Public Sector Roundup: Licensing for open content

Content licences for education and museums

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

Consilium Technologies'

"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

Graham Technology

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."