Pinder Ponders Usable Name for Government Services

The eEnvoy Andrew Pinder acknowledged in an exclusive UN interview, that the future scope of the "UKonline" brand is uncertain: that it is great as a name for access centres, but less useful as a portal for government services.

The "UKonline" brand actually covers three different activities: getting Britain online, marketing Government services and there is also a web services company by this name.

When the main job of the Office of the eEnvoy was to create access, there was no confusion. UKonline did what it said on the can. But the target of 6000 UKonline centres was comfortably exceeded last year, with roving centres in the Highlands and Wales where communities are widely spread.

Now, as Pinder told the HCI2003 conference (see Please help with our Millions of Pages of Hot Air!), the biggest challenge is use. 'We are getting Government services online,' he said. 'But we are not doing well at making them used.'

A problem that has not escaped his notice is that the name "Ukonline", used for purposes such as the government service channel on Sky TV, does not inform.

'Is it accessibility and digital inclusion, or is it access to government?' he asked. 'A subbrand has pros and cons, but we need a differentiated service.'

The Office is discussing how to tackle the issue, but with service provision in flux - for instance, there is a consultation on the use of smart cards in government service provision at the moment - most feel it is too early to choose a meaningful way forward.

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