Double win in local government

Double win in local government Epic's e-government team has won two major web-based projects from local authorities that together will be worth more than £0.4m.

The projects have been awarded by Brighton & Hove City Council and Chichester District Council. The Brighton & Hove project is a radical scheme that will give local people access to a wide range of housing choices via a network of touch-screen kiosks.

The kiosks will use interactive, user-friendly displays and will provide users with instant information on a range of housing options across tenures and throughout the country. They will enable customers to make informed choices on the best way to meet their housing requirements. The kiosks will be located in key public areas across the city, including advice centres, housing offices and supermarkets. They are due for launch in February 2002.

Funding for the project has come from Central Government. Commercial partners such as housing and letting agencies are providing expertise. At a later stage of the project, the Council may also work with other local authorities to broaden the range of available options.

Epic has also been awarded the contract to design the new Chichester District Council (CDC) website - Chichester District Online. This will be a leading edge site designed to facilitate the delivery of services electronically.

Epic's Director of Sales and Marketing, Steve Rayson, commented 'We are really pleased to be working with these Councils to design new ways of delivering services using internet technologies. These contracts build on our current work with the Local Authority Improvement and Development Agency (I&DeA), with whom we are launching a major peer-to-peer initiative in November.'