eUSER supports the IST programme to achieve its key objectives to put the user and his/her needs at the centre of IST developments. It provides empirical information on key public eServices domains – eGovernment, eHealth, eLearning – identified as priorities by the European Council and in the eEurope 2005 action plan, and assesses the demand/supply match in these fields. Various eServices have been implemented at different levels in the European Union which directly address European citizens.
Many of these eServices have been designed and implemented with a superficial understanding of the widely differing needs of its target groups. Online public service providers need to improve their ability and readiness to address generic user issues and their domain-specific needs. Only then Europe will achieve the benefits potentially associated with eGovernment, eHealth and eLearning for all its citizens. eUSER addresses generic user-related issues and develops an globally accessible repository of evidence-based knowledge, methods and best practice examples.
It pursues an extensive programme of active knowledge translation, transfer and dissemination supported by sophisticated online knowledge dissemination tools. The knowledge base will consolidate both existing knowledge and approaches, and novel data generated by the project through representative population surveys (demand side) in selected old and new Member States, and through comparative analyses of readiness to address user aspects of public eServices in each Member State (supply side).
The project will also provide robust benchmarking and prospective analyses that will be of value for the eEurope 2005 action and for EU public administration, public health and education policy. Over 24months, partners located in four Member States and further ones from Canada will cooperate on these issues. In addition, all other European Union Member States and two Candidate Countries will be covered by national correspondents.
