8.2 What are the characteristics of effective government and how are these characteristics being promoted in the Information Resources Council and the SCIway Blueprint?

Acknowledgments

Many people have contributed to SCIway Blueprint, but three groups stand out. The first includes more than 1,000 South Carolina Internet users who responded to the SCIway Needs Survey described in Chapter 4. It also includes the 25+ South Carolina Internet access providers and other organizations who distributed this survey to their customers and employees. Without the help and cooperation of these individuals and organizations, we would not have been able to learn nearly as much about the types of public information and services South Carolinians would like to be able to access on-line.

The second group is much smaller. It includes Ted Lightle, the Director of South Carolina state government's Office of Information Resources, and four members of this staff: Tom Fletcher, Lynn Fralick, Mackey Goodwin, and Jerry Poston. All of these individuals have provided us important information and documents throughout the past two years. All have patiently listened and responded to innumerable questions and to critiques of their actions and policies-and related policies over which they have little control. And all have exhibited an openness, thoughtfulness, and helpfulness that have been genuinely impressive. Without their help Chapter 5 of this plan could not have been written.

The third group consists of those South Carolina Internet users who have participated in the SCIway electronic mail discussion list during the past two years. This list is an on-line forum that enables South Carolinians to talk with each other about network-related needs, problems, and resources; and discussion has often focused on issues directly related to the central concerns of this plan. The questions, suggestions, and criticisms of SCIway list participants have influenced SCIway Blueprint far more than most of them imagine, and we gratefully acknowledge their important contribution.

1. Introduction
Technological change has affected South Carolina in various ways during the state's history-sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. As we approach the beginning of the 21st century, we are witnessing and experiencing the early days of a major technological revolution: the internetworking of the world's computers and the people and organizations that use them. As this world-wide web expands and strengthens, it will gradually change business, education, government, and many people's lives in important ways.

How will this communication revolution affect South Carolinians? Will it help us increase economic development and improve the quality of our lives or will it divert investments, better paying jobs, and our children and grandchildren elsewhere? To a great degree, the answer depends on what South Carolina does in the next few years to develop its network resources and involve its citizens in the Internet revolution.

1.1 What is SCIway?

The title of this document is SCIway Blueprint. SCIway, pronounced "sky·way," is an acronym for South Carolina Information Highway. In essence SCIway is simply South Carolina's slice of the Internet. It is everything in South Carolina that is connected to the Internet . . . and everyone in South Carolina who uses the Internet.

SCIway includes four basic components-highways, on-ramps, destinations, and travelers:

Highways: high-speed, wide area computer networks that connect South Carolina's cities, towns, and countrysides to each other and to regional and national Internet hubs-and that are open to public traffic (that is, individuals, businesses, schools, colleges, government agencies, etc.). Most of these networks are owned and/or operated by private communications companies such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint, SCNet, iSCAN, SCANA, BellSouth, and Info Avenue. But some network segments and connection services are leased by state government.

On-ramps: the businesses, schools, colleges, libraries, government agencies, and community organizations that provide South Carolinians access to in-state computer networks and the Internet. The companies that enable individuals and organizations to connect to SCIway and the Internet are called Internet access providers, or more broadly, Internet service providers. Sixty such companies currently serve locations within South Carolina. Some of these companies provide Internet access nationally, some regionally, some only in South Carolina, and some in just a small area of the state.
Individuals and smaller organizations usually access SCIway and the Internet through ordinary telephone lines and relatively slow communication devices called modems. Larger organizations often lease or install "wider" communication lines that connect their in-house computer networks directly to Internet access providers and give their employees, students, users, and members faster network access.

Destinations: the network "places" people can go within South Carolina- including those developed by private citizens, businesses, non-profit organizations, and state and local governments. This increasingly means World-Wide Web sites, but it also includes Gophers, on-line library catalogs, and e-mail discussion groups. All of these network resources enable people to quickly obtain information and services or communicate with others without physically traveling to a business, school, college, library, government agency, or meeting place.
Many SCIway resources are being developed by private individuals and businesses. But some of the most useful can only be developed by government agencies and non-profit organizations. Directories of elected officials, property tax records, school holiday calendars, and census data are examples of public information. Public services include actions such as renewing vehicle registrations, applying for building permits, and making state park cabin reservations. And communicating includes sending e-mail messages to your state senator or participating in an on-line discussion of South Carolina's new concealed weapons law.

Travelers: those South Carolinians who use SCIway and the Internet. This includes growing numbers of business owners and employees, government workers, K-12 and college students and teachers, and tens of thousands of other state citizens who find the Internet interesting or useful.

Figure 1.1 SCIway is not a neat, planned, physical network that directly connects South Carolina cities, towns, and rural areas. In fact most electronic mail messages or on-line information requests sent from one South Carolina location to another go out of state (to a regional or national Internet hub), then return though a different Internet access provider.

Instead, SCIway is a virtual or effective network-it doesn't actually exist, but for all practical purposes it does! One way or another, every South Carolinian who has access to the Internet can communicate with every other South Carolinian who has access to the Internet-and share and use the same South Carolina on-line information resources and services. This is the key to SCIway's usefulness and promise.

1.2 SCIway versus SCINET

SCINET, pronounced "sky·net," is an acronym for South Carolina Information Network. In recent months this term has been used by South Carolina state government to describe a set of network services that the State Budget and Control Board's Office of Information Resources (OIR) provides for state agencies, local governments, and public schools and school districts. SCINET encompasses seven different types of networks. These networks are described in Chapter 5 of this plan.

There are some important differences between SCIway and SCINET. First, SCIway is much larger and more inclusive than SCINET. While SCIway includes everything in South Carolina that is connected to the Internet (including SCINET) and everyone in South Carolina who uses the Internet, SCINET includes only those state and local government agencies and public schools that are connected to each other and to Internet gateways through networks provided by the Office of Information Resources.

Second, SCIway is a virtual, conceptual network and an on-line cyber community, while SCINET is a set of tangible, physical intrastate networks.

Finally, like the Internet, SCIway is the semi-accidental result of interconnections between various networks developed by private Internet service providers. It is governed by no one. SCINET, on the other hand, is a set of networks planned and procured by the Office of Information Resources and guided by a SCINET User Council, which consists of representatives from those state agencies that use one or more SCINET networks.

1.3 Purpose and focus of this plan

Thanks to Internet access providers, Web developers and hosting services, high demand, the profit motive, and a competitive business environment, the private portion of South Carolina's Information Highway is expanding rapidly. For the most part, its future development will be determined by technological change, government regulations, and the marketplace.

But the public, non-profit parts of SCIway-especially the state and local government information and service "destinations" that could save us all time and money-are not developing as quickly. One reason for this is that there are few organizational or personal incentives for government agencies and employees to develop network information resources and services. (In fact there are some disincentives-extra work in the short run, the possible loss of jobs in the long run, and the loss of influence that sometimes results when public information is made readily and widely available.) Another reason is that most state and local government leaders do not understand how providing public information and services on-line can save citizens and businesses time and money and reduce government costs, and so they have not allocated resources to support this work.

The primary purpose of this plan is to provide a useful blueprint-a practical plan of action-for extending and improving the public portion of SCIway and for increasing the number of South Carolinians who can access SCIway and the Internet and use these resources effectively. In developing this blueprint, we will focus on five questions:

1. What types of public information and services should be available on SCIway, and how should these resources be developed and maintained?

2. What is the best way for South Carolina state and local government agencies- including colleges and universities, public libraries, and K-12 schools-to connect to SCIway and the Internet?

3. Should South Carolina state and local governments provide network access for South Carolinians who are not able to access SCIway and the Internet from home or work-and if so, how?

4. Should South Carolina state and local governments provide network training and support services to South Carolinians who don't know how to use SCIway and the Internet-and if so, how?

5. How should South Carolina state government plan, coordinate, and promote the development of the public parts of SCIway (including on-line public information and services, network access for government agencies, and public access and training for citizens)?

1.4 How SCIway Blueprint was developed

In May of 1994 South Carolina's State Budget and Control Board submitted a Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) planning grant proposal to the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This proposal was developed jointly by the Board's Office of Research and Statistics, its Office of Information Resources, the Department of Education, the South Carolina Educational Television Network (SCETV), and the Appalachian Council of Governments. The Office of Research and Statistics was identified as the primary contractor, and the Appalachian Council of Governments was identified as the primary subcontractor.

The Office of Research and Statistics has many responsibilities, but one of the most important is to help state government agencies develop information technology plans.

The Appalachian Council of Governments is a voluntary association of local governments in six upstate South Carolina counties-Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg. It is nationally recognized as a leader in the development of geographical information systems and on-line public information resources, and it has played a major role in the development of Appnet, an upstate network consortium that includes six county libraries and the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind.

Five other organizations also co-sponsored the NTIA planning grant application: the State Department of Education, South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV), Appnet, Coastnet (a network services and information resources co-op that connects Charleston area colleges and libraries), and MidNet (a community information service that also provides low-cost e-mail and text Internet access to Columbia area residents).

The primary goal of the NTIA planning grant proposal was to develop a blueprint for extending and improving the public portion of South Carolina's Information Highway so that all state citizens will have ready access to on-line government information and services.

A secondary goal was to learn how to efficiently develop useful, easy-to-use on-line state and local information resources and services by completing two demonstration projects: a World-Wide Web site for South Carolina state government and a separate Web site for upstate local governments. The state government site was to be developed by the Budget and Control Board's Office of Information Resources, which is responsible for the operation of state government computing, data network, telephone, and printing services. The local government site was to be developed by the Appalachian Council of Governments. (Both of these Web sites have now been on-line for more than a year. (see http://www.state.sc.us and http://www.acog.greenville.sc.us))

In October of 1994 NTIA awarded the Budget and Control Board $430,000 to develop the proposed plan and complete the Web site demonstration projects. South Carolina's proposal was one of only 92 Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program proposals funded by NTIA in 1994. More than 1,000 were submitted.

One of the requirements of the NTIA grant award was that the Budget and Control Board provide and/or obtain matching funds equal to the amount of the award. Matching funding for this project was provided by the Budget and Control Board, the Appalachian Council of Governments, BellSouth, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. All of these "funds" were in-kind contributions.

In the two years since South Carolina was awarded its NTIA planning grant, Budget and Control Board staff and Appalachian Council of Governments staff have worked with each other and with the Director of the Office of Information Resources, Mr. Ted Lightle, to develop SCIway Blueprint. During this period we have:

studied the ways in which other states are providing on-line public information and services, network access for government agencies and schools, and public access and training for citizens;

surveyed South Carolina citizens concerning the types of public information and services they would like to be able to access on-line;

met with representatives of South Carolina state and local government agencies and community organizations to identify the types of on-line information and services they think they should provide;

tracked technological, regulatory, and business changes related to telecommunications, the Internet, the World-Wide Web, and on-line public information and services;

participated in a series of statewide forums, exhibits, and workshops designed to inform South Carolinians about SCIway and SCINET developments;

monitored and participated in discussions on the SCIway e-mail discussion list (listserv); and,

met with each other to share information, discuss alternative goals and strategies, and forge recommendations.

Our primary information sources have been plans and reports we have collected from other states; articles we have read in information technology publications; information and examples we have found on the World-Wide Web; presentations and discussions we have heard at regional and national conferences; the citizen surveys we've conducted; and conversations we have had with state and local government employees, communications company representatives, and Internet service providers. However, our most important source of information and ideas has been the SCIway e-mail discussion list hosted by The Citadel-an on-line forum that enables South Carolinians to talk with each other about their information needs and state information resources. Even though we have not participated in these discussions as much as many list members would have liked, we have always listened closely. Many of the recommendations presented in this plan have been shaped by SCIway list comments and debates. (For more information about the SCIway list, see http://www.sciway.net/about/index.html.)

Since we started working on SCIway Blueprint, two developments have occurred that have significantly affected its conclusions. The first was the dramatic increase in the number of Internet access providers serving South Carolina. In the fall of 1994 fewer than five Internet access providers were serving locations within the state, and these were concentrated in larger cities. Today at least 60 different companies provide Internet access within South Carolina (many at multiple locations); residents of most of the state's 46 counties can access SCIway and the Internet by modem without paying long-distance charges; and the monthly cost of Internet access has dropped markedly in areas where there is competition among Internet access providers. While there are still some rural areas of the state that do not have local call access-and even some urban areas where access costs are high-the availability and affordability of citizen access to SCIway and the Internet are much smaller concerns today than they were two years ago. This is a case in which private enterprise has partially solved a public problem and made money at the same time.

The second development was the General Assembly's appropriation of $10 million for networking public primary and secondary schools last spring. Thanks to this legislation, which was proposed by Governor David Beasley, the number of K-12 schools that have access to SCIway and the Internet will increase rapidly in 1997. In addition the modest network infrastructure that is being created to support this initiative (see Chapter 5) will provide other state and local government agencies lower cost access. As a result, connecting public agencies to SCIway and the Internet is also less of a concern today than it was two years ago.

NTIA's Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program encourages the candid sharing of "lessons learned" by grant recipients. We learned a lot as we developed SCIway Blueprint, but two lessons stand out.

The first is that developing long-term plans for providing network access for state and local government agencies is-at least for now-not worthwhile. The reason for this is that providing network access is one of the fastest changing, most competitive businesses in the world. Communication technologies are changing, government regulations are changing, and the structure of the communications industry is changing-and the consequences of all these interrelated changes are not at all clear. In this uncertain, unpredictable environment, the best strategy for governments is to eschew major capital investments and take advantage of increasing competition by shopping wisely, avoiding long-term commitments (contractual agreements longer than one or two years), and continually re-evaluating the marketplace. Under no circumstances should governments build their own wide area networks, as the state of Iowa has done.

The second major lesson we have learned is that by far the most difficult part of constructing the public portion of SCIway is not networking government agencies, but developing and maintaining useful, user friendly on-line information resources and services (primarily Web sites) that can save South Carolinians, state businesses, and government agencies time and money. Building these network resources requires significant investments of time and money plus organizational and writing skills, creativity, technical knowledge, leadership, and persistence. Some of this work can be contracted to private organizations, but some can be done only by government agencies and employees. South Carolina has barely started this work.

1.5 Objectives of the NTIA planning grant

The principal objectives of South Carolina's NTIA planning grant-and this plan-are listed below. They are grouped into five categories: on-line public information and services; networking state and local government agencies; providing citizens network access; helping citizens use networks effectively; and planning, coordinating, and promoting the development of the public portion of SCIway.

1. On-line public information and services

A. Find out what state and local public information and services South Carolinians would like to be able to access on-line.

B. Find out what on-line state and local public information and services are currently available

C. Develop a World-Wide Web site for South Carolina state government to demonstrate the value of on-line public information and services.

D. Develop a World-Wide Web site for the Appalachian Region of South Carolina to demonstrate the value of on-line public information and services.

E. Recommend effective and efficient strategies and guidelines for designing, developing, updating, and supporting state and local on- line public information and services.

2. Networking state and local government agencies

A. Find out how many South Carolina state and local government agencies (including schools, colleges, and libraries) are currently networked, and how they are networked.

B. Identify the ways in which South Carolina state and local government agencies can connect to SCIway and the Internet-given South Carolina's current telecommunications infrastructure.

C. Recommend effective and economical strategies and guidelines for connecting state and local government agencies to SCIway and the Internet.

3. Providing citizens network access

A. Identify the in-state and national companies that currently provide Internet access in South Carolina as well as the areas of the state they serve and the types of service they offer.
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B. Identify those areas of South Carolina in which citizens can access SCIway through an Internet access provider without having to pay a long-distance telephone charge.

C. Recommend effective and economical strategies for providing all South Carolinians-including those who are poor or who live in rural areas-access to on-line public information and services, or alternatively, recommend that state and/or local governments not provide such access.

4. Helping citizens use networks effectively

A. Identify existing public and private programs for teaching South Carolinians how to access and use network resources.

B. Recommend effective and economical strategies for helping South Carolinians learn how to access and use network resources effectively.

5. Planning, coordinating, and promoting the development of the public portion of SCIway

A. The Governor has created the Information Resources Council as the forum in which guidance and direction in the planning, coordination, and promotion of the development of the public portions of SCIway should occur.

B. Recommend that the SCIway Blueprint be considered as a focus document for the newly created Information Resources Council.

1.6 Organization of this plan

The organization of SCIway Blueprint matches the five basic questions that are the focus of this plan and the five groups of NTIA planning grant objectives outlined above. Chapters 4-8 are the heart of the plan. Chapter 4 focuses on on-line public information and services, while Chapter 5 deals with network access for state and local government agencies, including K-12 public schools and colleges and universities. Chapter 6 and 7 examine ways in which state and local governments can help South Carolinians access on-line public information and services and learn how to use SCIway and the Internet effectively. Finally, Chapter 8 addresses some issues related to planning, coordinating, and promoting the future development of SCIway.

Chapter 2 is a quick-reference glossary that defines some important technical terms and acronyms used in this plan. Chapter 3 is an executive summary of the major findings and recommendations presented in Chapters 4-8.

1.7 Why developing the public portion of SCIway is important

Before we consider the five questions this plan addresses, we need to answer some even more fundamental questions: Why does South Carolina need to develop the public portion of SCIway? Why do we need to build Web sites that deliver public information and services? Why do we need to connect schools and colleges and government agencies to each other and to the Internet? Why should we provide network access to state citizens who don't have access at home, work, or school-or help them learn how to use SCIway and the Internet effectively? In short, how will the lives of South Carolinians be better if we spend the time and money it will take to do all this?

The answers to these questions are simple and straightforward. We need to develop the public portion of SCIway because doing so will:

help South Carolina develop a work force that can compete in the Information Age

make it easier for potential visitors, customers, and employers to learn about South Carolina

provide state businesses immediate, economical access to public information and services they need to compete in a global economy

provide businesses and individuals throughout the state equal access to public information

make life more convenient for South Carolinians and save them time and money, and

reduce government costs.

Developing an Information Age work force. As the Information Age progresses and the nature of many jobs changes, South Carolina must develop a work force that knows how to use computers, networks, on-line information resources, and related information technology tools. Networking our schools and colleges, developing on-line educational programs and training systems, and teaching children and adults how to find and use SCIway and Internet resources will not guarantee that South Carolina will be able to attract high-tech companies and the high-paying jobs they bring with them. But not taking these steps will guarantee our failure.

Developing a labor pool that is skilled in the use of computers and networks is an immediate concern, not just a problem we need to solve someday. For example, in October of 1995 the Charleston area lost an $18 million Gateway 2000 computer assembly plant to Hampton, Virginia. This plant would have created 1,000 light-manufacturing jobs and generated an $18.4 million annual payroll. One of the main reasons Gateway chose Hampton was that they "concluded that Virginia was better-positioned than South Carolina to train and provide workers for the high-tech jobs." (Post and Courier, October 13, 1995, 5-B).

While addressing the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce a month later, Governor Beasley pinpointed the state's problem perfectly:

As the global market place changes, and it's changing rapidly, we simply are falling behind because we don't have the workers capable through high-tech training. [South Carolina needs to train its children in technology so the state can ride the coming wave of job growth] instead of letting that wave ride over us. (Post and Courier, November 19, 1995, 35-A).

Helping South Carolina businesses compete. Because many South Carolina businesses now compete in a global economy, they must have immediate, economical access to various types of information in order to be competitive. Much of the information businesses need is collected or produced by state and local governments. Having this information on-line would help South Carolina companies respond quickly to business opportunities-and improve their productivity in the process.

Providing equal electronic access. Much of the information generated by South Carolina state and local governments is currently available only in Columbia or at county seats, and the cost of accessing these resources is higher the farther one lives from these locations. If government information resources were available on-line through SCIway, individuals and businesses throughout the state would have equal and lower-cost access to them.

Saving South Carolinians time and money. Providing public information and services on-line would make daily life more convenient for South Carolinians and save them time and money. Individuals and businesses would be able to access information, obtain services, and fulfill requirements 24 hours a day, seven days a week-without making long-distance telephone calls or physically traveling to government offices. And they would not have to wait in traffic, find and pay for a parking place, or stand in line.

Reducing government costs. Providing public information and services through SCIway would also cut government costs and save taxpayers money by reducing the number of employees needed to answer telephone and walk-in questions, mail publications and forms, and enter data from returned forms into computers. In addition it would reduce the need for government office space and furnishings; cut paper, printing, packaging, and postage expenses; and decrease the cost of storing outgoing publications and forms and filing and storing incoming forms.

In sum, there is a strong case for funding and building the public portion of SCIway as soon as possible.