REVIEW OF MANAGEMENT OF INTERNET WEBSITES IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM ORGANIZATIONS

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REVIEW OF MANAGEMENT OF INTERNET WEBSITES

IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM ORGANIZATIONS

Prepared by

Nikolay Chulkov

Yishan Zhang

Joint Inspection Unit

Geneva 2008

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REVIEW OF MANAGEMENT OF INTERNET WEBSITES

IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM ORGANIZATIONS

Prepared by

Nikolay Chulkov

Yishan Zhang

Joint Inspection Unit

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Review of management of Internet websites in the United Nations system

organizations

JIU/REP/2008/6

The objective of the review is to provide the governing bodies and executive heads of the United Nations system organizations with an assessment on the effectiveness and efficiency of the use of Internet websites as a communication tool for information dissemination. It stresses the importance of related issues such as Content Management System (CMS), accessibilities and multilingualism. The report also discusses the main challenges faced by these organizations in managing their websites.

Websites have been established by United Nations system organizations for two main purposes: firstly, for information dissemination and secondly, as a platform for e-business applications. A prerequisite for an excellent website is effective web governance with a functioning decision-making mechanism enabling efficient interaction between key stakeholders. Under web governance, website strategy must be well formulated, aligned and integrated with other business strategies, e.g., communication, human resources and funding. The implementation of the website strategy must be through clear, coherent, comprehensive and timely policies and guidelines. The implementation of CMS centralizes all website-related activities. The most important characteristics of a good CMS are ease of use, customisable workflow, high security and multi-lingual support.

The current level of staffing and rel ated training funds for website management are insufficient, considering the importance and impact the websites have on the organizations’ mandate. Without commensurate funding and qualified staffing, a website would soon lose its effectiveness and value.

The United Nations system organizations are facing various challenges in unifying their web presence through streamlined content and the application of a consistent online virtual branding. Awareness should be raised by the organizations at large to Member States that the web must continue to develop, and that this requires substantial and sustained investment in human resources and training.

All these challenges stem from the decentralized structure of the United Nations system organizations’ websites in terms of content generation and management, due to the absence of an overall web governance structure, organizational web strategy integrated with business communication strategy (branding), standardized guidelines, policies and technology.

Listed below are the recommendations addressed to the governing bodies of the United Nations system organizations. Other recommendations proposed for the consideration of the executive heads of these organizations can be found in the body of the report. The implementation of these recommendations would increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the management of Internet websites, in particular through good website governance and updated website strategy and policy.

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Recommendations for consideration by the governing bodies of United Nations system organizations

Recommendation 6

The governing bodies of the United Nations system organizations should establish an ad hoc committee dealing with the implementation of multilingualism on their corporate websites. The governing bodies shall review the report submitted by the ad hoc committee on the measures and financial implications to achieve language parity on their websites and take appropriate action.

Recommendation 8

The governing bodies of the United Nations system organizations should request the

executive heads to report to the next session on the implementation of the recommendations contained in this report and addressed to the executive heads, in particular those aimed at reforming website governance, updating website strategy and policy, and implementing multilingualism.

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CONTENTS

Page

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii

Abbreviations... vi Paragraphs

I. INTRODUCTION. ... 1-10 1

II. KEY FACTORS DETERMING WEBSITE

MANAGEMENT IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM ORGANIZATIONS

11-20 3

III. DETAILED FINDINGS... 21-60 5 A. Website governance ... 21-27 5 B. Website strategy...27-34 6 C. Website policies and guidelines...35-42 7 D. Content management systems (CMS)...43-48 8 E. Staffing, training and funding...49-52 10 F. Website security management...53-54 10 G. Multilingualism...55-58 11 H. Official documents and green initiatives... 59-60 12

IV. COORDINATION AND COOPERATION OF

WEBSITE MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM ORGANIZATIONS ...

61-75 13

A. Joint procurement and common standards... 62-65 13 B. One United Nations Portal...66-71 14 C. Domain names...72-75 15

V. CONCLUSION AND VISION ... 76-80 16

ANNEXES

1. Designation of most senior staff in charge of organizations’

corporate website and reporting line...

18

2. Principal statistical indicators used to measure website

performance and perceived scale of importance...

19

3. Key elements in website policy and guidelines... 20

4. Budget distribution and staffing of various web functions in 2007...

21

5. Use of languages on organizations’ corporate websites... 22

6. Overview on action to be taken by participating

organizations on JIU recommendations ...

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Abbreviations

CEB United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination

CITO Chief Information Technology Officer

CMS Content Management System

DESA Department of Economic and Social Affairs

DIGIT Directorate-General for Informatics

DPI Department of Public Information

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

ECE Economic Commission for Europe

ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific

IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization

ICJ International Court of Justice

ICT Information and Communication Technologies

ILO International Labour Organization

IMO International Maritime Organization

IT Information Technology

ITU International Telecommunication Union

JIU Joint Inspection Unit of the United Nations system

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OIOS Office of Internal Oversight Services, United Nations

NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations

RSS Real Simple Syndication

UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCWA United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund

UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization

UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

UNOG United Nations Office at Geneva

UNON United Nations Office at Nairobi

UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

UNWTO World Tourism Organization of the United Nations

UPU Universal Postal Union

WFP World Food Programme

WHO World Health Organization

WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization

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I. INTRODUCTION

1. As part of its programme of work for 2008, the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) conducted a review entitled “Management of Internet websites in the United Nations system organizations” from February to September 2008 based on a proposal from the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), United Nations.

2. The objective of the review is to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the use of Internet websites as a communication tool for information dissemination. It stresses the importance of related issues such as Content Management System (CMS), accessibilities, and multilingualism. The report will also discuss the challenges faced by these organizations in managing their websites.

3. These websites were established for two main purposes: firstly, for information dissemination (part of communication/outreach function) and secondly, as a platform for service deliveries, such as information and applications related to procurement, recruitment, documents management, solicitation of donations, etc. This report, however, focuses mainly on the role of information dissemination. It also does not review intranet and extranet websites of United Nations organizations, as those are developed for internal information sharing and knowledge management purposes1and normally not accessible by the general public.

4. The proliferation of websites at the headquarters, regional and country level may lead to duplication or outdated information. Hence, effective website governance and strategies are required to ensure coherence and consistency in the information disseminated. This is a challenge facing those involved in website management.

Methodology

5. In accordance with the internal standards and guidelines of JIU and its internal working procedures, the methodology followed in preparing this report included a detailed desk review, questionnaires, interviews and in-depth analysis.

6. The Inspectors, through interviews in person and by tele/videoconferences, have sought the views of over 40 website managers within the United Nations system organizations at various duty stations. The Inspectors also observed meetings organized by the Geneva web group.2 A detailed questionnaire was sent to all JIU participating organizations. In addition, the Inspectors also had discussions with the Directorate-General for Informatics (DIGIT), European Union, which provides technical guidance/support to websites established by entities of the European Union.

7. Comments on the draft report from all the United Nations system organizations who received the questionnaire have been sought and taken into account in finalizing the report. 8. In accordance with article 11.2 of the JIU statute, this report has been finalized after consultation among the Inspectors so as to test its conclusions and recommendations against the collective wisdom of the Unit.

1

Details of the role of intranet in the knowledge management within United Nations system can found in the JIU report “Knowledge management in the United Nations system” (JIU/REP/2007/6).

2

Geneva web group is a citywide network of web professionals, predominantly from United Nations system organizations who meet infrequently to keep informed and share experiences on website development.

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9. To facilitate the handling of the report and the implementation of its recommendations and the monitoring thereof, Annex 6 contains a table indicating whether the report is submitted to the organizations concerned for action or for information. The table identifies those recommendations relevant for each organization, specifying whether they require a decision by the organization’s legislative or governing body or can be acted upon by the organization’s executive head.

10. The Inspectors wish to express their appreciation to all who assisted them in the preparation of this report, and particularly to those who participated in the interviews and the questionnaires and so willingly shared their knowledge and expertise, and in particular, members of the Geneva web group.

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II. KEY FACTORS DETERMING WEBSITE MANAGEMENT IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM ORGANIZATIONS

11. The Inspectors consider that the United Nations system organization’s website as its “virtual face”as it is most likely the first access point by an external visitor. Being that as it may, the website has two significant characteristics:

(a) The potential to be the most cost-efficient medium an organization could use for its communication purposes, considering its worldwide accessibility, subject to internet connectivity, and the volume of information available to the targeted audience.

(b) Meanwhile, itseffectiveness is uncertain, as internet users have access to an increasing number of websites and thus alternative sources of information.

12. A poorly designed website can actually do more harm than good as users may not access a site where the information is not presented in a user-friendly manner. On the contrary, a well designed and updated website with a user-friendly interface, and which presents the information in a clear and concise manner, will attract new and repeat visitors, thus creating “loyalty” to the website.

13. Hence, a prerequisite for an excellent website is effective website governance which establishes a functioning decision-making mechanism, enabling an effective and efficient interaction between the organization’s key stakeholders, including member states representatives, senior management and staff. It will also support organizational structures and processes and through the website, accomplish the organization’s objectives and strategies.

14. Under effective web governance, a website strategy could be well formulated as an important component of the organization’s global business strategy. Website strategies should be embedded in the communication strategy as while the website serves mainly as a communication tool, it also performs other functions, including inter alia, procurement, recruitment and fund-raising/donations campaigns. In principle, the website strategy, should be aligned and integrated with other business strategies.

15. The Inspectors view that having a website strategy which is integrated into other business strategies is a better choice than confining it as a component of a specific functional strategy, for example, the communications or human resources strategy. Though a number of organizations in the United Nations system have not yet upgraded the strategic importance of website to such a high level, the Inspectors have observed through their interviews and discussions, the side effects of the status quo: the website becomes a ‘dumping’ site by units within the organization. Each unit wants to have its specific message and services be presented on the website, preferably on the organization’s homepage. To avoid this ‘dumping’ symptom which would easily confuse and discourage external visitors, the organization should have a website strategy, drafted, reviewed and endorsed by its key stakeholders within its governance mechanism and consider organizing the website by themes, i.e., the information or service needs of its users/clients. This was the practice before the advent of internet: satisfying its client’s needs through integrated business strategy. The website gives an organization a virtual presence and it should be managed carefully to avoid the side effects mentioned above.

16. For effective website strategy, policies and guidelines should be developed for all stakeholders involved in website management. Web content basically refers to everything contained in a website, including documents, data, applications, e-services, images, audio and video files. Once information is online, it is easily subject to stringent review and scrutiny by its

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readers and thus information deficiencies and inconsistencies provided from different organizational units will be evident and embarrassing.

17. ACMS is a tool that enables a variety of (centralized) technical and (de-centralized) non technical staff to create, edit, manage and finally publish (in a number of formats) a variety of content (such as text, graphics, video, documents, etc) whilst being constrained by a centralized set of rules, process and workflows that ensure coherent, validated electronic content.3

18. Other key factors are thestaffing, training and fundingallocated to website management. Without commensurate funding and qualified staffing, a website would soon lose its value as the organization could not provide dynamic and pertinent information to its users on a sustained basis.

19. Member States, in fostering diversity and plurality within the United Nations, are promoting

multilingualism. General Assembly resolution 61/266 proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages. This resolution emphasized the paramount importance of the equality of the six official languages of the United Nations.

20. Security threats to websites of the United Nations system organizations should never be under-estimated. These high-profile websites are perfect targets for malicious hackers due to the adverse publicity generated. As such, stringent security policy and measures, through effective

website security management, should be implemented.

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III. DETAILED FINDINGS A. Website governance

21. When evaluating website governance, the role and level of website manager is an indicator of how an organization views the importance of a website in its overall business strategy and whether there is sufficient, effective and coordinated interaction between various teams, be it the website team, the IT support team, the communication management team, or the various organizational units which publish information on the website.

22. Annex 1 shows the level of the most senior website manager and reporting line in the United Nations system organizations, based on their responses to the Inspectors’ questionnaire. While it seems that most website managers have access to senior management, one wonders whether they are given sufficient authority to coordinate various organizational units involved in the website operation.

23. The Inspectors wish to highlight two of the most frequently cited governance issues. One is the tension between website function and the information technology (IT) support function. In many organizations, the website team does not have its own IT experts, or even if they do, they still have to interact with the general IT team, as they have to work with the latter’s infrastructure, i.e., network, server maintenance, etc., which are managed and operated by them. This dependency on IT may create antipathy, as their strategy may be different from the websites’ requirement. For example, the website team may require to publish online content in a timely manner, i.e., at the right time to the right audience. This is sometimes difficult as IT tries to prevent security breaches by scheduled publishing that does not respond to the 24/7 (twenty-four hours per day, 7 days per week) demands from the website team. Another issue is the potential antagonism between the website team and the various organizational units which want to publish its content on the corporate website. Lack of authority and coordination by the website team results in that the corporate website become a ‘battling field’ as well as a ‘dumping site’, i.e., each unit wants to have its own message published and the website is crowded with too much information, and sometimes, even conflicting information.

24.

Some United Nations system organizations have established website governance procedures, for example, the web guide editorial board of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which reports to the WAICENT (World Agricultural Information Centre) Advisory Group, the website editorial board of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the website steering committee of the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG).

In the United

Nations Secretariat, the Department of Public Information (DPI), in consultation with the

Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO), has proposed the establishment of a

two-tier governance mechanism for the UN website (www.un.org), which has been approved

by the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.

25. Many organizations have established such procedures for certain projects but discontinue them upon project completion. Other organizations have set up procedures, but without the participation of senior management or lacking representative participation from the various organizational units.

26. Hence effective governance arrangements should include: (a) direct participation by senior management in oversight and decision-making; (b) representative participation by key functions and units within the organization; (c) clear guidance on responsibility and accountability for

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website content management; and (d) follow up mechanisms for ensuring that decisions taken are respected and implemented.

27. The following recommendation aims to improve the effectiveness of an organization’s website management through well established website governance.

Recommendation 1

The executive head of each United Nations system organization should ensure that clear policies and corresponding mechanisms are adopted for the good governance and management of the organization’s website.

B. Website strategy

28. The Inspectors note with concern that not all United Nations system organizations surveyed have a defined website strategy. For some, they are not well linked or integrated to other business strategies, especially to the communication strategy.

29. One fundamental cause for the want for a coordinated website strategy is the lack of understanding by organizations of effective online communication. There is too much information online and available to the audience so the focus of website communication should be changed from ‘pushing information to the audience’ to ‘pulling information by the audience’, i.e., information on demand., In moving from a passive to active website strategy, more traffic is generated to the website.

30. Developing a high quality website strategy requires not only internal inputs but also external inputs and feedback. It should start with an information needs analysis of the targeted audience. Interviews carried out by the Inspectors indicate that there is a general consensus among the United Nations system organizations that due to the lack of resources and staffing, the required needs analysis is not carried out.

31. Website strategy should be updated regularly and respond to the changing environment and audience requirements. The United Nations system organizations should act on audience feedback and analyse certain statistical indicators collected from website traffic (see Annex 2 for a rating by the United Nations system organizations of the importance of principal website statistical indicators of performance). They should also consider carrying out independent external evaluation of their website. It is only through these mechanisms that an organization develops a high quality website strategy and meets the information needs of its target audience. In actual practice, however, few organizations do any regular evaluation or needs analysis of their websites.

32. The Inspectors are aware that a few organizations, such as the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), FAO, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Labour Organization (ILO), ITU, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), have carried out evaluations of their websites (web audits). The Inspectors

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are aware of the lack of funding to carry out such audits but emphasize that this exercise is not only necessary but also indispensable for an effective website.

33. A good website strategy should: (a) define the key intended users of the website; (b) include benchmarks for measuring the quality and performance of the organization's website, including mechanisms for obtaining statistical data on website use from the website target audience; and (c) allow for periodic web audits.

34. The following recommendation aims to improve the effectiveness of an organization’s website strategy.

Recommendation 2

The executive heads of each United Nations system organization should ensure that the website strategy be regularly updated and linked with and taking account of the other business strategies of the organization and report on the measures taken to the governing body on a regular basis.

C. Website policies and guidelines

35. The Inspectors requested the surveyed organizations to list key elements that should be included in their respective website policies. The results, listed in Annex 3, show that layout/design, content management/clearance, writing style, homepage, copyright statement, privacy statement and accessibility policy are considered as key elements. One could also infer that for some organizations, certain elements are not considered to be important.

36. The Inspectors wish to highlight the importance of three key elements: layout and design policy, editorial board, and accessibility, which were listed by the majority of the United Nations system organizations.

37. The layout and design policy of a website plays an important role in establishing virtual ‘Corporate Identity’ (branding) on the web. Many United Nations system organizations have placed the required focus in setting common layout and design for all corresponding web pages and sub-sites. At the same time, one can note the difference when comparing these websites with those that do not have a standard layout and design policy. The latter websites may not convey a consistent message/theme to the general public.

38. A website editorial board will provide effective guidelines on the writing style as well as improve the quality of information published on website. Though the number of organizations which has included editorial boards into its website policy is smaller than other policy elements, the Inspectors are of the view that the lack of such editorial boards leads to inconsistent, and at times, conflicting web content being published.

39. The Inspectors wish to highlight the importance of training on writing for the web. Writing for the web is different from traditional print writing. In fact, when developing new web content, one cannot simply migrate from old print content but often require new material. Most visitors to an organization’s website have limited knowledge of its structure and internal policies. Many United Nations system organizations replicate the internal organizational structure on their website design and layout, which is neither useful or interesting to the general public. Hence, website content should be arranged on a ‘theme’ basis instead of “organizational structure”.

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40. Web accessibility refers to the practice of making websites usable by everyone, including those with disabilities, be it visual, auditory, cognitive/intellectual or motor/mobility. When websites are effectively designed, developed and edited, all users have equal access to information and functionality, while not impacting on the usability for non-disabled users. The Inspectors are of the view that the United Nations system organizations should be model promoters of web accessibility when considering the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol on 13 December 2006.

The Inspectors note

that DPI, in collaboration with DESA, has recently established the Standards for Web

Accessibility, a comprehensive set of requirements for all new sites on www.un.org in

order to ensure accessibility for the widest range of audiences.

However, the Inspectors were informed that many United Nations system organizations websites do not sufficiently address accessibility. This is due to the lack of funding, knowledge and expertise to implement these measures.

41. Managing websites established by regional/country/field offices is a challenge for all the United Nations system organizations. A global policy on this aspect would ensure that a consistent message is presented. The Inspectors note that many United Nations organizations, including FAO, OCHA, UNDP, UNESCO, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), have issued guidelines for these websites.

42. The following recommendation will improve web content as a result of effective website management.

Recommendation 3

The executive head of each United Nations system organization should ensure that policies and guidelines are in place that, among other things, specify requirements and standards relating to (a) web layout and design; (b) editorial control and review of web content and (c) web accessibility.

D. Content management systems (CMS)

43. The implementation of CMS centralizes all website-related activities, including graphic/visual design, website taxonomy and architecture4, web management policy, search engine optimization, writing/editing, usability testing, reviewing website performance. This involves staff at various levels and functions and a good CMS will ensure their respective productivity and efficiency levels.

44. The Inspectors welcome the progress made by those United Nations system organizations in either developing an in-house CMS or purchasing commercial CMS systems (see Fig. 1). The Inspectors were informed by many organizations that their website managers do not have opportunities to share CMS best practices and experiences with their peers in the other sister organizations. As a result, selection decisions are made without sharing evaluations of CMS systems.

4Taxonomy is how information is categorized. Information is often published under several categories,

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Commercial CM S 29%

No CM S 11%

Developed in-house or based on open-source software 60%

Fig.1 CMS implemented by United Nations system organizations

45. The Inspectors note that for many organizations, the ease of use, customisable workflow, high security and multilingual support are the most important characteristics of a good CMS. The Inspectors were also informed by the United Nations secretariat that an Enterprise Content Management system has been selected (Documentum), which will be used for both internal document management and website content management. The pilot implementation will be rolled-out in Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) and the contract signed by the United Nations Secretariat with the supplier including a clause that allows other United Nations system organizations to get the same terms and prices. The Inspectors welcome this initiative and would also highlight that the customisation process require more efforts than the selection of the system per se. The implementation project should be well coordinated among all stakeholders in order to realize the maximum benefits.

46. The Inspectors also note that a specific requirement of CMS requires special attention, and which had been raised by the General Assembly resolution 61/266. i.e., ‘some official languages use non-Latin and bi-directional scripts and that technological infrastructures and supportive applications in the United Nations are based on Latin script, which leads to difficulties in processing non-Latin and bi-directional scripts’. The Inspectors concur with this point, and suggest that organizations take this into consideration when selecting CMS-related technological infrastructures and supportive applications. This will facilitate language parity in the use of official languages in the United Nations system organizations’ websites.

47. Clearance and archive functions should also be embedded into CMS. With an effective clearance policy, website content quality will be ensured. The archival function also ensures that the website maintains documents with historical value online and accessible on request.

48. The following recommendation will improve website content.

Recommendation 4

For relevant, timely and high quality website content, the executive head of each United Nations system organization should ensure the implementation of a CMS which offers full support to Latin, non-Latin and bi-directional scripts and, as far as practicable, be compatible with CMS used by other organizations. When selecting an appropriate CMS, they should give serious consideration to adopting common information exchange standards and also consider the benefits of a common CMS across the United Nations system.

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E. Staffing, training and funding

49. Annex 4 shows the level of staffing for websites in 2007 for some United Nations system organizations. The Inspectors view the current level of staffing as insufficient, considering the importance and impact the websites could have on these organizations’ mandate and also the requirements by their stakeholders. The staffing variance among United Nations system organizations merits comparative study and sharing of best practices among web managers in order to benchmark and make best use of available resources.

50. The issue of lack of staff is directly linked to the lack of a regular funding for website management. Websites are important for organizations as they support the communication needs of both regular and extra-budgetary programmes. It requires sustained and sufficient funding. But in reality, most website management teams are dependant on staff funded from extra-budgetary resources on short-term basis.5 Many organizations have to resort to the use of external companies, consultants, contractors, or other non-staff personnel to undertake critical website-related tasks. This situation needs to be addressed to ensure that the organization’s website, its virtual presence, is maintained at the highest level. One serious consequence is the departure of specialist knowledge when the consultant completes the contract. The issue should not be neglected as it relates to the knowledge management strategy of an organization, which websites typically support.

51. Training on websites and lack of corresponding training funds are also important issues –as stressed by website managers. Website management involves various professional functions, as listed in Annex 4.

52. The following recommendation will improve the effectiveness of the United Nations system organizations’ websites through allocating sufficient and sustained funding and providing training to the website staff.

Recommendation 5

The executive head of each United Nations system organization should ensure that sufficient and sustained funding for staffing and training are allocated to website management. If such funding could not be provided through redeployment or other means, it should be reported to the governing body for its consideration in order to implement those recommendations contained in this report, which have financial implications, inter alia, CMS, staffing, training, language parity, adoption of common information exchange standards, etc.

F. Website security management

53. The Inspectors note that organizations have implemented security measures for (a) backup and disaster recovery of websites, (b) hacking/spoofing of websites by establishing firewalls and security probes/reviews and (c) other risks, such as the use of HTML forms for public enquiries instead of publishing email addresses in order to reduce spam and hosting servers at secure sites.

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54. There exists a practice, known as scam emails, in which the content falsely implies its association with a United Nations system organization. For example, some of these scam emails request detailed information and/or money from individuals, businesses or non-profit organizations with the promise that they will receive funds or other benefits in return. The Inspectors recognize the practice of certain United Nations system organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which have inserted messages to denounce these scams on their respective home pages.6

G. Multilingualism

55. The General Assembly has reiterated its requests to the Secretary-General to ‘complete the task of uploading all important older United Nations documents onto the United Nations website in all six official languages on a priority basis’ and ‘reaffirmed the need to achieve full parity among the six official languages on United Nations websites.’7

56. Annex 5 shows that the corporate websites of many United Nations system organizations are English-predominant. It also shows the huge difference in the content between the six United Nations official languages.

57. Managers interviewed by the Inspectors are aware of this situation but stated the inability to achieve this goal due to the limited funding and staffing currently available. The resolution itself also recognizes the need for ‘the adequate distribution of financial and human resources’. The Inspectors were also informed that most website content, such as web pages, are not treated as official documents, except those “pages” used for official meetings and uploaded onto the website. Language services, with limited resources, are already stretched to meet the translation demands of current official documents. Hence, they do not have additional resources to accommodate the translation demands for those website documents. Progress towards language parity therefore remains a difficult challenge, although in some areas, progress has already been steady.8

58. The following recommendation will facilitate the United Nations system organizations to meet the requirements of multilingualism.

Recommendation 6

The governing bodies of the United Nations system organizations should establish an ad hoc committee dealing with the implementation of multilingualism on their corporate websites. The governing bodies shall review the report submitted by the ad hoc committee on the measures and financial implications to achieve language parity on their websites and take appropriate action.

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http://www.who.int/about/scamalert/en/index.html. In fact, this is available from the footer of every page of the WHO site (excluding some partnerships) published through their Content Management System (CMS).http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/email-scam-alert.html.

7 Resolution 61/266, paras 5 and 14. 8

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H. Official documents and green initiatives

59. Websites provide good opportunities for publishing and sharing official documents. The Inspectors note that most United Nations system organizations surveyed have in some ways provided the general public with online access to its official documents.

60. Some United Nations system organizations are implementing green initiatives related to online official documents, such as printing on demand and presentation of official documents electronically. The Inspectors welcome these initiatives, which will result in both substantial economic savings and environmental benefits, as the quantity of printed paper would be considerably reduced. DESA has set up a “paperless committee”, an electronic meeting, record management and archiving system that empowers informal consultations for the United Nations Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, inaugurated at the 2003 regular session of the Committee. This undertaking represented a response to the proposals for rationalizing the management of conferences and meetings in the most recent report on United Nations reform as they relate to electronic data processing and the flow of documentation as well as facilitating the engagement of civil society and supporting the global commitment to sustainability.9 The project has resulted in a savings of meeting time and staff hours, and eliminated the need to print 80,000 copies of documentation for Committee deliberations each year. ITU also informed the Inspectors that they have realized savings of CHF 50,000 for a meeting with 250 participants by providing official documents accessible online instead of printed papers. The Inspectors observe that savings realized by these efforts could be redeployed to achieve language parity. Other organizations have also implemented print on demand, such as FAO, IAEA, ICAO, UNICEF (for almost 10 years, the Executive Board related documents have only been available online to eliminate hard copy distribution), WFP (dissemination of board documents done almost exclusively online), WMO, and UNOV.

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IV. COORDINATION AND COOPERATION OF WEBSITE MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM ORGANIZATIONS

61. Coordination and cooperation among the United Nations system organizations has been a constant issue raised in JIU reports, and is included in this report. In certain ways, the existence of websites makes all United Nations system organizations exposed to stringent public scrutiny. External visitors could much more easily find the inconsistency of information and the overlapping of mandates claimed by these United Nations system organizations through their websites.

A. Joint procurement and common standards

62. In section III D above, the Inspectors have already highlighted the importance and impacts to pursue a common CMS. All these cooperation efforts should continue.

63. The Inspectors also note the need to establish common standards and practices among the United Nations system organizations on website management. The High-Level Committee on Management (HLCM), CEB has included some initiative in a recent document ‘Plan of Action for the Harmonization and Reform of Business Practices in the United Nations System’ (CEB/2008/HLCM/4). They are also aware that some informal communities of practice or conferences exist, such as the informal Geneva web group and the annual Web4Dev Conference, the latter being a community of practice for web professionals within the United Nations system. The Inspectors view that formal mechanisms should also be established, as it will facilitate official cooperation and standard setting between organizations.

64. In order to facilitate the sharing of ideas and good practice HLCM, CEB, could create a system of annual awards for the best websites across the United Nations system that best communicate the work of the United Nations to the relevant target audiences, and demonstrate the ideals of the United Nations.

65. The following recommendation will improve the coordination, coherence and cooperation between the United Nations system organizations. The Inspectors encourage organizations to adopt effective measures to enhance knowledge management through this initiative.

Recommendation 7

The executive heads of the United Nations system organizations should establish a mechanism reporting to the HLCM, with the participation of all stakeholders, for coordination purposes and to establish common policies, standards and guidelines on websites.

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B. One United Nations Portal

66. Considering the proliferation of United Nations-related websites, the CEB Secretariat is proposing, through its ICT network, a ‘One UN Portal’. This project, also known as One Source, aims to provide a clear, comprehensive and complete coverage of activities and interests of United Nations system organizations by introducing thematic, regional or country-based navigation, to content being published by all United Nations system organizations. Initially for the general public, this service is designed to meet the needs of organizations’ own targeted audiences. In addition to a web portal, the One Source project will also make available web services to organizations, which for example permit related content (published by other organizations) to be presented on any web page.

67. Based on an open standard, Real Simple Syndication (RSS), this solution facilitates access to information published on all United Nations and co-sponsored websites through, inter alia, indexing by key words/topics, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and regional relevance. This initiative will enhance access to the United Nations-related information by the general public as it ensures all web pages maintained by different United Nations entities could easily be located, in a structured manner, from one location, as long as all these pages are developed under a common standard.

68. This proposal also considers content, technology and process within good governance supported by decentralized publishing, which means organizations still maintain complete control of their content and communication strategies. The solution promotes the use of open information exchange standards and the adoption of best publishing practices. This will lead to synergies and savings on technology investment, content maintenance and business process harmonization. Rather than replace any existing website or service, this portal complements the emergence of many targeted websites by linking them and providing an alternative means to identify and locate related information.

69. For example, job vacancy announcements published by the United Nations system organizations could be listed automatically through this portal by geographic location, closing date, grade, occupational category or other criteria. Any one vacancy may be linked to a country office website or project description. This aggregated approach will reduce the time and effort spent by job seekers.

70. This portal addresses the need to improve the image of the United Nations system by promoting its unique corporate identity. It would create a “one virtual United Nations”. It should be noted that this project will require a cooperative effort from the United Nations system, particularly during the definition of keywords, themes and other criteria that complement their own interests and activities. The process of building an improved image for the United Nations system should, therefore, draw on content management expertise available system-wide.

71. The Inspectors welcome this initiative. They were also informed by many website managers within the United Nations system organizations on the complexity and challenges to accomplish this initiative, especially the difficulties these organizations have to overcome in order to set a common index for content. The Inspectors wish to cite the single portal of European Union (europa.eu) as a feasible precedent to implement this initiative, as through this website, visitors can access all the entities under the European Union.

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C. Domain names

72. The domain names of the corporate websites of the United Nations system organizations are invaluable yet intangible assets. These websites are regarded as the virtual corporate identity of the concerned organizations and they have spent huge investment in building their branding in the virtual world.

73. The Inspectors note that most United Nations system organizations have chosen two types of top level domain names for their corporate websites, ‘.org' and '.int’ as shown in Fig. 2. The Inspectors are informed by web professionals that ‘.int’ domain names are more restrictive in terms of the registration requirement since this top level domain is reserved for organizations established by international treaties between or among national governments, while ‘.org’ domain names may be registered by any organization or individual.

74. There is also suggestion to set ‘.un’ as a new type of top-level domain name. The associated benefits to use this domain name are: clear indication of the relation of the concerned websites to the United Nations system; more consistency in managing country level websites and facilitate integrated web presence by United Nations country team compared to the on-going debates on how to establish a United Nations country website since no organization wants to subordinate its country programme under a domain name of another organization. Similar practice does exist for the entities of European Union, where all their websites are using ‘europa.eu’ domain names. 75. If the United Nations system organizations finally reach consensus on establishing a common type of ‘.un’ website, they should also formulate generally accepted guidelines and procedures to assign and register specific domain names under this ‘.un’ family. This issue also has substantial implications for the identity and security management for the whole United Nations website family.

Domains ".int" 21% Other domains 10% Domains ".org" 69%

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V. CONCLUSION AND VISION

76. In the Inspectors’ questionnaire, website managers were required to rank the level of satisfaction on key areas related to website management, using a 5-score scale, where 1 means ‘needs serious improvements’; 2 means ‘needs some improvements’, 3 means ‘acceptable’, 4 means ‘very good’ and 5 means ‘excellent’. Fig. 3 confirms the issues and weaknesses discussed in the previous chapters, namely funding and staffing for the web team, distribution of web resources, training for web team and adequate policy and governance, as shown by the average scores these areas received from the respondents.

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Funding for the web Staffing for web teams Distribution of web resources Training for web team Adequate policy and governance Effective search engine IT support Effective use of web Clear mandate /objective Effective reach to audiences Management support Search engine K ey w e b s it e m a n a g e m e n t a r ea s

Level of satisfaction(1. Needs serious improvements; 2. Needs some improvements; 3. Acceptable;

4. Very good; 5. Excellent)

Fig 3. Level of satisfaction on key website management areas

77. Many Member States wish to establish e-government through websites. The Inspectors welcome the efforts of the United Nations system organizations to provide more services, activities and documents online, such as e-recruitment, e-document management, online donations, etc. The Inspectors believe that future websites of the United Nations system organizations should be ‘virtual’ United Nations, interactive and responsive to its users.

78. All United Nations system organizations are facing various challenges in unifying their web presence through streamlining web content and applying consistent online branding. Awareness should be raised by the organizations at large to Member States, that the web must continue to develop, and that requires substantial and sustained investment on human resources and training. 79. The above challenges stem from the decentralized structure of the United Nations system organizations’ websites in terms of content generation and management due to the absence of an overall governance structure, organizational web strategy integrated with business

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communication strategy (branding), standardized guidelines, policies and technology. At the same time, there are numerous opportunities, including in the wide use of multimedia, database-driven and interactive features, blogs and collaborative applications to overcome these challenges.

80. The following recommendation will ensure the effectiveness of website management through good website governance and updated website strategy and policy.

Recommendation 8

The governing bodies of United Nations system organizations should request the executive heads to report to their next session on the implementation of the recommendations contained in this report addressed to the executive heads, in particular those aimed at reforming website governance, updating website strategy and policy, and implementing multilingualism.

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Annex 1. Designation of most senior staff in charge of organizations’ corporate website and reporting line

Organization Designation of most senior staff and reporting line

DESA Chief, Communications and Information Management Service, reports to Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development,

DESA

DPI Management of the top layers of the site (www.un.org), Chief of Web Services Section, reports to Deputy Director, News and

Media Division, DPI

ECE Senior Public Information Officer (ECE webmaster), Reports to the Deputy Executive Secretary

ESCAP Associate Website Officer, reports to Chief of the United Nations Information Services

FAO Director of the Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building Division reports to the Assistant Director-General of the Knowledge

and Communication Department

IAEA Section Head, News and Information Section , reports to the Director, Division of Public Information

ICAO Chief, Web and Documentation Management, reporting to Director of Administration

ICJ Webmaster, supported by a developer/database administrator, both report to Head, IT Division

ILO Chief of the ILO Web Development Unit, reports to the management of the Department of Communication and Public Information.

ITU Chief of Strategic Planning and Membership Department as Chairman of the Website Editorial Board. The Chairman reports to theSecretary-General.

UNCTAD Chief of the Web Unit, Reports to Coordinator, Office of the Secretary-General.

UNDP Head of Internal and Online Communications, Reports to Director of the Office of Communications

UNEP Head of Internet Unit, reporting to the Director of the Division of Communication and Public Information.

UNESCO Web Portal Coordinator, reports to Director BPI

UNESCWA Webmaster, reports to the Chief of Information Communications Systems Section

UNFPA Internal and External Online Communications Manager, reports to Chief, Media and Communication Branch, Information and

External Relations Division

UNHCR Chief, Communications Group, reports to Director, Division of External Relations

UNICEF Chief, IBIS, reports to the Director, Division of Communications

UNIDO Public Advocacy Unit Chief reports to Chief of Cabinet

UNODC Technical management: Computer Information Systems Assistant, Information Technology Service, Division for Management.

Website content management: Website manager, reports to Chief of the Advocacy Section

UNOG Webmaster is the Chief Librarian, reports directly to the Director-General

UNOV Conference Management Service, reports to Division for Management

UPU Communication Programme Manager, reports to the Director of the Executive Office and Communication

WFP Web Manager, reports to Director of Communications

WHO Web Manager, reports to Director of Communications

WIPO IT technical support, Head, Internet Services Section/Web and Administrative Applications Service/IT Division.

Information on WIPO portal and general WIPO information pages falls under Director, Communications and Outreach Division

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Annex 2. Principal statistical indicators used to measure website performance and perceived scale of importance 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Page views Visits Unique visitors Time on site Number /size of downloads

Visitor's profession /organization

Visitor's country of origin

M ost- & least-visited Pages S tatistical indicators I n d ex o f im p o r ta n c e

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Annex 3. Key elements in website policy and guidelines

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Layout /design Content management /clearance Cop yright statement Writing sty le Privacy statement Homepage Accessibility Governance of the site M aintenance policy for outdated content Editorial board Naming of sponsors Revenue generation E le m en ts c o n si d er e d

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Annex 4. Budget distribution and staffing of various web functions in 2007 35.0% 20.8% 33.5% 10.7% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Funded by regular budget Funded by extra budget

% o v e r to ta l n u m b e r o f s ta ff fu n d e d b y re g u la r a n d e x tr a b u d g e t

Professional General service 68.5

31.5

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% Writing /editing

Web maintenance / M etrics/ Rep orting Software development Graphic /Visual Design M gmt & Training of authors p artners Web mgmt (p olicy, legal) Other functions Server maintenance Quality assurance Information architecture Usability Testing Search engine Professional General Service

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Annex 5. Use of languages on organizations’ corporate websites

Organizations Full versionlanguage

A ra b ic C h in es e F re n ch R u ss ia n S p an is h FAO English 30 20 70 2 70 IAEA English 1 1 2 1 2 ICAO English/French 100 UNIDO English UNICEF English 15 15 30 30 UNCTAD English 33 33 UNDP English 50 45 UNESCO English 20 10 90 10 35 UNEP English 15 30 30 5 25 UNHCR English 1 1 UNODC English 7 7 7 7 7 UNFPA English 10 2 30 2 30 UNESCWA English/Arabic 100 UPU English 5 2 90 5 20 WFP English WHO English 8 8 21 8 16 WIPO English 2 2 30 2 20 WMO English 70 70 85 75 80 OCHA English 4 0 30 2 10 DESA English 5 5 5 5 5 DPI English 50 50 65 50 60 ESCAP English 10 10 10 10 10 UNOG English 90 UNOV English/French 100 ICJ English/French 2 2 100 2 2 100% 45% 23% 16% 12% 10%

English French Spanish Arabic Chinese Russian

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ANNEX 6

Overview of action to be taken by participating organizations on JIU recommendations JIU/REP/2008/6 In te n d ed im p ac t U n it ed N a ti o n s * U N C T A D U N O D C U N E P U N -H A B IT A T U N H C R U N R W A U N D P U N F P A U N IC E F W F P O T H E R S IL O F A O U N E S C O IC A O W H O U P U IT U W M O IM O W IP O U N ID O U N W T O IA E A For action R ep o rt For information Recommendation 1 e E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Recommendation 2 e E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Recommendation 3 e E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Recommendation 4 o E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Recommendation 5 e E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Recommendation 6 o L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L Recommendation 7 c E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Recommendation 8 e L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L

Legend: L: Recommendation for decision by legislative organ;

E: Recommendation for action by executive head

: Recommendation does not require action by this organization

Intended impact: a:enhanced accountability b: dissemination of best practices c: enhanced coordination and cooperation d:enhanced controls and compliance

e: enhanced effectiveness f: significant financial savings g: enhanced efficiency o: other

*

Covers all entities listed in ST/SGB/2002/11 other than UNCTAD, UNODC, UNEP, UN-HABITAT, UNHCR, and UNRWA.

Figure

Updating...

References

  1. (www.un.org
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