Policy paper

Open formats implementation plan

Published 17 March 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

1. Overview

The government has selected open formats for sharing and viewing government documents.

The primary purpose of these formats is to allow government departments, their suppliers, and citizens to be able to work together without having to pay for specific software. This will mean that departments will be able to choose the applications that best meet their users’ needs without compromising their ability to work with others.

This document is the first iteration of the Cabinet Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) plan to implement the format and will be updated further before June 2015. This plan is being implemented across both departments as they currently share a technology function. The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has published an implementation plan independently of the Cabinet Office. Users in CCS are at the start of a migration to the Cabinet Office IT service which will be complete in May 2015. We will review and combine the 2 plans at this point. You can contact the Cabinet Office and DCMS with feedback on this plan via odf@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

2. Current position

There are approximately 2,300 users in Cabinet Office of which 500 are Government Digital Service (GDS). There are around 600 people in DCMS. All users can create documents in line with the Open Document Format standards – ODF 1.2, PDF/A and HTML5. However, these are optional settings.

2.1 User groups

There is a complex network of user groups we have identified, including:

• citizens
• all people working within the Cabinet Office and DCMS
• specialist groups within the Cabinet Office and DCMS, such as statisticians, developers, intelligence professionals and political staff
• other government departments and organisations that interact with the Cabinet Office or DCMS
• commercial and voluntary organisations who work with the Cabinet Office and DCMS, whether as suppliers, partners or customers

2.2 Internal user activities

• creating documents and working on them with other people
• publishing activity – primarily GOV.UK and the departmental intranets
• working with legacy line of business applications
• working with third parties on integrated applications (eg Shared Services Connected Limited who provide HR and Payroll services to Cabinet Office)

2.3 User needs

During the recent technology refresh we examined user needs in the office productivity area. Primary concerns for our users were:

• working with other people on document creation within the departments
• exchanging documents with people and organisations outside the Cabinet Office and DCMS
• maintaining accessibility for those who use assistive technology

As part of the review we ran trials of a variety of office productivity suites. Users expressed a preference for working with Google Drive and Microsoft Office.

3. How we’re approaching implementation

3.1 Phase 1: external publishing in open formats - target 31 March 2015

Where we are now

The majority of information published by Cabinet Office and DCMS is via GOV.UK, which is in HTML5. The intranets for both organisations are also HTML5 by default where the information is for viewing only.

Publishing to GOV.UK is currently done by a small team in Cabinet Office and a number of people embedded across DCMS. These people now actively seek to publish only in HTML5, for both accessibility and to meet the open standards.

All users have the necessary applications to create and consume HTML5, PDF/A and ODF 1.2 formatted documents.

What phase 1 will deliver

1. From April 2015, all Cabinet Office and DCMS staff should accept documents that are sent to them in these formats.
2. From April 2015, all Cabinet Office and DCMS documents that are newly-published will be in open formats.

3.2 Phase 2: working in open formats by default - target 30 September 2015

Where we are now

We have provided all users with a digital document collaboration platform in Google Apps for Work. This meets their collaboration needs but is only compliant with ODF v1.1. Google has announced that it is currently working on ODF 1.2 support.

We now have in place a technology service that will allow us to provide a flexible tool set that meets user needs and will comply with open formats in the future.

We expect that document formats will become less and less relevant as more documents go through their lifecycle entirely within browser-based tools. When users collaborate online the format becomes less important until the document is downloaded, published or emailed as an attachment. We aim to see a gradual decline in attachments over the next 6 months.

All users have the most current version of Microsoft Office suites for Windows and Mac, as well as LibreOffice available as part of a self-service system. These are all able to create to create accessibly tagged PDF/A. Microsoft Office and LibreOffice support ODF 1.2 for creating and editing documents. There is currently no support for ODF in Office for Mac.

What phase 2 will deliver

1. By April 2015, we will appoint an open formats leader in both Cabinet Office and DCMS to own the change and its delivery. They will be given clear support by senior business users.
2. During April and May 2015, we will be running workshops with users to ensure that users understand the change and the implications for their role. We will also be running surveys to see if the knowledge has been embedded.

3. We will communicate the change and the implications for our users as part of an existing workstream in the Knowledge and Information Management team, which is due to complete by June 2015. This includes: * advice to users about accepting ODF document formats from internal and external sources * preparation for working in ODF 1.2 by default * education about what format to consider when publishing documents that are for viewing only

4. By July 2015, we should have identified a solution or mitigation for each barrier we identify for universal adoption of ODF.
5. By September 2015, we will have several data points showing the volume of different file formats being created and used with the departments over time. This will provide us with clear indications of whether phase 2 is completing or will need to be extended.

3.3 Phase 3: business applications that consume or produce documents - target January 2016

Where we are now

Cabinet Office and DCMS have a legacy application estate which has some dependency on proprietary document formats. There is a workstream that is working on clearly identifying and updating or removing legacy business applications.

We have identified all of these applications, which are managed through a virtualised application delivery platform. This provides good visibility of the problem, allows us to control the use of these applications, and to limit any further development.

We have implemented policies to ensure that no new applications will be deployed where there is a dependency on proprietary formats.

What phase 3 will deliver

1. By October 2015, all corporate templates and forms will have been updated to ensure that all content published internally (for example via the intranet) is in open formats.
2. By January 2016 we will replace any legacy solutions that depend on proprietary file exchange and deliver new digital services if replacement is deemed necessary and cost effective.
3. By October 2015 we will have devised solutions with third parties such as shared services for any processes currently dependant on proprietary formats. We will have agreed timelines at that point, but cannot say what they will be until we identify the solutions.

3.4 Barriers to implementation

We have identified and mitigated the following potential barriers to our implementation plan:

1. Our users don’t currently understand open formats or how they could help in their role. * mitigated by phase 2, actions 2 and 3 – we’ll engage with users and communicate with them as part of an information management communications plan following technology changes
2. While some of our office productivity and publishing tools meet the open formats we have a number of legacy applications that depend on proprietary document formats. * mitigated by phase 3, action 2 – these have been identified and will be transitioned to digital platforms
3. Partner organisations and departments that provide our services or with whom we have embedded interactions that require the use of proprietary document formats. * mitigated by phase 3, action 4 – these have been identified and will be transitioned to digital platforms as part of the phased plan above
4. The technology function within the core Cabinet Office is undergoing a complete replacement creating complexity as it beds in with our users. * mitigated by time – this will be completed towards the end of May 2015
5. We have found some interoperability issues between office packages when exchanging documents in ODF. * partially mitigated: we will clearly identify these issues and take action to resolve them
6. The Cabinet Office is made up of several disparate departments with different technology platforms so the technical element of the implementation is complex. * the technology function will be managed in house from May 2015 reducing the barriers to make changes.