It Feels Like We’ve Lost a Step… What Happened?

Last week I was in Melbourne for the Public Sector Network Government Innovation Week. I’ve got a full series linked below from the trip, so check those out if you want the full picture. But there’s one idea in particular that’s been stuck in my head ever since. After the conference, I broke out of the usual crowd and spent an evening with a small, eclectic group of civic punks. Less stage, more conversation. Less polished, more real. We dug into what a more local, grassroots approach to government could actually look like. Then I hopped over to Wellington for a packed couple of days. But here’s the thing I can’t shake: It feels like we’ve lost a step since the pandemic. The people who carried the civic punk movement for the last decade are tired. Some are burning out. And the next generation isn’t quite plugging in the way you’d expect. So we’re in this strange in-between moment. An interregnum. The old energy that powered the movement has faded… but the new energy hasn’t fully formed yet. Which raises a bigger question: What comes next for civic punks—and for the future of government? Government Innovation Week Series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGbB6ETwppLppBLlMQNSedbBEy9sMqHVk