IDC Government Insights Community > Government Services Delivery Blog

March Madness for Government Games: Who Wins?

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:59:42 +0000

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We knew that it was coming, directions from the White House through OMB regarding the use of games and contests to spur innovation. This administration is a proponent of deploying contests such as those initiated by Federal CIO Vivek Kundra when he was chief technology officer for the city of Washington, D.C. His Applications for Democracy contest solicited the creation of open source mash-up applications to provide the public with easy-to-use-and-view information, such as "D.C. Historic Tours," an application that allows tourists to create custom walking tours by combining Google Maps with Flickr feeds and Wikipedia comments; "iLive.at" provides neighborhood information including demographic information, locations of the nearest convenience store and post office, and so forth, as well as recently reported neighborhood crimes; and "Park It" provides real-time information on available street parking spaces and free versus paid meters.

The Open Government Plan issued in December 2009 supports using social media to create a culture of collaboration across agencies, build awareness with the public, and garner the best thinking from the public. In addition to the public viewing "H1N1 Rap by Dr. Clark," the winner of a Health and Human Services video contest, benefits include awareness throughout the contest process, and according to Open Government: A Progress Report to the American People "more than 50,000 votes were cast in determining the winner, and hundreds of thousands of people viewed the entries." This exposure helped to get out the message of taking precautions against the flu and driving simple helpful measures such as "washing your hands." Similarly, the Department of Agriculture announced in December 2009, that USDA is making available on Data.gov a database of the 1,000 most common foods eaten, and initiated a contest for the best mobile and web based games that teach youth key nutritional concepts of these popular foods. The results of this contest could support "Lets Move" the First Lady's campaign to raise healthier children.

The Open Government Directive issued in December 2009 also tasked OMB to issue guidance "for the increased use of challenges and prizes to develop new tools and approaches to improve open government." In early March Jeffrey Zients, Deputy Director for Management OMB, issued a memorandum on the use of challenges and prizes to promote open government. This 12 page tome, issued just as federal agencies are wrapping up the final draft of their plans - due April 7^th – is long on practical advice but short on technology based assistance, for now. Best in class agency examples are given, different prize categories are described and the activities they encourage and reward are listed, and agencies are encouraged to focus on all stages of the prize contests i.e., pre and post, as well as understand all policy and legal issues related to implementing challenges and prizes. However, the most useful assistance, a planned web based platform that will provide a forum for agencies to post problems, and invite collaboration and solutions, wont be available for four months.

IDC Government Insights believes that government contests for mashups and applications are more than just fun and games; these contests can actually assist agencies in meeting mission critical imperatives, such as getting the message out to the public regarding the flu and teaching nutritional eating habits, as well as involving the public in creating, voting on, and viewing innovative solutions. According to the March 8th memo, OMB states that prizes provide many benefits, including:

Captures the public imagination and changes the public's perception of what is possible
Stimulates private sector investment that is many times greater than the value of the cash prize
Allows government to pay only for results

As agencies wrap up their Open Government plans, they are detailing how they will improve collaboration with other government agencies and the public. And since collaboration in this administration focuses on finding innovative strategies to solve government challenges, agencies are encouraged to include competitions and prizes as methods to obtain the best thinking from the public.

So forget March madness, let the games begin – in July!

Keywords

Open Government Directive, government contests, Web 2.0, Open Government Plans

Open and Transparent Government: They Like It…They Really, Really Like It!

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:22:41 +0000

Entry by Adelaide O'Brien

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The Open Government Directive is the hottest IT buzz in and around D.C. and agencies are heads- down creating their Open Government Plans while inviting dialogue on ways to improve public access to data, what new data sets the public wants/needs to be published, and how to improve public understanding of what each agency does. As it turns out, opening government is not only a good thing for constituents, but a good idea for government as well.

The article Study links online transparency efforts, trust in government - Nextgov summarizes the results of a recent on-line survey of 14 government websites conducted by ForeSee Results. This study collected information from 30,000 users, and asked questions regarding how the sites disclosed information about agency mission, how quickly agency information is available online, and site accessibility. The survey results show that the more transparent the site ( a transparency score of 80 or greater) the user is more satisfied, more likely to return to the site, more likely to recommend the site, more likely to use it as a primary resource, and has more trust in government.

This intuitively good news not only confirms common sense, but also should persuade government to use least cost channels in serving constituents when it makes sense for both. An excellent example is the Commonwealth of Virginia vehicle registration renewal process. This state realized that serving citizens in person not only cost more, but long lines taxed citizens' patience as well as their wallets. Virginia now allows citizens to renew on-line and save $1.00 versus paying in person, for a premium of $5.00 and the privilege of waiting their turn. If the users opinions matter (and they should), as agencies are creating their strategic initiatives, they should focus on serving citizens better, cheaper, and faster – good things for government and constituents alike.

Keywords

open government, transparent government

Will Government Agencies Meet the Open Government Directive Deadlines? (2 Comments)

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:19:39 +0000

Entry by Adelaide O'Brien

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The Open Government Directive issued on December 8th from the U.S. Office of Management

and Budget listed specific actions and timelines for implementation to federal agencies. Within 45 days agencies must make public on Data.gov at least three "high value" data sets (for example data that improves public knowledge of the agency and its operations), and launch an open government web page within 60 days. However, the biggest challenge to federal agencies is the requirement for an agency-wide Open Government Plan that describes how the agency will increase transparency and integrate public participation and collaboration into its government business. The deadline for creating this plan is within 120 days, i.e. April 8, 2010.

Agencies should not be caught off guard with this requirement for open government initiatives, as within days after being confirmed by the Senate last spring, Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra discussed agencies creating "signature" open government initiatives. Chopra began working with federal agency heads as well as CIOs to support the President's request that each cabinet level agency adopt one "signature" open government initiative relative to the mission of that agency. These open initiatives are to use Web 2.0 tools to disclose information about operations and decisions online, and make this information readily available to the public. Additionally, executive departments and agencies have been instructed to solicit public input and feedback to identify information of the greatest use to the public. However, the comprehensive requirements outlined for creation of the Open Government Plan will tax agencies strapped with additional stimulus funding and grant responsibilities and little additional headcount. Public information that the Open Government Plan must address includes:

How the agency is meeting the Paperwork Reduction Act (Public Law 104-13, Section 3506d)
How the agency is complying with transparency initiatives such as Data.gov, eRulemaking, IT Dashboard, Recovery.gov, and USAspending.gov
How the agency will inform the public of significant actions and agency business through public meetings, briefings, press conferences on the internet, and town hall meetings
The creation of website links that provide information on organizational structure, staffing, FOIA requests and capacity to respond to these requests in a timely manner, and listing of declassification programs

The plans must also detail how the agency will improve collaboration with other government agencies and the public, including any proposed changes to internal management and administrative policies that will facilitate this improvement.

As challenging as these plans may be for agencies to create within the deadline, these plans will, when implemented, provide unprecedented information to the public, allow for public feedback on agency core mission activities, and detail proposed changes to agency management and administrative policies to improve collaboration. In short, open government plans will facilitate breakthroughs in organizational and cultural barriers to provide better information and services to constituents.

Keywords

Open Government, Web 2.0,Open Government Directive, Aneesh Chopra

Lessons Learned in Government Social Networking (3 Comments)

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:42:47 +0000

Entry by Adelaide O'Brien

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At the recent Government CIO Summit in Lansdowne Virginia, all the buzz was around social networking. Start a conversation about the challenges of complying with ARRA reporting, you quickly segue into transparency of data, and that brings the conversation to open government and using social networking to communicate with citizens, and across government entities. IDC Government Insights research shows that the most popular tools used by government are blogs, wikis and Facebook. All levels of government - federal, state, and local - are experimenting with social networking, from "toes in the water " testing, to full fledged launches such as NASA's Spacebook, a variation of Facebook, that provides NASA employees a way to connect and collaborate to solve problems, tap into expert advice/harness collective intelligence, build teams, and create networks of interest among scientists and engineers.

Attendees at the Government CIO Summit discussed challenges and issues faced in launching social networking sites. In addition to addressing security, the number one issue for government in using social networking to collaborate and inform, government summit attendees shared perspectives and their lessons learned, including:

Before designing the social networking program, plan your strategy, decide what you want to communicate/collaborate on, establish and communicate an information release policy (part of your governance strategy) determine who is the targeted audience, where are they ( how you can best reach them) and where this targeted audience will be in the future, so you can plan to continue to serve their needs.
Think of social networking not as an event, but as a process to meet mission objectives, communicate better and faster, encourage collaboration and information sharing, and tap into the wisdom of the crowd.
Make sure you have "top" cover in your government entity for launching any social networking tools, coverage not only from the CIO organization, but possibly more importantly, from the business side that you are supporting with these tools.
In crowdsourcing applications, before you ask the question or pose the discussion, you need to know what you will do with the answer, and provide that information to set participants' expectations. Say what you really want from participants, the better you frame the issue, the more focused the responses will be, and this may help discourage superficial participation. In addition to a clear purpose for each stage, summarize between stages, and set expectations for the next.
Set participation policies up front, as example DoD has a "family friendly" policy for posting. In addition to defining rules for participation, people need to know what will happen if they don’t follow the rules, i.e. the posting will be removed. Adhere to your policy, remove objectionable posts, as participants expect the rules to be followed.
Set up the social networking tools so that participants are encouraged to come back. If your site is used just because its cool, it wont have lasting business value. Social networking tools must support the business processes and make it more efficient.

In light of the Office of Management and Budget's Open Government Directive issued to federal agencies on December 8^th, these insights from the government summit participants are timely and to the point. What do you think? What other advice or lessons learned do you have for government entities who want to collaborate through social networking tools? Please share your answers.

Keywords

government social networking, crowdsourcing, social networking

Citizen Engagement: Engaging the not so easily engaged -- does it matter to government efficiency?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:41 +0000

Entry by Jan Duffy

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Engagement is critical to a healthy relationship between the government and its citizens. Governments need to constantly monitor the usefulness, satisfaction, and trust levels associated with online applications and then to refine them based on the findings. Over the past few years much energy has been directed towards service delivery designed with the citizen at the heart. Do you believe that citizens really believe they are the focus of your services? Or, do they feel as though they are on the periphery and disengaged? We all know that it is vital for citizens to have a sense of belonging to the local community, but there is still a question mark associated with how well they relate to services that are delivered electronically. What's the problem?

The fast growth in Internet, mobile phone, and email use, combined with the explosion of connected devices and social media technologies, are transforming how we discover, share, create, play, and communicate personally and professionally, often blurring the lines. There is continued growth in the number of people involved in social networking and virtual community activities — for example, MySpace, LinkedIn, Friendster, etc., reading and creating blogs, instant messaging, and completing Web-based transactions. It is reasonable to expect that the youth of today — adult citizens of tomorrow — will spend much more time online for social, commercial, and business activities than citizens currently spend.

Governments already understand the importance of these technologies and have launched a number of initiatives designed to exploit them. But do they really understand the full capabilities and possibilities of Web 2.0 technologies. It's all very well to use them in the political process, but they can also be leveraged to strengthen the government-citizen relationship and for intra- and inter-government use.

Recent research suggests that without such an understanding, there is the potential danger of ignoring social trends among citizens and thus rendering governments somewhat irrelevant and reducing civic engagement with certain citizen groups. Ai-Mei Chang and P.K. Kannan, of the IBM Center for the Business of Government, conclude there is a clear danger that governments may become increasingly remote to the citizens of tomorrow, with much reduced engagement levels, if steps are not taken to engage citizens where they are. The nature of social computing renders the online environment individual-user-centric and that government will need to engage citizens at sites where they are rather than expect them to approach government portals. Citizens view this as "keeping up with the times," indicating the inevitability of such initiatives.

Government services are relevant to citizens — they are connected to their homes, their families, their jobs, their communities, and almost everything else associated with life. Many many public services cover highways, social care, health, crime, education, the environment, all of them with a high degree of relevance, but many of little interest to the people who should be excited by them. So why aren't citizens enthusiastic about accessing them online? Is the key to make these services more interesting, efficient, useful and satisfying — will citizens then become involved, committed, and engaged?

Have we made a mistake in the way we have designed electronic service delivery systems? Are the practical benefits of today's social networking technologies too big to ignore? Recognizing that times change, where should governments be investing their IT budgets to ensure that the solutions being implemented offer sustainable benefits? How can we utilize our best technologies and brains to support citizen engagement and interaction or does this really matter when considering government efficiency?

Keywords

efficiency, social networking, citizen engagement

Shop 'Til You Drop: New Government Store Offers Social Networking Applications

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:23:10 +0000

Entry by Adelaide O'Brien

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Check out the new government on-line store at Apps.Gov , a new GSA hosted website, offering no less than 22 software applications for federal agencies who want to adopt the latest in social networking applications. Applications are designed to support this administration's push to federal government to engage the public in policy discussions, work across all levels of government, and provide services and information to the public the way that the public communicates.

A premise of opening up government this way is that government doesn't have all the answers and that participation by constituents in the governing process actually improves the quality of this process.

GSA has arranged an array of application choices are available to assist agencies with:

Blogs and microblogs
Bookmarking/sharing
Displaying multimedia, data and maps
Sharing documents
Idea generation/general discussion, in-depth discussion
Social networks
Video, photo, audio hosting and sharing
Wikis

Perhaps the most exciting feature regarding this powerful selection of available applications in these budget conscious times is the price tag, all 22 social networking applications are free. Government has come a long way since January 21^st when his first day in office, President Obama signaled a request for a cultural change within federal agencies through his Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, with requirements for transparency, and participatory and collaborative government. Providing applications to government entities in an easy to use menu, priced right, and relevant to agency delivery of services by accelerating data sharing, generating idea and policy communication, and facilitating collaboration is a great start. Will agencies test the cloud computing waters through use of these Software as a Service social media apps? Will this lead to faster adoption of Software as a Service applications beyond social networking, for business applications ( also included in a section of apps.gov)? Lets hope the answer is a resounding yes. Not only will citizens have better opportunity to knows what's going on in government, and provide their two cents worth, all will benefit from the lower costs that cloud computing promises.

Keywords

social networking, applications, cloud computing

"When Hell Freezes Over": A Baby Boomer's Refusal to Embrace Cultural Change Empowered by Technology

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:21:22 +0000

Entry by Adelaide O'Brien

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Tuesday morning, as part of the American Council for Technology – Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) Executive Leadership Council meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia, Gen X and Y government (and former government) leaders participated in a panel discussion themed “Leading in a Government Transformed by Social Technologies.” This panel of “digital natives” was masterfully moderated by Lena Trudeau, National Academy of Public Administration, and included:

Jonathan Benett, Program Manager, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), USDA Food and Nutrition Service;
Matt Collier, Special Assistant, Office of the Director, Office of Personnel Management;
Andrew Krzmarzick, Director of Community Engagement, GovLoop, formerly with the USDA Graduate School); and
Steve Ressler, Founder and President, GovLoop, (formerly with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security).

The panel quickly established that the use of social networking by younger government workers is less about technology and more about the norms of the newer workers, who tend to send out documents in draft form seeking input, comments, and critique from peers in an expanded community, versus waiting until a document has passed internal reviewers and approvers. Not that our younger workers don’t use data. Taking a page from Vivek Kundra's book, the panelists stressed accessing all available and relevant data then making a decision - even if the data isn’t perfect. The panel discussed social entrepreneurship, and the draw to public service when working in multiple sectors, government and/or private industry. Moderator Trudeau predicted that given this passion to serve, Krzmarzick and Ressler, like many of their peers, will be back in government, continuing the service they are presently called to in the private sector.

Perhaps the most sage advice came from the panel as the session opened up for Q & As. The panel urged seasoned government managers to mentor new hires, engage in co-coaching ( a seasoned manager coaches the newer hire on "the ropes," and the digital native coaches the mature government worker on social networking), provide a new hire a digital camera to interview Baby Boomers about to retire to capture agency knowledge, and have new hires create their own training. Observing that trends indicate that Baby Boomers won't really retire but that most will find meaningful, if part time work, in balance with free time, Krzmarzick asked the audience to imagine what type of working environment they want in the year 2020. He then urged the more seasoned workers to create that environment now, with a balance of work and family, as that same environment is one that is so appealing to the always connected Gen Y workers.

However, the question of the day came from an audience member asking for advice for seasoned workers, who find themselves working for these four panelists and other Gen Ys as they become the workplace leaders. The panel responses revealed their collaborative working style, stressing a working with approach versus a working for, a need for curiosity, and taping into the individual and collective skills of a team. It may have been tongue in cheek when a webcast participant, regarding more mature employees working for Gen Ys, offered the observation that although he understood that there was global warming, he hadn’t realized that "Hell had frozen over." However, this comment is very telling as it demonstrates the depth of generational and cultural resistance to changing work styles, including little appreciation for the talents, thinking, and empowering skills of emerging young leaders. I believe that there is an opportunity here, so my plea for the Baby Boomers – some of whom are former revolutionaries of the 60's – and open to new ideas four decades ago, is to remember the passion for change and openness that evolved then and extend support to the Gen Ys who have mastered their "openness movement" through technology. And if you are lucky enough to be on a Gen Y team, share and learn, and consider yourself lucky enough.

Keywords

social networking, Baby Boomers, Gen Y,

GovLoop + GovDelivery = GovCommunications x 2

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:54:28 +0000

Entry by Adelaide O'Brien

Entry

Today's announcement that GovDelivery purchased GovLoop, merging government-to-citizen communication with government-to-government communication, is an addition where possibly 2 + 2 = much more than 4. Established in May 2008 by Steve Ressler, GovLoop has over 18,000 government, and government supporting contractors as on-line members. Ressler established this "Facebook for Feds" as a way for government employees to connect, work, and share ideas, all for the betterment of government. According to an article in the Washington Post, Federal Eye - GovLoop Sold and its Founder Will Leave Gov't by Ed O'Keefe, Ressler will leave his "9 to 5" government job and focus full time on what has been his "5 to 9" job, leading GovLoop, now an operating division within GovDelivery.

Founded in 1999, with the idea of helping U.S. employers stay compliant with government labor laws by using an Internet-based application to deliver required documents in electronic format via email, GovDelivery launched an email subscription management application in 2000 that is now a Software as a Service engine providing fully automated, on demand communication from government to the public. With a GovDelivery solution, government can proactively deliver information through email or wireless alerts and/or RSS feeds on topics ranging from H1N1 to updates of food and drug recalls, withdrawals, and alerts.

At a time when many government agencies are focused on attracting and retaining young talent with a passion to serve, the federal government may be losing more than just a talented leader, they are loosing a Young Government Leader (YGL) co-founder. YGL, a professional organization of over 2,000 government employees at the federal, state and local level, started out in 2003 as a happy hour group of young folks interested in meeting like minded other young government employees. Today, with Ressler's and other young government leadership, YGL's members connect over issues, provide advice, and network to enhance their government work experience.

Perhaps this government loss will also be a government gain, as Ressler will be able to devote both his day and night time jobs to connect government employees to each other to improve government. And the communication multiplier leverage of this merger? According to an interview with Steve Radick, An Awesome Interview with the Founder of GovLoop, Steve Ressler | Social Media Strategery, of the over 10 million people who have used GovDelivery solutions to sign up to receive government alerts from agencies such as HHS, CDC, and EPA, Ressler states that some 15% to 30% are government employees. So the theory is, pushed communications from GovDelivery can mesh with the GovLoop community, and provide a real time collaborative space for government employees to work on similar areas of interest and concern, and develop like minded communities across agencies and geographic boundaries. With Ressler stepping up full time to support this informal social network, government employees will not only have a shared interest collaborative network, but citizens should ultimately benefit form an increased velocity in knowledge sharing, and presumably, government problem solving. Perhaps having a young industry leader supporting so many "govies" may be just the leverage factor government needs to increase a participative, collaborative, and citizen centric focus.

Keywords

Web 2.0., Social Networking, GovDelivery, GovLoop,

Ready to Launch Social Networking into Space?

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:11:02 +0000

Entry by Adelaide O'Brien

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Today's announcement Cureton tabbed as next NASA chief information officer -- Government Computer News signals good news for the agency as Linda Cureton will bring to this position her savvy leadership, sense of humor, participative style, and ability to frame complex issues into everyday analogies that many can identify with. NASA will get a bonus in that Cureton brings another talent to her new position –social networking skills. Cureton is an avid blogger and Facebook user, and as CIO at NASA Goddard she helped create its own version of Facebook: Spacebook. Recognizing that the "rocket scientists" at Goddard possess some of the sharpest intellects, have deep information to share, and are curious learners, Cureton led the development and deployment of social media technology.

Her objectives? To improve communication by making it easier to share, publish and find information, integrate content, and encourage collaboration, which results in a very practical use of social networking - to take advantage of the information and resources that NASA Goddard already has. Employee participation in NASA Goddard's Spacebook is voluntary, but the value of the network should help drive participation across the agency. It will be interesting to see if that makes for a successful launch across the ten often independent centers that comprise NASA. The next frontier? Measuring mission (social networking) value.

Keywords

Cureton, social networking, NASA

IDC Government Insights Community > Government Services Delivery Blog

March Madness for Government Games: Who Wins?

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Open and Transparent Government: They Like It…They Really, Really Like It!

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Will Government Agencies Meet the Open Government Directive Deadlines? (2 Comments)

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Lessons Learned in Government Social Networking (3 Comments)

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Citizen Engagement: Engaging the not so easily engaged -- does it matter to government efficiency?

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Shop 'Til You Drop: New Government Store Offers Social Networking Applications

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"When Hell Freezes Over": A Baby Boomer's Refusal to Embrace Cultural Change Empowered by Technology

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GovLoop + GovDelivery = GovCommunications x 2

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Ready to Launch Social Networking into Space?

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