We need to achieve results before moving on

More and more people are beginning to talk about Government 3.0. It is, to be honest, much more fun to speak about the future than it is to work on achieving results in the present.

Government 2.0 is only just beginning to see adoption and measurable results. It is in its infancy. Craig Thomler wrote an interesting piece titled “We don’t need more Gov 2.0 initiatives in Australian government” where he says it well:

What we actually need is to integrate the use of Government 2.0 tools and techniques in existing government activities to improve their cost-effectiveness over time.

Yes! Until they Government 2.0 is integrated and optimized at a large-scale we must focus on the present. Looking again at my definition of Government 2.0 we can see that there are many pieces to work on.

Government 2.0 is a citizen-centric philosophy and strategy that believes the best results are usually driven by partnerships between citizens and government, at all levels. It is focused entirely on achieving goals through increased efficiency, better management, information transparency, and citizen engagement and most often leverages newer technologies to achieve the desired outcomes. Government 2.0 is bringing business approaches, business technologies, to government.

• Leadership and management. Leadership at all levels must buy into the need for Government 2.0 and Open Government. Once leadership is onboard we then must provide leadership methodologies that support and promote government 2.0 outcomes. There is still insufficient accountability in many areas making change impossible.
• Information Transparency. The use of open data is just beginning to provide results. As I noted in my last article for Fortune, jobs are being created, on a small-scale, and operational efficiencies are likely being seen. However, none of this is yet mature. We do not know the true cost savings of these efforts and the small job gains could be made much larger with a focused effort.
• Citizen engagement. Engaging citizens in conversation is critical. However, the majority of these conversations are ad hoc, not goal oriented. How do we change this?
• Technologies. We talk mostly about ideation platforms like BubbleIdeas, Social Media like Facebook and Twitter, and Open Data delivered in computer readable formats like XML. These technologies, and the use of these technologies in government, is still early. There are many believers in the power of these technologies, of course, but there are many more that remain skeptical.

Government 2.0 is happening but it is still extremely early. Lets ensure we focus on achieving results with the current evolution prior to rushing to the one beyond.

John

Originally posted on Government in Action.