GovScape

[More info, links and social media at gov20radio.com]  Privacy complaints and enquiries are on the rise.  We talk with Timothy Pilgrim, Australian Privacy Commissioner in the countdown to the international Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) 2014.

[More info, links and social media at gov20radio.com] In a special live recording at the GovInnovate Gov 2.0 Conference in Australia's capital city Canberra, facilitator John Wells leads a round-up discussion with a panel featuring: Susan Sly, Chief Information Officer, VicRoadsCraig Thomler, Gov 20. Advocate and General Manager Delib AustraliaMary-Anne Williams, Associate Dean Engineering and IT, University of Technology SydneyDon Easter, IT Supplier Advocate, Australian Government The broad-ranging conversation tackles questions such as: What are the connections between e-government, Gov 2.0 and open government - is it a continuum?What is the role of citizens in creating "Society 2.0"?Why is big data important to government?What are the big questions for 2014?

[More info, links and social media at gov20radio.com] Government Technology Exhibition and Conference (GTEC) is widely regarded as Canada's pre-eminent Gov-Tech Conference.  Thom Kearney and Richard Pietro talk to us about their experiences with the 2013 conference in October and, against that backdrop, discuss how the govtech landscape is shifting in Canada.

[More info, links and social media at gov20radio.com]  The Open Government Partnership is a 60-nation network and growing.  After some two years,  Australia's Federal Government has just committed to joining the OGP.  We talk with John McMillan, the Australian Government's Information Commissioner, about what the OGP might mean for a nation well-known for its early adoption of Gov 2.0 and other forms of connected government.

[More info, links and social media at gov20radio.com] The City of Edmonton has launched a Citizen Dashboard on top of their open data catalogue.  Ashley Casovan, Edmonton's Strategic Coordinator for ICT, explains how the initiative is creating new insights for citizens as well as city officials about how the city is performing on delivery of a selection of key services.

[More info, links and social media at gov20radio.com] CommsCamp 2013 brought together practitioners from across UK Government to Birmingham for an unconference about all things communication in the public sector.  Ann Kempster from the UK Government Communication Network, and one of the co-organisers of the event, shares some of the key themes and insights from the event.

[More info, links and social media at gov20radio.com] Inspired by programs such as Code For America, the newly-formed Commons4Europe program is working with seven cities to bring together government administrations, digital innovators, volunteers and local businesses to develop and push a civic transformation program.  Esteve Almirall and Carles Ferreiro from the Commons4EU consortium, based in Barcelona, Spain, explain the integrated approach they're taking to innovation and development across a diverse range of civic cultures.

[More info, links and social media at gov20radio.com] As the deadline for submissions approaches for the News Challenge on Open Government, John Bracken, the Knight Foundation's Director of Media Innovation shares his observations on the journey so far and provides some insights for making project submissions, as well as how everyone can contribute to this timely Challenge to accelerate better ways that government and citizens can interact.

[More info, links and social media at gov20radio.com] The State of Utah has been well regarded for a number of years for its portal at Utah.gov, and the University of Utah's Center for Public Policy and Administration has recently completed a study to quantify the financial benefit of delivering these online government services. The results - based on just nine online services from over 1,200 available at Utah.gov - found a total of $61 million saved over five years. Tune in to hear from Dr Jennifer Robinson from the Utah University's Center for Public Policy and Administration and Rich Olsen from Utah Interactive talk about the findings from the report, and the importance of  measuring the impact of online service delivery.

[More info, links and social media at www.gov20radio.com] Ahead of taking formal applications, an "inspiration phase" has been launched for the 2013 Knight News Challenge.  Some $5 million of Knight Foundation funding will be announced in June for innovative projects around Open Government.  Amid much talk (and much tech) focused on more open, transparent, connected governments - as well as the emergence of the 58 nation Open Government Partnership - this Challenge program aims to enable projects that in the broadest sense foster better communication in support of the Open Gov movement. We hear from Chris Sopher, Project Manager for the 2013 Knight News Challenge, about the Challenge goals and how the inspiration phase will help potential participants to shape their submission ideas through a new online space developed with OpenIDEO. The Knight News Challenge is international and open to submissions from governments and public sector agencies as well as civic innovators, private sector and non-profit organisations.  If you're considering a pitch, don't miss this episode!

[Don't miss links, images, social channels + more at gov20radio.com] How can ICT-fuelled trade and economic development help build sustainable communities?  The United Nations Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) focuses on innovative ways to improve living standards through trade, investment, finance and technology, particularly for developing countries. Torbjörn Fredriksson, UNCTAD's Chief of ICT Analysis, explains the how good macro- and micro-level data and insight leads to adopting good policies, and highlights how a healthy e-business sector can make a significant contribution to more sustainable communities and economies.

[Don't miss links, images, social channels + more at gov20radio.com] For 24 hours in January 2013, the Institute For The Future hosted a global game for citizens around the world to imagine the future of government through civic innovation. Jake Dunagan, IFTF's Research Director talks about the Connected Citizens program, and why this is an important theme to explore.

Two years ago, the Knight Foundation embarked on a program to look at ideas, tools and projects to increase civic engagement and participation.  Damian Thorman, National Program Director, shares some insights from the KF Tech for Engagement initiative so far, and highlights some of the key focus areas for collaboration in the future. For more information and resources, visit http://gov20radio.com

For more information on this interview, visit http://gov20radio.com Botswana, like many African countries, has a strong history of traditional tribal leadership and administration.  Kheira Belkacem from the egovlab at the University of Stockholm is leading the Botswana Speaks project to enable citizens, traditional leaders and local kgotla assemblies in four constituencies of Botswana to use digital tools to share their views and policy concerns with their elected representatives.

For more information on this interview, see http://gov20radio.com Most of the time, we talk about or experience collaboration in the context of a tangible project or an initiative, but how does it work when you are trying to progress an issue where there isn't a known pathway? Max Hardy talks about the differences between consultation and collaboration, and how "inviting people into your dilemma" can lead to more enduring solutions, and how complexity theory can help shift your perspective.

A commitment to open government in Francophone countries has emerged from the recent Heads of State of meeting in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the launch of a new 2020 Francophone digital strategy. Jean-François Gauthier and Mario Asselin from Democratie Ouverte discuss how they have been working with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) as well as their colleagues across the French speaking world to support Governments to broaden and deepen the opengov and open democracy movement. For more information on this episode, see http://gov20radio.com

For more information, visit http://gov20radio.com/cebitgov2012/   A special live recording of a panel session at CeBIT Gov 2.0 Conference in Canberra, Australia.  The panel features:  Zachary Tumin, Harvard Kennedy School Deirdre O'Donnell, Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner NSW Martin Stewart-Weeks, Director, Public Sector Consulting APAC, Cisco Facilitator John Wells leads a discussion with the panel to answer the questions: How can a culture of Gov 2.0 impact the relationship of citizens to government? And within government? Analysis of the connections between e-government, social media and open government What are the risks, rewards, and potential of open and connected government?

Nigel Shadbolt discusses the realities of harnessing the potential of open data for governments, businesses and citizens.  With Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Professor Shadbolt is the joint head of the newly formed Open Data Institute in London which he summarises as "... building the supply side; building capability and empowerment; developing a demand side". For more information on this episode, including links and downloads, please visit gov20radio.com

The electronic government landscape is increasingly pointing towards a diffusion of power, and an increased role and voice for citizens in public decision-making. Tomasz Janowski from the UNU-IIST Center for Electronic Governance discusses some of the global trends that he is observing: participatory democracy, the increased regulation of new service delivery channels and the need for leadership in ICT services, challenging the notion of what "whole of government" really means in practice. For more information, including links and resources please visit http://gov20radio.com

David Ferriero is the 10th Archivist of the United States and Head of the National Archives and Record Administration, including the Presidential Libraries.  The collection includes some 12 billion pages and 40 million photos and now holds all Federal Government tweets.  We explore the linkages between open government and record-keeping public data as well as how social media is challenging the notions of what defines a 'record'.   For more information on this interview, including links and downloads - please see gov20radio.com

Theresa Pardo is well known for her work leading the Center for Technology in Government (CTG). This discussion looks at public value and taking a portfolio approach to open government, as articulated through the CTG's Public Value Assessment Tool. More more information on this interview, including links and downloads - please see gov20radio.com

With the emergence of new trends like open government and open data, there is a perception by many that eGovernment is yesterday's news, and has largely been completed. In a candid conversation, Barbara-Chiara Ubaldi, head of the OECD's eGovernment unit, explains that there is much work still to be done to bring eGovernment into the daily work of the public sector. For more information about this interview, including links and downloads - see gov20radio.com

The US Data.Gov platform now features more than 470,000 datasets from 172 agencies, as well as thematic communities representing such diverse interests as health and education through to developers and consumers.  Jeanne Holm shares some of the lessons learned over the last 12 months of escalating the platform, reinforcing the importance of a focus on people rather than the data itself. Jeanne also discusses the collaboration between the US Data.gov and Indian data.gov.in teams to develop the open source Open Government Platform, and give us an update on the activities of the W3C e-Government group. More info + links at http://gov20radio.com

Beyond the buzz, for many agencies the journey to open government and open data is tempered by a need to see and understand the evidence of benefits.  Andrew Stott, former UK Government Director of Transparency and Digital Engagement, shares some compelling examples where the release of open data is driving innovation within public agencies. Andrew also highlights some of the key themes emerging from open government practitioners at the Open Knowledge Festival recently held in Helsinki, Finland.  See links + downloads at www.gov20radio.com/.

In 2001 Professor Jim Hendler jointly conceptualised the semantic web along with Tim Berners-Lee and Ora Lassila. When he invented the World Wide Web, Berners-Lee always envisaged it as highly linked, and the idea of the semantic web - a web of linked data with meaning - is now emerging as a reality. Jim Hendler takes us on a journey into this semantic web, unpacking related terms such as Web 3.0, and exploring its potential for government. He emphasises the importance of linked open government data, and points to some useful tools and demos of how linked data can be used to create new insights.

Digital public sector recordkeeping is one of the unsung cornerstones in the open government and open data discussion. Dr Anne Thurston talks about past and current challenges of digital recordkeeping and preservation for government - particularly in developing countries.  She also highlights how the open government movement holds opportunities for the public sector recordkeeping profession.

The 54 countries of the Commonwealth of Nations represents more than 2 billion people across every region of the world and a vast diversity in development and capacity. Professor Tim Unwin, well-known as UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, now heads up the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO). In this wide-ranging and provocative discussion, he explores the impact of ICT across diverse economies, the value of technology for governance and also provides an overview of the CTO, including a new strategic focus on six key themes. Prof. Unwin claims that, while it can change the relationship between citizens and the state, by itself technology doesn't change very much.  He also argues that social media's role in participatory democracy may be over-hyped, and that while technology can accelerate change, it only does so for those who have not only access but also the literacy to use it, and that an over-focus on technology can in fact create a greater development divide.

Open access to Government information is a key element of the open government discussion, both in policy and practice terms. Baden Appleyard shares his experience in developing and applying the Australian Government's Open Access and Licensing Framework, and highlights the opportunities and challenges faced in opening up information from Governments as well as public research bodies through licensing options such as Creative Commons.

Building a culture of collaboration and participation is a key ingredient to making innovative programs work in cities. Mark Headd talks about his time with Code for America as their Head of Government Relations, and shares some of the emergent learnings from the intersection between the various elements of CfA's program - the cities, the fellows, the brigade, the commons and now the start-ups.

In times of austerity and change, social technologies and new forms of collaboration enable governments, industry and citizens to create new opportunities and solve problems. In part 2 of this special 2-part interview with Zachary Tumin from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Belfer Centre, we talk about the 'collaboration lifecycle' which features in the new book 'Collaborate or Perish' authored by Zach and William Bratton.

In times of austerity and change, social technologies and new forms of collaboration enable governments, industry and citizens to create new opportunities and solve problems. In part 1 of this special 2-part interview with Zachary Tumin from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Belfer Centre, we look at how all parts of society can collaborate to innovate.

The emerging discipline of service design is playing an increasingly important role in the public sector.  In this special live recording from Paris, we speak with Christophe Tallec of Utilisacteur/Uinfoshare and Anne Marie Boutin, head of the French National Design Centre (Agence pour la promotion de la création industrielle) to learn how service design and design thinking helps organisations to focus on asking the right questions before looking for solutions.

When the Government of British Columbia in Canada released their Government 2.0 Strategy, it built on their social communication experience during two key 'catalyst events': the H1N1 virus pandemic and the 2010 Winter Olympics. Kieran Harrop talks about his time with the Office of the CIO in the BC Government, and how events such as these, together with strong leadership and building a culture of trust among the civil service, creates cut-through and momentum around new ways of communicating.

What happens when you bring a room of entrepreneurs, developers, designers and government practitioners together for 54 hours to create new enterprises and solve public challenges?   Mack Kolarich, co-organizer of the DC Gov 2.0 Startup Weekend, talks about how he and his team are adapting the highly-successful international Startup Weekend format to focus on innovation and entrepreneurship in the public sector.

Content comes first when it comes to delivering sustainable digital public services at Devon County Council.  Carl Haggerty, Digital Communications Manager for the Council shares his insights on the importance of a digital content strategy, where his approach to designing services, not websites or platforms, is transforming the way the organisation interacts with its citizens. Carl also discusses the UK Digital Government Service, and asks the question of whether there needs to be a Local Government Digital Service.

The Black Saturday fires devastated Australia and shocked the world. Now, the Country Fire Authority of Victoria has become a leading example of the use of social media for emergency management, winning this year's Australian eGovernment award. Martin Anderson, CFA's Digital Media Manager and Australian Government 2.0 Innovator of the Year for 2012, explains how the experience of the February 2009 fires highlighted the importance of social communication tools in emergency situations, and that even within a command-and-control environment, agencies need to look outside the box, be flexible and improvise.

The Open Technology Foundation is a new Australian-based organisation that is a hub for technology and people networks in government to share, reuse and co-invest in open technology initiatives across the public sector. OTF Chair Terry Cutler and General Manager Steve Schmid tell us why the Foundation is a timely initiative, and how they are working to federate data, code and experiences to escalate open technology take-up across all tiers of government.

Nicholas Gruen, economist and former chair of the Australian Gov 2.0 Taskforce debates the ways in which 2.0 thinking and technologies are changing economic definitions of public goods. In this far-ranging discussion, Nicholas explains how Gov 2.0 is a nexus between 'Jefferson's dream' of the transformative potential of ideas as public goods, and 'Schumpeter's nightmare' of the chaos of direct democracy.  He argues that democracy is chaos unless it's mediated by specialists, and that the social web actually makes it harder to get the leaders we need to govern.

A fun and inspiring chat with the German-based team behind Global Service Jam events who are now collaborating with the Australian Department of Innovation to pilot GovJams nationally and worldwide.  Hear Adam Lawrence and Markus Hormeß on the stages of rapid prototyping, city-specific Jams and... lots of inspiring stuff.

A case of big government "innovating about doing innovation".  To demo co-creation of user-centric problem solving, the Australian Government's Department of Innovation is leading a national and worldwide network of 48 hour service Jam events in a collaboration with the @GSJam team and others.  Wayne Larkin and Mikaela Griffiths take us through the stages of service design.

EdgeRyders is a joint project of the Council of Europe and the European Commission, and has been described as 'the largest think-tank in the world' where young Europeans are collaborating and sharing experiences about what it means to transition to an independent, active life. Alberto Cottica and Lyne Robichaud from the EdgeRyders team discuss how the project's combination of social technologies and open conversation with ethnographic analysis is revealing new ways for Government to design policies and programs not just for young people, but also for society at large. More information about this episode is available at Gov 2.0 Radio.

From deploying Yammer for policy and program support, to creative use of YouTube for recruitment, and even using QR codes to create the world's first Wikipedia town, the UK's Monmouthshire County Council is a leading example of how local government can move beyond social tech to social communication for internal and external engagement. Helen Reynolds, Communications Officer for Monmouthshire County Council discusses a selection of these innovative initiatives, and also shares her experience with introducing these ideas into local government, and how influence rather than ROI matters for public sector use of social media channels and tools.

How ready are citizens to be part of a more connected public space?  Where is the UK heading in citizen participation?  Ahead of CITIZEN2012 in London, conference organiser Jeffrey Peel - with guest speakers Andy Williamson of Future Digital and David Moody of Kana - discuss building the democratic commons, including tools and trends in next-generation government/citizen engagement.

Jenny Clark and David Kane from the UK's National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) are bringing civil society to the open data table through their Voluntary Sector DataStore and associated initiatives. Jenny and David talk about 'dipping the toe in the water' to bring together the data collected held and collected by voluntary and community organisations in the UK, and support civil society to contribute to and benefit from open data for the public sphere. More on gov20radio.com about this episode: http://cof.lu/JBHhpk

The Sunlight Foundation brings together developers, journalists and citizens to explore issues of transparency and openness in the public sphere. Sunlight's Director of Policy John Wonderlich shares national and international perspectives on open government, where collaboration between government and civil society, and good decision-making about data are the next open government frontiers for public agencies.  John also highlights key learnings from their 2012 Transparency Camp as well as the Open Government Partnership meeting in Brazil. More information on Gov20Radio.com about this episode: http://cof.lu/KsWVmc

Dr Don Lenihan - Vice-President, Engagement, at Canada's Public Policy Forum - explores the breadth of issues and some of the common misconceptions around engagement and co-design, including "who" needs to be engaged and "how".  In this wide-ranging episode, Don challenges many assumptions such as the use of online/social tools; "public" vs "citizen" engagement; and the role of citizens as well as policy-makers in the co-design process.  Don also overviews the "Co-design Community Engagement Prototype" developed this year with Australian Federal and Local Government organisations. For additional information on this episode at gov20radio.com: http://cof.lu/Jij5Il

In "Revolution @ State" Fergus Hanson - Visiting Fellow from The Brookings Institution - explores practical cases of what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has called 'creative diplomacy' and 21st Century Statecraft. A useful reference for agencies of all sizes, this wide-ranging report describes how the US Department of State has infused the use of connective tech through all aspects of their mission in a whole-of-organization approach, from operational development through to public diplomacy. For additional information about this episode on gov20radio.com: http://cof.lu/IZHXyf

Allison Hornery and guest co-host Lyne Robichaud speak with Jean-François Gauthier from Démocratie Ouverte about the recent GouvCamp Paris, including plans to form a foundation, in the vein of the Sunlight Foundation and the Open Knowledge Foundation, to support greater Open Government take-up by Francophone countries.

Lors de notre premier épisode multilingue, Jean-François Gauthier, de Démocratie Ouverte, raconte à Allison Hornery, de même qu'à Lyne Robichaud, notre co-animatrice spécialement invitée pour cet épisode, comment s'est déroulé le récent Gouvcamp qu'il a organisé à Paris. Jean-François a aussi mentionné la possibilité de création d'un projet de fondation, dans le style de la Sunlight Foundation et de l'OFKN, dont la mission serait d'aider les pays francophones à élaborer leurs plans de gouvernement ouvert et d'accompagner l'implantation de projets.

Amanda Eamich from the US Department of Agriculture shares some insights into her approach to including new media as part of the communications mix for the Department. Amanda also talks about how to infuse innovation, open government and new media channels into the broader activities of the Department.