Building an Open, Participatory and Collaborative Government

Presentation to Government 2.0 Boot CampKnoxville, TNTuesday, April 14, 2009

The Collaboration Project

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What is “Web 2.0”?

●Well, what was Web 1.0?● Not interactive● Value is created by producers● “Me-to-you”

●Web 2.0 is the “interactive web”● Interactive tools and media● Value is created by consumers/users● “Us-with-each-other”

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How To “Do” Web 2.0

●Web 2.0 is primarily about building community.

Platform Technologies provide basic functionality

Applications Wikis, blogs, apps create a user environment

Community People use these tools to create and share content

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What Does it Mean?

● Today, it is clear that good government means civic engagement:● It’s The Right Thing To Do: Citizens want to be

engaged in their own governance

● It’s Good Policy: Some of the best ideas come from outside the beltway

● We Don’t Have A Choice: The challenges facing us cut across agencies and levels of government

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By the People?

To many, government looks like this:1. Government

makes a decision

2. Government reveals it to citizens

3. (Repeat.)

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These are technologymanagement challenges.

The Challenge for Government

“We cannot meet 21st century challenges with a 20th century bureaucracy.” – President Obama● Stovepipes and hierarchy● Oversight, mandates, and budget constraints● Legal and policy issues● Organizational culture and traditions

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The Old Way is ChangingTechnologyis enabling transparency, collaboration, & participation

● Stakeholders can see inside their government…

● …and influence it.

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What This Means For Government

People have an unprecedented ability to get involved with government...

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What This Means For Government

…or, go around it.

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The Collaboration Project

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● The old way forces government to push citizens and stakeholders out of the process.

A New Kind of Management

● Technology is allowing us to pull them in.

● Leader-with-Front Line● TSA IdeaFactory

● Leader-with-Stakeholders● Virtual Alabama

● Leader-with-Citizens● Downing Street E-Petitions

● Peer-to-Peer● ODNI Intellipedia

LeaderFront Line

StakeholdersCitizens

Peer-to-Peer

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TSA IdeaFactory

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Virtual Alabama

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Downing Street E-Petitions

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Intellipedia

[SCREENSHOT REDACTED]

(WE’D SHOW YOU, BUT WE’D HAVE TO KILL YOU.)

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A National Dialogue● OMB and CIO Council sponsored a week-long, web-

based dialogue on health IT & privacy

● Users submit ideas, discuss & tag them, and vote the best to the top

● Show an example of how to “do” public engagement

● Constructive engagement instead of “winning” conflict?

● Important national issue with high personal relevance

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Collaborative BrainstormingCitizens

engage the question and submit their ideas

The Crowdrefines ideas, votes the

best ones to the top, and invites others in to

help “grow” the discussion community

Catalystsuse their expertise to

guide, focus, and track the discussion

Seven-Day Tim

e Window

Discussion Voting Social Networks

Text, Links, Video, Pictures, Documents, etc.

Actionable, Citizen-Centered Guidance

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The National Dialogue

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Rich, Constructive Discussion

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Building the Community

Outreach was guided by two main principles:

● Find a community that is engaged with and passionate about the issue● “Stakeholder” communities● Direct contact to nearly 800 groups/individuals

● Give them tools to keep growing the community organically – go viral!● Low-tech (“viral” ≠ hi-tech!): Distribute sample e-mails and

newsletter announcements● Hi-tech: Social networks: Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Digg,

GovLoop, OpinionTracker

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What We Learned● Civic Engagement● Civic engagement = good government● Collaborative approaches can foster a more constructive

conversation● Civic engagement exercises are not “one and done” events

● Health IT & Privacy

● Citizens must link HIT with better personal health outcomes

● Principles informed by public engagement can be a starting point for crafting policy

● Further exploration of key themes is necessary

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Engaging Social Networks

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Who Participated?● 4,413 visits; 2,835 unique visitors; 31,982 pageviews

● Visitors from all 50 states and 80 countries

● Strong diversity in terms of urban, rural, and suburban visitors

● Over 120 unique ideas and 500 comments

● High sectoral diversity: 44% healthcare providers, 34% consumer advocates, 8% government, 7% business, 6% academia, 1% open government advocates

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Geographic Diversity

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Rural, Urban & Suburban

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Powerful Outcomes

• Climate Change

• Health Care

• Fiscal Future

• Energy Independence

•Key priorities identified

•New ideas surface

•Stakeholders engaged

Propose policy changes to reflect citizens’ input

Assemble the community again for a more focused discussion

Gain buy-in for attention and action on the issue

Identify important gaps in public knowledgeHost a

Dialogue

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Build Problem-Solving Communities

ProblemWhat problem is driving my need for innovation?

CommunityWho is the community I can engage on this?

ToolsWhich approach will create the most value?

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Three Big Recommendations

InfrastructureBuild an open IT

infrastructure

DataTreat data as a national asset

CultureCreate a culture of

collaboration

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1. Build The Infrastructure

●Government’s basic communications infrastructure is outdated.● Today, computing power isn’t a physical asset – it’s a

utility

● Cloud computing and SaaS mean lower costs and greater environmental sustainability

●More managerial agility and flexibility, especially for bringing the CIO shop into the mission

● Using these tools is the only way to stay relevant to the citizen

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2. Treat Data Like a National Asset

●We need to incentivize sharing data instead of controlling it.● Use lightweight, interoperable data formats that

anyone in government or the public can understand and use

● Data is no longer “owned” – it has to flow seamlessly without our outmoded concept of stewardship

● Use collaborative tools to manage knowledge across constant leadership transitions

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3. Build a Culture of Collaboration

●Ultimately, this isn’t a technology issue; this is a leadership issue.● Find and celebrate success stories and best practices

to create a “safe-fail” environment● Give CIOs a seat at the program table – and make

sure they use it● Resolve the legal and policy ambiguities that

empower our “inner lawyer”

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When You Leave This Room

BelieveThis isn’t going to

happen – it has happened

LearnEngage with new approaches and

platforms

ActFind a program

partner and pick a problem to solve

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. See http://collaborationproject.org/x/HIA4AQ for more information.

The Collaboration ProjectThe Collaboration Project (www.collaborationproject.org) is an independent forum of leaders who share a commitment to the adoption and use of collaborative technologies to solve complex problems of public management. With the support of dedicated staff and access to the National Academy’s distinguished Fellows and other subject matter experts, the Collaboration Project convenes members in person and online to share best practices; produces research on the opportunities and challenges of collaboration; and assists agencies in implementing collaborative tools and approaches.

For More Information:

Frank DiGiammarino, Vice President(202) 204-3673 frankd@napawash.org

Lena Trudeau, Program Area Director (202) 315-5476 ltrudeau@napawash.org

Danielle Germain, Project Director (202) 468-7092 dgermain@napawash.org

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