standardization," said Peter F. Brown of Pensive, who serves on the OASIS eGov Steering Committee and the consortium’s Board of Directors. "Our work will encourage the re-use of data and standards in an open environment."

OASIS eGov members include the Austrian Center for Information Technologies (A-SIT), Belgian SPF Finances, Booz Allen Hamilton, Canadian Public Works and Government Services, Capgemini, EMC, New Zealand State Services Commission, Property Records Industry Association, the U.S. Department of Defense, and others.

"As government challenges globalize and become more diversified, so the need for standardisation becomes more acute. Having the eGov group established within OASIS represents an important step forward in helping governments to work together more effectively by sharing best practices and helping to drive the adoption of new technologies and approaches for interacting with and enabling their citizens," said Steve Jones, Head of SOA, Global Outsourcing, Capgemini.

Additional information: OASIS eGov Member Section http://www.oasis-egov.org/

About OASIS: OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards), drives the development, convergence, and adoption of open standards for the global information society. A not-for-profit consortium, OASIS advances standards for SOA, security, Web services, documents, e-commerce, government and law, localisation, supply chains, XML processing, and other areas of need identified by its members. OASIS open standards offer the potential to lower cost, stimulate innovation, grow global markets, and protect the right of free choice of technology. The consortium has more than 5,000 participants representing over 600 organizations and individual members in 100 countries. http://www.oasis-open.org

Press contact: Carol Geyer OASIS Director of Communications carol.geyer@oasis-open.org +1.978.667.5115 x209 (office) +1.941.284.0403 (mobile)