It was just over a year ago, in June of 2009 that Vivek Kundra, Federal CIO, launched the first version of the IT dashboard,  targeting the over $30 billion of IT projects that were either behind schedule or over budget. Last week OMB launched IT Dashboard  2.0 with new, improved features that provide mobile access, the ability to dive deeper into the data, and more options in creating program comparisons.  

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 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.

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?

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.

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.