Decentralization is intended to delegate specific competencies to local authorities, distinct from those of central government. These authorities elected by the local populations are meant to ensure a better distribution of power across the country. As France's Decentralization Act II is implemented, we are witnessing a transfer of personnel, sometimes massive, from central administrations to territorial authorities, changes that are prompting them to rethink their organization and to adopt collaborative working tools such as intranets.

Territorial administrations need to collaborate with various types of organization: public/private partners, local associations, development agencies, and so on. To support these relationships they create collaborative spaces generally on Extranets.

Today citizens can access many government services via the Internet; for elected administrators e-administration is now a reality. A Markess International survey of 200 administrations confirms the increasing interest among public decision-makers in information technologies, and in particular the new opportunities offered by Internet portals and teleservices. For the territorial authorities that have chosen Jalios' JCMS solution the notions of citizen dialogue, interactivity and involvement have become very important.

Alain Risbourg, Jalios Sales and Marketing Manager, observes: "The public bodies among our clients are very keen to adopt the latest Internet usages. They employ the term 'xNet portals'. In other words, they are opening– in a customized manner – their intranet portals to external users such as citizens, local partners and private enterprises in order to bring local government closer to citizens and to encourage transparency. They are also enthusiastic about Web 2.0 functionalities which can support new and more participative forms of interaction - and therefore democracy - between administrations and citizens."

Despite the appeal of open-source solutions, Jalios JCMS has convinced a number of public authorities of its advantages. In fact the JCMS platform is very "open" in that it incorporates Java, XML and Ajax tools and open APIs and standards and is backed by an active community. This enables technical staff to manage the tool themselves in an intuitive, user-friendly manner. Public authorities can therefore manage and control the evolution of their portals in-house, calling for support from Jalios and its active partners only when needed. End-users have no difficulty whatever in using sites based on JCMS.

Alain Risbourg adds: "Looking beyond the features of JCMS itself, our customers appreciate Jalios as a close, proactive partner fully committed to the success of their projects. For example, we share with our customers our roadmap. We propose very effective on-demand support with a commitment to achieve results."

Like its counterparts in other French Departements, the Loire-Atlantique Departmental Council fulfills a public service mission for the communities and populations in the Department, notably in terms of social solidarity, infrastructure, transport, education, environment, economy and culture. The Department is divided into 59 cantons each of which elects a Councilor for six years. Its annual budget is about a billion euros.

As part of the renovation of its existing intranet site, the Departmental Council wished to integrate a content management tool and optimize its portal to improve its function as a vehicle for information and for communication with users. Content management was formerly very limited: updates were centralized without effective means of identifying obsolete information or exploiting documentary resources to the full. Additionally, the Council wished to give its new intranet collaborative functions. The JCMS solution proved to be the ideal choice to create a portal providing efficient interactivity and content management.

The project manager, Mr. Lefèvre, underlines: "During this upgrade we particularly appreciated the support of the Jalios team and its reactivity in response to our requests for software changes."

For the Council this new, efficient portal is much more than just an intranet site, it is a valuable e-administration tool providing online content and services for the Department's agents and employees.

Again with an objective of enhanced service, the Departmental Council has also chosen JCMS to revamp its Internet portal (http://www.cg44.fr).

The Loire Departmental Council distinguished itself once again in 2006 by winning the Public Web Trophy for its Internet portal built using Jalios JCMS. This prize was presented at the last European Electronic Administration Forum (http://www.cg42.fr).