Programme on Information and Communication Technologies, f5.00, 61pp The Programme on Information and Communication Technology is supported by grants from the Economic and Social Research Council to conduct and disseminate research on long-term economic and social issues posed by advances in information and communication technologies. PICT policy research papers are designed to inform government, industry and the academic community of the results and implications of PICT research activities. This paper is the third in the PICT policy research paper series based on a forum.
The first two dealt with electronic service delivery in the public sector and Britain's response to the information superhighway.
These forum papers are intended to differ from the more traditional summaries of the research findings, because they report on discussions which are informed not only by research, but also by the practical dayto-day experience of individuals from business, industry, special interest groups, public agencies and professional bodies. Such forums were launched to move away from traditional lecture/discussion formats, with all the assump-