US CIO Kundra Calls for Web 2.0 Co-Creation of Knowledge With Citizens
The US Government's Chief Information Officer, Vivek Kundra, called today for a radical new approach to government information technology, focusing on utilization of consumer-type Web 2.0 tools that can "tap into the vast amounts of knowledge...in communities across the country."
"We've got to recognize that we can't treat the American people as subjects but as a co-creator of ideas," Kundra was quoted as saying by Government Computer News writer Wyatt Kash today. "We need to tap into the vast amounts of knowledge...in communities across the country. The federal government doesn't have a monopoly on the best ideas." That's exciting, if it's more than just words.
Kundra made the statements to the American Council of Technology and Industry Advisory Council's Management of Change Conference in Norfolk, Virginia. That's not a gathering of Bay area geek hipsters, but Kundra has a history of bringing new technologies to old institutions.
Can They Do It?
Collaboration is best built on a foundation of trust and transparency, something the technology players in the new administration have had a mixed record on in its first few months in office.
Transparency advocates celebrated the launch in March of a Digg-like social voting site to bring up key issues for the White House to tackle. Last month's unveiling of the new data.gov central repository for public data was less exciting in its execution. The congressional hearing on the confirmation of Kundra's co-worker to be, Chief Technology Officer nominee, Aneesh Chopra, was outright appalling in its failure to address issues of transparency.
Thus, when Kundra says that "we can't treat the American people as subjects but as a co-creator of ideas," we hope that co-creation will be recognized as an active collaboration between equally valid parties - not only as an opportunity to "mine" or "crowdsource" the public for ideas in bulk.
Concerns aside, it is certainly interesting to live at a time when the US Federal Government calls using the kinds of online tools that geeks in their parents' basements came up with, co-creation of ideas with the American people.
Thanks to leading Enterprise 2.0 consultant Dion Hinchcliffe for catching and spreading the word about this news.
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Can it be done? Everything is possible. How long will it take and how much it costs will be down to who project manages it. Will it be value for money? Hard to tell with the speed of change in the industry. It could be obsolete by the time it's implemented. Rgds Vince
This is an exciting development. After a succession of closed and introspective regimes this new administration grasp the importance of engagement.
The academic community have been discussing these issues for almost a decade but governments seem to struggle to understand using technology for outreach.
The danger, as you alluded to in the article, is that a government might use this approach simply to gouge good ideas. Only time will tell if there is a genuine desire to truly advance digital democracy.
All right, impossible is nothing...
This is the same dude who took got caught taking a five finger discount at JC Penney, right?
http://tinyurl.com/ca2a7h
Now he's proposing to 'share' ideas.
A California non-profit has started RealGov.com to provide open transparency in local through national government activities and give citizens a voice in performance evaluation and ideas on how to solve problems that government agencies are responsible for.
The approach is completely independent of government agencies, much as a faculty evaluation is handled by students.
They have started a wiki and are looking for founding members to help in the structure and content. Dive right in.
Is this not like the crowdsourcing site launched by the UK government in late January - http://innovate.direct.gov.uk?
This site is also an effort to connect with the public and generate ideas and interest around co-creation of new digital services.