Governing People - The world's best thinkers on e-government and open democracy

The Public Promise of Big Data

Nicholas Charney — Tue, 07 May 2013 09:00:00 +0000

As governments inevitably learn more about the importance of Big Data they may find that decisions made in the past - even those made by past governments or long retired bureaucrats - that were originally thought to be relatively straight forward may actually have had a number of unanticipated consequences.

Police Facebook Pages?

connectedcops — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:17:10 +0000

Mike found that three police forces had the highest rate of increase in Facebook “likes” compared to the previous month: Hampshire, Greater Manchester and Strathclyde. I looked at the Facebook pages for these three forces and identified the five most popular posts from each in the month under review.

Harvard Announces Top 25 in Government Innovation

Bailey_McCann — Thu, 02 May 2013 11:00:35 +0000

Harvard University has announced its Top 25 programs in this year’s Innovations in American Government Award competition. These government initiatives represent the dedicated efforts of city, state, federal, and tribal governments and address a host of policy issues including crime prevention, economic development, environmental and community revitalization, employment, education, and health care.

Virginia Creates Cybersecurity Accelerator Program

Bailey_McCann — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:46:38 +0000

Last week, CivSource reported on the launch of a new initiative in Virginia to grow that state’s cybersecurity economy. The initiative, called Semper Secure, included a partnership with Northrop Grumman. Now, Virginia is rolling out the next phase of the plan – MACH37 – a cybersecurity accelerator.

What Competing Australian Broadband Policies Really Say about How Australian Government is Changing

CraigThomler — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:28:47 +0000

Yesterday the Liberal-National Coalition released its broadband policy for Australia, in front of a high-tech set at Sky News, in contrast to the Labor Government's NBN plan and current rollout.

Toronto Star Op-Ed: Muzzled Scientists, Open Government and the Limits of Rules

DavidEaves — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:18:15 +0000

Even more than programs and regulations, an open government is the result of culture, norms and leadership. And here the message — felt as strongly by government scientists as any other public servants — is clear. Public servants are allowed less and less to have a perspective, to say nothing of the ability to share that perspective.

Can the Crowd Help State Government Stop Tax Fraud?

Bailey_McCann — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:19:47 +0000

According to the U.S. Dept. of Treasury, the IRS collects $2.4 trillion dollars each tax year from an estimated 234 million tax returns. If the data submitted on all tax returns and W2s was available in an electronic format, state governments could perform big data analytics to identify and prevent fraud and recover billions of dollars in tax revenue.

Tennessee Pole Tax Bills Draw National Attention on Broadband Taxes

Bailey_McCann — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:17:46 +0000

Political action committees and concerned citizens of all stripes have come out against two bills in the Tennessee state legislature that would effectively increase taxes paid by utility companies and broadband providers for use of the poles in that state. Both anti-tax groups and broadband access groups are concerned that the bill could limit investment in broadband throughout the state.

Breaking News: Australian Government to Appoint Government 2.0 Minister

CraigThomler — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 19:01:00 +0000

I've just learnt from an inside source that the Australian Government has decided to go several steps further than the Queensland Government (who appointed an Assistant Minister for eGovernment last year), by appointing Australia's first Government 2.0 Minister.

Should Political Accounts for Governments Declare They're Not Run by the Public Service?

CraigThomler — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 03:36:24 +0000

Confusion can be caused when political operatives and members of a politician's own staff use social networks in ways that can mislead parts of the broader community into thinking those accounts are run by appointed professional public servants.

The Gallery: How Raleigh is Building their Open Data Solution

Bailey_McCann — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 08:35:23 +0000

Open Raleigh is an online repository with open data, web and mobile applications, and links to participatory tools and organizations. It’s part of Raleigh’s open source strategy focusing on transparency, collaboration, and improved access to information.

Study Shows States Fail to Provide Healthcare Price Transparency

Bailey_McCann — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:24:25 +0000

A new study issued "report cards" to states that take a comprehensive look at state laws designed to give consumers basic information about the average or expected prices of common health care services and gives only 14 states a “C” or better.

How Government in Australia is (and Can) Use Social Media [SLIDESHARE]

CraigThomler — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:42:04 +0000

This is a presentation I gave on Monday to NSW Health, including a review of Australian social media adoption, how agencies have been using social media, risks to watch out for and some examples of good public sector social media execution.

North Dakota and Microsoft Join in First Ever Statewide Partnership on STEM

Bailey_McCann — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:11:01 +0000

A public-private alliance will begin by bringing Microsoft training and resources to North Dakotans in kindergarten through graduate school to increase skills in three main areas: education, employability and entrepreneurship, focusing specifically on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Open Data Day: Lessons for Hacktivists

DavidEaves — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 22:44:53 +0000

We wanted to foster a friendly event where anyone would feel welcome to participate. The team in Ottawa had, in particular, done great work in reaching out an engaging new people in previous hackathons, they’d have a wealth of non-software developers and even full families attend their events. This was as much a hackathon as it was a community event.

Using Social Media in Emergency and Disaster Management

CraigThomler — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 05:38:59 +0000

Whether emergency service personnel and management ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ Facebook, Twitter or other social media and online channels is now irrelevant. Citizens, media organisations and other groups increasingly rely on them to share information, tactics and to organise outside of any central control by an agency and regardless of their wishes.

New York and Connecticut Launch New Web Portals for Public Information

Bailey_McCann — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 18:12:25 +0000

Connecticut’s new web portal, www.connect.ct.gov, marks the first step of the department’s wide-ranging “ConneCT” modernization initiative, designed to bring 21st Century technology to an agency working to keep up with record demand for food and medical assistance.

So, You Went to UKGovCamp. What's Next?

DaveBriggs — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:15:11 +0000

Of course, how you get open, collaborative working practices going within a large organisation is jolly tricky and the answers probably won’t be found in a blog post. However, start small and you can achieve great things. So, the most obvious thing to do, I think, is to run your own GovCamp.

Maryland Introduces Cybersecurity Tax Credit

Bailey_McCann — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:32:02 +0000

Maryland State Senator Catherine E. Pugh has introduced four bills in this legislative session, and Governor Martin O’Malley has announced a package of initiatives designed to further Maryland’s leadership as a hub for cybersecurity jobs.