Lifelong learning is based on the principle that everyone can learn and everyone must learn. The aim of the Tertiary Information Strategy is excellence, relevance and access—remove barriers between Networked Learners and the information they need, bridge gaps in their information awareness.

The strategy’s vision is closer information relations—secure, seamless access to education sector information:

1. all communications and dealings with external parties that relate to business transactions can occur electronically
2. the authoritative source of all information is electronic, from which authorised copies can be generated on demand
3. work becomes location-independent and business processes are distributed to the most appropriate location
4. boundaries between agencies, and with customers and suppliers, become less visible and more permeable

This will be achieved through common Principles for inter-agency collaboration:

• access to personalised information services via a tertiary portal
• information with added-value from shared databases and data warehouses
• XML-based standards for exchanging information between systems
• voluntary commitment to open interoperability rules and standards

There is strong cross-agency agreement about the way forward. The central agencies have adopted a common Road Map, which is conservative, sets realistic goals for 2004, and brings early results. The Ministry of Education [1] is accountable for driving the process forward, under an agreed Governance framework.

Marketing the strategy and its benefits to the tertiary sector is the key to successful implementation. Benefits to the agencies’ common Audiences are compelling and existing Agency Projects support the strategy’s Goals. The next step is to engage sector representatives and seek their feedback.

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