Common Look and Feel for the Internet

Collaborative Arrangements Section

Overview

GoC institutions participating in collaborative arrangements with other levels of government or the private sector face additional challenges in ensuring federal identity, presence and visibility. Web sites are perhaps one of the most contentious applications as space for identification is often limited and the party hosting the Web site maintains creative control of the Web site.

As well, the GoC must be sure to avoid making or implying an endorsement of an individual, company, organization or product.

Rationale

These issues fall into areas of responsibility of both the Government Communications Policy and the Federal Identity Program. The TB Secretariat's Service and Innovation Sector has created an interdepartmental working group to examine all identity issues relating to collaborative arrangements and develop solutions for promulgation in the renewed Government Communications Policy.

Interpretation

Institutions of the Government of Canada may visually represent themselves using one of three following identifiers: The institutional signature, the Government of Canada signature, or the "Canada" wordmark. In collaborative arrangements involving more than one Government of Canada institution, the institutions are to be identified by a single Government of Canada signature or "Canada" wordmark. In collaborative arrangements involving many partners, it is advisable to create a separate page dedicated to identifying the participants in order to avoid a confusing presentation of many symbols and logos throughout a Web site.

The decision as to what degree to apply CLF standards to Web sites that involve collaborative arrangements is not straightforward. This is because the GoC is involved in many different types of collaborative arrangements with many different types of partners.

Sites with a gc.ca domain name must apply all CLF standards fully. The gc.ca domain is meant to apply to GoC institutional Internet Web sites, though it is not meant to necessarily apply to all possible Web sites with which a GoC institution is involved.

A GoC institution's primary site and any related sub-sites would be logically expected to use a gc.ca domain designation. This includes sites that could be described as primarily related to program delivery and / or the provision of corporate information.

Collaborative sites with others, such as provincial, territorial or municipal governments, the private sector, etc. should have a different domain designation than gc.ca, such as .ca, .org or .com (e.g. http://www.cbsc.org). On these sites, appropriate CLF standards as they relate to accessibility, collaborative arrangements, cybersquatting, important notices and official languages still apply to the GoC contribution.

Note that GoC institutions must display one of the FIP identifiers thereby achieving a visual presence and balance between the government and its partners. One example might be a portal or gateway site. In this circumstance, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) should be used to define how best to identify the partners' and their contributions. Note that it is the responsibility of the appropriate minister to determine whether or not a particular shared-cost program requires federal identity in its publicity. As and when directed by the minister, a federal institution entering into a contract or agreement with other levels of government or private institutions must include provisions in the contract that set out the terms for joint identification of the partners.

In other collaborative arrangements, the GoC institution may have a lead responsibility. The institution may have funded the design, development and implementation of the site and may host the site server. Other participants may play a minor or limited role, for example as information sources. For such sites, the gc.ca domain name should be used and the CLF standards should fully apply.

2.1 Best Practices

An example of collaborative arrangement: http://www.cbsc.org

A Treasury Board Secretariat publication entitled Stretching the Tax Dollar - The Federal Government As 'Partner' : Six Steps to Successful Collaboration (October 1995) is an excellent reference for public sector managers who find themselves faced with the challenge of providing Canadians with quality services using alternative service delivery mechanisms.

Additional information on collaborative arrangements can be found in the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada.

Rationale

Trade marks, logos, professional certifications, special file formats, and software plug-ins may be important to a specific audience; however, use of associated icons can be perceived to constitute an endorsement.

Interpretation

The use of symbols and logos is allowed in collaborative arrangements.

The President of the Treasury Board has approved a number of symbols for government-wide use, such as the Millennium Bureau symbol and the Year of the Elderly Person symbol. However, even approved government-wide symbols should be displayed with discretion. Any other symbol intended to be used government-wide is subject to prior approval by the President of the Treasury Board.

Any other third-party icons, symbols or logos that represent the products and services of private enterprises or individuals must not be displayed on GoC sites. Providing relevant information discretely in text format, rather than using symbols and logos, reduces the appearance of endorsement.

2.2 Best Practices

Hyperlinking to and from GoC Web sites (January 2003)

Through the work of the CLF Hyperlinking Working Group, the following best practices were developed to guide departments and agencies with the implementation of the Hyperlinking Notice and to provide a coding example for links to non-GoC sites. The best practices also include criteria for linking and standard replies to requests to be considered before implementing links to and from non-GoC sites.

It is recommended that departments and agencies use the following wording for their Hyperlinking Notice that has been vetted by TBS legal counsel for inclusion in their Important Notices statement.

With federal Internet sites now established as a viable and effective government communications and outreach medium, and the proliferation of the Web in general throughout Canadian society, there has been a marked increase in the number of requests received by the Government of Canada (GoC) from non-government organizations to establish links from GoC Web sites to non-GoC Web sites and vice versa. 

As a general rule, it is not necessary to have a linking agreement or to obtain permission when establishing a link to another site.  Also, as a general rule, the GoC reserves the right to refuse or to terminate links without notice.

These best practices should be applied to all links on Web sites, irrespective of the document format (e.g. HTML, PDF, RTF, etc.):

1. The Important Notices section of a GoC institution's Web site should use the following Hyperlinking Notice in the Important Notices section that informs users of the terms and conditions under which links may be made to non-GoC Web sites.
   
   Hyperlinking Notice
   
   For sites that use the "TITLE" attribute in the HTML link tag for the Important Notices, reference should be made to the Hyperlinking Notice.
2. Where appropriate, GoC institutions are encouraged to use lists of links rather than embedded or contextual links. This method of displaying information improves the overall accessibility of the page.
   A links page or page with a separate list of links should provide a link to the Hyperlinking Notice in the Important Notices section. It should be preceded by a statement such as: "For further information on the [name of institution]'s hyperlinking practices, please refer to the Hyperlinking Notice."
3. Links to non-GoC Web sites, particularly when they are interspersed throughout the site, should be referenced in a clear way to a directive or information that explains that the user is leaving a GoC Web site.  This can be accomplished by using the "TITLE" attribute in the HTML link tag.
   Example:
   <a href="http://www.nongovernmentofcanadasite.com" title="Link to a non-Government of Canada site - For more information on the [name of institution]'s hyperlinking practices, please refer to the Hyperlinking section of the Important Notices at the bottom of this page." >nongovernmentofcanadasite.com</a>
   Example: nongovernmentofcanadasite.com
   Note: The above solution does not work in Netscape. An alternative is currently being explored.
4. GoC institutions should develop a set of criteria for linking to and from their Web sites. Once established, these criteria should be applied consistently to all of the institution's Web sites and may be published for reference by the public. A sample set of Criteria for Hyperlinking has been developed, and GoC institutions are encouraged to adapt it for use on their Web sites in consultation with their legal counsel.
5. GoC institutions should verify the quality of links on their Web sites. This includes regular reviews to ensure that the link is not broken and that the content behind that link remains appropriate.  Please refer to the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada and the Government of Canada Internet Guide with respect to monitoring Web sites. It is recommended that this activity be undertaken on no less than an annual basis and/or if the institution receives a notice or becomes aware that links are not current or appropriate.
   For example, a site that may have been appropriate, through time, may become inactive or, in some cases, may be purchased by another third party. This third party may, in turn, choose to publish inappropriate materials to their site, making it critical to not only verify if links are broken but also to check the content of the sites to which the GoC institution is linking. 
6. According to Standard 6.6, GoC Web sites can use frames only as an alternative format and, as a general rule, GoC Web sites should not use framing.
   If frames are used as an alternative format, GoC institutions should not load the content of other Web sites, be they GoC or non-GoC, into the frames associated with their site unless a hyperlinking agreement exists. Since users are not necessarily aware that they have been linked to another site, framing in this manner may generate complaints of copyright and trademark infringement.
7. Deep linking refers to the practice of providing a link to internal pages of another Web site, bypassing the home or splash page of the site to which the link is created.
   As a general rule, an agreement is not required to create a deep link from a GoC to a non-GoC Web site; however, you should consider hyperlinking to home pages or obtaining permission before deep linking to private sector or commercial Web sites under the following circumstances:
   
   • When the site owner, by notice on the Web site, prohibits deep linking without permission; or
   • When bypassing the site's home page by navigating to a specific sub-page will result in a loss of advertising opportunities and revenue.
8. When establishing Collaborative Agreements or MOUs that involve or may involve linking, these agreements should address linking practices and procedures. These clauses should be drafted in consultation with departmental legal counsel.
   In establishing agreements that address linking, GoC institutions may also wish to confirm the date for renewal of the non-GoC site's domain, as well as any maintenance and linking standards; these will help to ensure that the site to which the GoC links remains appropriate and current.
9. As a general rule, establishing a link to another site without a linking agreement or permission in advance is not viewed as violating any rights; however, a sample set of Standard Replies to linking requests to assist you in responding to link requests has been developed. These replies can be adapted by GoC institutions.
10. Linking should be done in accordance with the Directive on the Use of Official Languages on Web Sites.