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Ingrid provides an excellent update about the 24 hour tweetfest by the Manchester (UK) police force. This information needs to become standardized and therefore sharable in much the same way that weather data is today. We are seeing 311 and transit data becoming more and more standardized at the local level, to the benefit of everyone as application developers are grabbing this information and building applications (paid and free).
While the video dates back to July the concepts discussed in this video certainly still apply to all cities and towns across the world. I apologize for the IBM advertising aspects of this (I am not affiliated and make no money from it):
My friend Sid Burgess wrote this excellent guest post about gubernatorial Candidate Lincoln Chafee’s recent comments about open government. Sid does work with the team at SeeClickFix, so please keep this in mind as you read his post. Since I have a great deal of respect for the SeeClickFix team, and Sid, I do not mind highlighting them as part of this post (I receive nothing in the process, just FYI).
Beyond what Sid shares below I also wanted to note that this is a very good sign for American politics. It is one of the few times I have seen a political candidate speak about open government as part of their political platform. Will other candidates pick this up and merge this message into their campaign? Will this spark more meaningful citizen conversations and involvement? Will this translate into measurable change leading to cost savings and other efficiency wins? Only time will tell, of course, but at least the conversation is underway.
“I want to include Rhode Islanders in the process of stewarding their neighborhoods by encouraging the use of SeeClickFix, a free mobile phone and web application that allows citizens to identify, report, and fix non-emergency issues in their neighborhoods,” stated Chafee on his campaign website. Wasting no time, the campaign has already organized a “SeeClickFix Storm” to take place this weekend across Rhode Island, during which supporters are asked to find and report issues in their neighborhoods with the goal of publicizing Chafee’s open-government initiative.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen groups of people get together, with friends or in support of a cause, to utilize SeeClickFix en masse. In some ways, it is the most fun and effective way of making a big difference with relatively little effort. Chafee’s campaign initiative will be off to an effective start with the help of SeeClickFix to bridge the communication gap between citizens and their local governments. “With this ‘SeeClickFix Storm,’ we can start using SeeClickFix statewide and getting community issues fixed,” Chafee says on the Facebook invite to the event. “And more broadly, Rhode Island citizens can participate in the work of government in a meaningful way.”
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Government 2.0 is a citizen-centric philosophy and strategy that believes the best results are usually driven by partnerships between citizens and government, at all levels. It is focused entirely on achieving goals through increased efficiency, better management, information transparency, and citizen engagement and most often leverages newer technologies to achieve the desired outcomes. Government 2.0 is bringing business approaches, business technologies, to government. (as defined by me 
)
Vietnam is launching a program next year, investing $90 million dollars which, beginning in 2015 they expect to create annual returns of up to $1.5 billion. Dr Phung Van On, Director, IT Center, Office of the Government, states that “To make it work, the government has proposed a comprehensive plan to ensure there is the appropriate legal framework, the right financing, human resources and implementation strategy.” A top down goal-oriented approach that recognizes the following is key:
While we must wait a few years before we know if the ROI being predicted is achieved it is clear that the country is already benefiting from the government 2.0 philosophy. The Vietnamese tech sector, as noted in the article,”.. grew by 20 per cent (to US$6.26 billion) in 2009 despite the global economic downturn, and the government is targeting three times GDP growth through to 2020.”
Are outcomes guaranteed? No, nothing in life is for sure. However, a strategic approach with intelligent investment will deliver results.
John
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While large organizations are clearly delivering value to the public and private sector it is important that we do not lose site of the importance of small organizations, local governments, and their ability to drive positive changes. According to census numbers and numbers published by SBA for the United States alone we know that:
With these numbers in mind I have launched a brand new community, Our Town Talk. This community will evolve as membership grows, meeting the needs of our members.
The mission for this community is straightforward and summed up as providing a place for citizens, small business owners, local government employees and politicians to come together and share their thoughts on what is good and what is not so good in their communities. Over time I would love to see this become a place where citizen 2.0 is standardized and becomes a reality.
While these goals are worthwhile we will need to be patient and seek to grow this community to the point where a critical mass is achieved. In the mean-time, note:
If you believe your town needs an easy to use platform stop by and give it a try.
John
Image via CrunchBase
I came across two great articles today that give interesting statistics about the growth of mobile-delivered-value at the local level. I would urge you to check them both out.
Local businesses, chambers of commerce, and local governments need to stay on top of these trends and understand the need to shift from traditional to online means. Services such as Google Places, GoWalla, and Foursquare will play a large role, helping businesses deliver mobile coupons to people in the area,or better yet, checked into their stores.
John
Image by Premshree Pillai via Flickr
With a great deal of fascination I watched, and lightly participated in, a Twitter-driven debate between many of the mayoral candidates in Calgary. The event, called Twibate Tuesday, brought together most of the candidates into a virtual room (Twitter) where roughly every ten minutes a new question was asked by the moderator, Calgary Politics. I love the concept as it provided potential for citizen interaction.
Twitter is often compared to a cocktail party; loud, noisy, plenty of side conversations…. The debate was much the same. Great questions were asked by the moderator, and by the participants, and by the crowd, but it was easy to get lost.
So, how could this be made better? Here are a few thoughts, let me know what you think:
When the debate is completed the entire Twitter stream should be posted to the Facebook page. Citizens who missed the debate would be able to view both streams to get a complete view, one clean and crisp, one with all the noise of the cocktail party.
How would you approach a debate using new media options? Would you use other approaches?
John
As I write about The Social Ecosystem I regularly remind people that 80% of organizational challenges are common across industries, sectors, geographies. In other words, while this article is focused on government it applies equally well to small and medium businesses, enterprises, etc…
“Government 2.0 is a citizen-centric philosophy/strategy where results are often driven by partnerships between citizens and government. It is focused entirely on achieving goals through increased efficiency, better management, information transparency, and citizen engagement and most often leverages newer technologies to achieve the desired outcomes.”
Learn more about Government 2.0 by reading any of these great books (affiliate links):
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What is CityCamp?
CityCamp is a FREE unconference focused on innovation for municipal governments and community organizations. As an unconference, content for CityCamp is not planned for a passive audience. Instead, content is created and organized by participants and coordinated by facilitators. Participants are expected to play active roles in sessions. This provides an excellent format for creative, open exchange geared toward action.
CityCamp’s are meant to bring together citizens, local government officials, municipal employees, experts, programmers, designers and journalists to share perspectives and insights about the cities in which they live.
When is CityCamp Boston?
The target for CityCamp Boston is March 5th, 2011. We have a couple of potential venue locations and will share with you all the information as it becomes available.
How can I help?
Have ideas for topics? Whether it’s something you want to present on yourself or something you’d love to hear others talk about, submit your idea. Have ideas for venue? For caterers? For Sponsors?
CityCamp events are funded and supported by sponsoring businesses and non-profit organizations, grants, donations, and volunteers. We appreciate all you can do to help, every donation is appreciated.
We need participants, organizers, fund raisers, and generally passionate people to make this a success. Interested in getting involved?
The event will be here before we know it, lets get ready to make a difference.
Note that you can follow/participate with event updates on Twitter or you can join our mailing list (choose CityCamp Boston after entering your e-mail address).
John
Learn more about Government 2.0 by reading any of these great books (affiliate links):
