Topic 4: Technology, Transparency, and Participatory Democracy

President Obama issued a memorandum on Transparency and Open Government following his inauguration in early 2009.  The memo outlined his commitment to greater transparency, increased citizen participation, and more collaboration.  This commitment acknowledges that government cannot solve by itself the challenges facing our nation.

Progress to Date. The Administration solicited public comments on how it should act on the principles outlined in President Obama’s memo.  Agencies piloted a number of different approaches during the course of the year.  These approaches tested ways of providing useful “open data,” “open idea generation,” “open spending” via recovery.gov, and “open government resources,” such as the General Services Administration’s website supporting agencies’ Web 2.0 efforts.

OMB issued guidance in late 2009 that required agencies to develop Open Government plans and create Open Government websites to allow the public to monitor progress.  Agencies were also directed to release “high-value” data sets and identify a “flagship initiative.”  OMB also created the data.gov website where agencies can post their high-value data sets.

Key Challenges. The challenge is to systematically embed the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration into the federal bureaucracy.  Following are key elements of this challenge:

• Transparency, participation, and collaboration are often not valued inside many federal agencies.
• Real and perceived legal barriers can prevent federal agencies from reaching Open Government goals.
• Greater awareness is needed about how to apply new tools and methods for engaging the public.
• Increased access to information requires measures to ensure data quality and the ability to easily share information across agencies and departments.
• Open Government goals require adequate funding and guidance about how to appropriately budget activities.

Research Questions Based on Forum Discussions. Following are highlights of some of the research questions developed:

• Which Web 2.0 social media channels are most effective in engaging the public?
• What is the relationship between transparency, participation, and collaboration across the policy continuum (e.g., policy development, policy implementation, policy evaluation)?
• How can agencies create a culture reflecting the values of transparency, participation, and collaboration?
• How can technology increase transparency, participation, and collaboration?

(Note:  the background discussion paper for this topic was prepared by Joseph Goldman, AmericaSpeaks)

Social Media Trends in Gov for 2010

I am not a tech-toy pioneer.  It was two years before I logged onto my company’s instant message system because I thought it would create ADD symptoms (it didn’t).  I just got a Blackberry a few weeks ago (yes, Blackberry, not iPhone) because I lost my PalmPilot calendar and they don’t make them anymore.  And I resisted a Twitter account because I thought it was silly, frivolous, and seemingly narcissistic.

In each case, I found myself wrong.  Let me explain why I now Twitter. I found following a few “tweets” actually exposed me to helpful info I would not have seen otherwise.  Being selective helps.  I follow about a half dozen Tweets, including GAO (which announces its new reports daily),  Federal News Radio reporter Chris Dorobek (who posts links to timely government stories), and a new site, OhMyGov!, which highlights interesting government-related stories.

For example, OhMyGov! editor Mark Malseed did a great story, “Social Media for Government:  Six Trends for 2010,” that I’d not have seen if I had not been on Twitter.  Malseed summarized trends from a Harvard Business website article targeted to the private sector, but it is relevant to the public sector as well:

• Individuals will become more selective about their social media connections and trim back the number of networks they belong to because of information overload.
• Organizations will look to scale up their social media efforts (and in government, this will likely be driven by the long-awaited Open Government Directive).
• Managers will be encouraging (not discouraging) their employees to participate in social media on behalf of their organizations.
• Organizations will create more formal social media policies, and begin to enforce them (I’ve seen corporate dress codes for avatars in Second Life!).
• Social media will become more mobile-device oriented.
• Sharing will no longer mean email.  As generations shift in the workplace, email is the new snail mail.

So, do I “tweet?” Well, not really, but I do follow others!  You can follow the IBM Center, though, at: BusofGovernment on Twitter. So, if you haven’t joined, you might try it out and see if it makes a difference.  It’s free!

NOTE:  A subsequent Federal Times Op-Ed, by U.S. Army General Craig McKinley, “Why I Tweet,” provides a powerful example of how leaders can use Twitter to stress important messages across a highly decentralized organization. It’s worth reading!