Products
The LAWs Project has a number of outcomes and products, full details of these can be found by clicking the link below.
APLAWS
This is an open source, zero licence fee software which has specific Local Authority components, which sit above an enterprise-class core Content Management System. This freely available content management solution manages website content by allowing users to create, modify, arrange and delete content without needing programming or design skills. There is an established user group, which has already made considerable steps in taking the product set forward
LGOL-net
An increasingly important challenge for Local Government and other agencies is how to access and share data from different systems. LGOL-net provides an open source, zero licence fee, middleware solution to enable local authorities to pass information between systems. It is easy to configure and administer and is supported by a large number of private sector IT Service suppliers providing low-risk, low-cost solution to one of e-Government's most pressing challenges.
Information Architecture and Metadata Standards
Community Modules
LAWs has designed and devloped software modules that enable communities to create their own information and promote themselves online, enabling community content to be developed on the local authority websites or independent community sites.
This includes modules for jobs, events, clubs and locations. These allow local organisations, community groups and clubs to create and maintain online directories of vacancies, what's on, clubs and to sit location information.
Organisational Development
To realise the full potential of using LAWs products, local authorities will benefit from undertaking a programme of organisational change alongside the technical change. This will not only help them meet their 2005 e-government targets but also help to realise internal savings and efficiencies.
Using LAWs products will involve two key changes: the products will create new internal support roles and processes, but will also result in shifting work loads and changing the responsibilities of existing operational roles.
The Organisational Development strand provides local authorities with the tools and guidance they need to determine, understand and manage the impact of meeting their e-government targets of 100% online services by 2005. It will also help them plan how to use the products in the most efficient and beneficial ways for their authority.
Usability and Accessability
As users adopt the products and begin to tailor them for their own sites, there is a risk that the usability and accessibility of the current products will be lost. While accessibility standards may seem more straightforward, it can often be confusing trying to ensure that the layout and wording on a page meets the required accessibility standards and also still function in a usable manner. LAWs has developed usability and accessibility guidelines to assist local authorities when building and tailoring their sites.
LGOL-hub
As partnership working becomes more common among council services, authorities and agencies, improved and more secure messaging facilities are needed. Data and messaging sharing between systems introduces a host of technical, legal and procedural issues, especially when it comes to sharing sensitive information.
LAWs is developing a proof of concept secure inter-authority e-mail system, as a step along the way in helping local government understand the issues involved in developing and adopting secure communcation systems.
Please note that the laws.tameside.gov.uk site was only a temporary site used for consultation purposes, all of the information from this site is now contained within the esd-toolkit.