I hear that the new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is actively recruiting for at least one senior communications role. If ever there was a website in e-government which really ought to push the boundaries, this is it. I mean, the word ‘innovation’ features in the title, for goodness sake. And if any sector is likely to be receptive to a ‘web 2.0’-style approach, it’s surely the universities.
I note it’s the UK Intellectual Property Office – until recently, the Patent Office – which is running the current DIUS website. I’m not sure what it’s running on, but glancing at the source code, it looks like the same platform as ipo.gov.uk. I’m not sure that meets the ‘innovation’ element of the brief: looking around the IPO site, it’s rather rudimentary, and despite having a What’s New page, there isn’t even an RSS feed.