David Stephenson on the Future of Transparent Government
February 28 2008 / by Venessa Posavec
Category: Government Year: 2008 Rating: 7
What will it take to empower the public to understand how government data is being used, see where tax dollars are spent, and jump-start public participation and informed debate about public policy issues?
According to David Stephenson, a leading homeland security,
e-government, and crisis management strategist, the answer lies in
transparent government, a concept often 
synonymous with ideas like “public data”, “Google
government”, and “using Web 2.0 apps … to allow informed debate on
policy alternatives … to find convergences, possible synergies—and
wasteful overlaps; and to allow people with particular interests
and/or expertise to contribute to issues.”
“When dealing with the general public, there do need to be restraints in some areas, such as national defense and security,” points out Stephenson, “Otherwise, I’d argue transparency and really encouraging the public to become involved should become the default, and agencies should have to prove that information shouldn’t be released, rather than the other way around.”
Though the concept of government transparency is still in its infancy, city agencies are creating models as part of their operational reform efforts.
“The most dramatic example so far is the District of Columbia, where, in addition to releasing more than 150 data streams on a real-time basis (good for them!), for the public to analyze, has employed the same philosophy and tools behind the firewall, increasing agency accountability, communication between departments, and operations such as budgeting,” says Stephenson.
There are also citizen-initiated projects like Chicago Crime, National Priorities Project, and Neighborhood Knowledge Los Angeles, which are gaining steam without cooperation from government agencies.
Stephenson attributes a growing surge toward implementing transparency to some of the web 2.0 applications that have recently hit the market:
“Perhaps the most relevant right now are mashup tools that allow correlating data to geo-spatial information from Google and Microsoft. Meanwhile, business sites such as IBM’s Many Eyes, Microsoft’s Popfly, and Swivel offer a wide range of visualization tools that individuals, agencies and companies are free to experiment with.”
Seeing all this, maybe other nations will catch on that open public access to data = higher government efficiency?
“Yes,” agrees Stephenson, “No question about that, because it will help them reap the benefits of “wisdom of crowds” both behind and outside the firewall, improve data (garbage in, garbage out), and identify inefficiencies and potential synergies between programs that will simultaneously improve efficiency and cut the cost of delivering services.”
He adds that we can expect to see “further penetration of Web 2.0 tools, especially ones that encourage collaboration; more understanding of the emergent behavior/social networking/smart mobs/wisdom of crowds phenomenon and how to evoke and harness it; ubiquitous global broadband access and the unfettered stream of information and communication that it will allow; and location-based services.”
When asked to provide some advice to all of the folks that will be affected by these sweeping changes, Stephenson offers:
“Especially for those over 30 (from someone twice that age…): realize that these tools are for real, are disruptive, and that people under 30, with their automatic use of Web 2.0 and social networking apps are valuable resources. Adapt or be left behind.”
(Read the full and comprehensive MemeBox interview w/ David Stephenson here.)
Comment Thread (1 Response)
-
I really enjoyed this piece and the full-length interview.
One line in particular that leaped at out me was the following:
How important is it that we elect a president that will open our govt? Very, both to restore public confidence in government and to benefit from the special insights and expertise offered by individuals outside government.
The more I think about it, the more I appreciate the necessity of transparent govt in order for meaningful change to occur. In order to solve a problem, you fist have to quantify what you’re dealing with.
Posted by: Alvis Brigis February 29, 2008
Vote for this comment - Recommend