• Craig Thomler, Gov 20. Advocate and General Manager Delib Australia
• Mary-Anne Williams, Associate Dean Engineering and IT, University of Technology Sydney
• Susan Sly, Chief Information Officer, VicRoads
• Don Easter, IT Supplier Advocate, Australian Government

Photo courtesy CeBIT Australia

For me, [the relationship between e-Government, Gov 2.0 and open government] is very much a continuum, and a continuum with people on very different parts of the maturity curve at any point in time.

The broad-ranging conversation tackles questions such as:

• What are the connections between e-government, Gov 2.0 and open government – is it a continuum?
• What is the role of citizens in creating “Society 2.0”?
• Why is big data important to government?
• What are the big questions for 2014?

A lot of Gov 2.0 is government having conversations with itself… there’s an internal dialogue that’s going on within government that’s possibly the most important part of it because it’s actually government questioning “Are we doing things the best possible way, and can we improve it?

About the Panel

About Susan Sly

Susan Sly has worked in the IT industry for thirteen years with prior experience in HR and management across the oil and gas industry, Defence and state government.

Susan’s role in VicRoads spans strategy, security, operational service delivery, project management, business intelligence, spatial services and sourcing for VicRoads information management and technology capabilities.   VicRoads processes more than 22 million transactions a year for 3.7 million licensed drivers and 4.9 million registered vehicles, manages 22,000 km of road network and supports a range of planning and enforcement activities for road safety purposes.

Susan’s key priorities for the next two years are embedding new practices and team capabilities to reflect emerging industry standards, supporting productivity initiatives across the business, operationalising new technology suites and enhancing the use of the organisation’s information stores.  Particular interests that she will progress include the use of social media to share knowledge & enhance productivity and enhanced industry engagement within the government environment.

About Craig Thomler

Craig is one of Australia’s leading social media and Government 2.0 advocates and practitioners, having spent more than 15 years working in the online industry, including five in Australia’s Commonwealth Public Service.

In 2009 Craig was awarded the inaugural Government 2.0 Individual Innovator Award by the Australian Government’s Government 2.0 Taskforce and in 2010 was named one of ‘The Top 10 Who are Changing the World of Internet and Politics’ by PoliticsOnline and the World eDemocracy Forum in France.

Recognised internationally as a social media and Government 2.0 leader, Craig presents regularly around the world on new media strategy and practice and blogs at eGovAU) (http://egovau.blogspot.com)

About Mary-Anne Williams

Professor Mary-Anne Williams is one of Australia’s leading researchers in Knowledge Representation, and Past President of KR Inc, the peak body for Knowledge Representation. Mary-Anne chaired the Australian Research Council’s 2012 ERA Panel for Mathematics, Information and Computing Sciences and served on the ARC College of Experts. Mary-Anne leads the emerging area of Social Robotics in Australia, is listed on 25 women in robotics you need to know about, and serves as Review Editor for the prestigious Artificial Intelligence Journal. Mary-Anne is a Fellow at Stanford University, a Guest Professor at the University of Science and Technology China, and her work has been adopted by industry, notably Infosys and IBM Research. This year she chaired the Industry Track at the International Semantic Web Conference.

About Don Easter

Don Easter is an accomplished senior executive and company director with extensive experience and networks internationally and in Australia.  Don has led turnaround, growth and considerable change programs in both large and small companies.

His expertise includes sales, product development, operations, risk management and setting and executing strategy.

Don has managed businesses in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States of America with appointments that have included Managing Director of Electronic Data Systems (EDS) Australia, Senior Vice President Private Equity for ABN AMRO and General Manager, Credit and Risk for AGC.

In his part-time role as Information Technology (IT) Supplier Advocate, Don brings strategic leadership, access to decision-makers and senior executive weight to help enhance industry-led activities aimed at raising the competitiveness of IT SMEs firms and linking them with business opportunities.

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Episode links and resources

• GovInnovate 2013 

Big qs for 2014 via panel: How do we do it better, how do we get leadership mandate, what can tech do, how can ppl connect #GovInnovateCeBIT

— Cofluence (@Cofluence) November 28, 2013

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• Twitter hashtags: #govinnovatecebit #gov2au #opengov

We talk with John McMillan, the Australian Government’s Information Commissioner, about what the OGP might mean for a nation well-known for its early adoption of Gov 2.0 and other forms of connected government.

Professor McMillan is a long-time advocate of the principles and practices of open government. His model for open government balances freedom of information with privacy protection and the promotion of information policy, and he offers some thoughts about the practical challenges facing Australia and other governments in the pursuit of greater openness, and the opportunities that OGP membership presents for collaboration.

One of the strong themes in information policy reform has been the need for a better framework to enable information sharing within government, between governments, and between government and the community, and that involves a commitment to open data, it involves a commitment to proper privacy and security protection – so governments need to be cooperative and [the OGP] is another platform for them to do that..

About Professor John McMillan

Prof John McMillan AO was appointed Australian Information Commissioner in November 2010 to head a new office responsible for freedom of information, privacy protection and advice to government on information management policy.

John was formerly the Commonwealth Ombudsman from 2003–2010 and the Integrity Commissioner (Acting) for the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity in 2007. He is an Emeritus Professor of the Australian National University. He is co-author of a leading student text, Control of Government Action.

In the 1970s, John was a founding member of the Freedom of Information Campaign Committee, which led the public campaign for enactment of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 . He is a National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and former President of the Australian Institute of Administrative Law.

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Episode links and resources

• Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) website and on Facebook
• Open Government Partnership
• OAIC Report: Open public sector information: from principles to practice
• Govhack
• My School website
• US Government’s OGP Action Plan

60-second snapshots

On the role of all tiers of government:

On the economic impetus of open government:

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• Twitter hashtags: #opengov #opendata #ogp

Max Hardy talks about the differences between consultation and collaboration, and how “inviting people into your dilemma” can lead to more enduring solutions, and how complexity theory can help shift your perspective.

You come into this domain of complexity, which is where you only know what’s going to work after you’ve actually done it – you can’t predict it in advance.

About Max Hardy

Since joining Twyfords in 1997 Max helped establish the International Association for Public Participation Australasia. With a particular interest in Deliberative Democracy and Appreciative Inquiry, he has developed innovative models for community engagement covering a range of projects, including those with a social planning emphasis as well as infrastructure/natural resources management projects.

In 2005 Max played a major role in the preparation of the “Brisbane Declaration on Engaging Communities” which was presented to the United Nations.

In 2007 at a ceremony in Arizona, USA Max along with the ACT Disability Advisory Council was awarded the IAP2 (International) Award for “Project of the Year” for the design and implementation of the Challenge 2014 Project.

In 2009 Max co-facilitated Australia’s first Citizens’ Parliament at Old Parliament House, Canberra and in 2010 he co-designed and co-facilitated the Premier’s Growth Management Summit in Brisbane.

More recently Max has been involved in building capacity for partnership approaches in the challenging area of Primary Health Care in Queensland.

Max is also the co-author of the new book from Twyfords: The Power of Co – the Smart Leaders’ Guide to
Collaborative Governance.

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Episode links and resources

• Twyfords Consulting
• National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) – USA
• Dave Snowden on the complexity sensemaking model
• Conflict and Dispute Resolution at the University of Oregon
• Participatory governance initiative in Arizona
• Newdemocracy
• Appreciative enquiry
• IAP2

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• Zachary Tumin, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
• Deirdre O’Donnell, Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner NSW
• Martin Stewart-Weeks, Director, Public Sector Consulting APAC, Cisco

The broad-ranging conversation tackles questions such as:

• How can a culture of Gov 2.0 impact the relationship of citizens to government? And within government?
• What are the connections between e-government, social media and open government
• What are the risks, rewards, and potential of open and connected government?

The discussion also features excerpts from Gov20 Radio  interviews with Chris Vein, David Ferreiro, Nigel Shadbolt, David Eaves and Barbara Ubaldi.

For more information on the, including a curated social stream, visit the Gov20 Radio CeBIT Gov 2.0 page.

Panel images courtesy CeBIT Australia

About the panel

Zachary Tumin

Zachary Tumin is Special Assistant to Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Over his career, Zach has served at the Kennedy School in research and staff positions, and in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors as chief executive, staff, and consultant to leaders in industry and government.

Deirdre O’Donnell

Deirdre O’Donnell is the inaugural New South Wales Information Commissioner.

Prior to taking up this role, for almost three years Ms O’Donnell held the position of Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman where she led the TIO scheme through unprecedented growth.

From 2002 to 2007, she was the Western Australian Ombudsman, a position with wide investigative powers, including those of a Royal Commission. Western Australia was the first State to establish an ombudsman’s office in 1972, and Ms O’Donnell was the first woman to be appointed to the position.

Ms O’Donnell was also a State Records Commissioner, a member of the Western Australian Integrity Coordinating Group, and the Energy Ombudsman Western Australia.

In recognition of her work in Western Australia, Ms O’Donnell received a public service medal in the Australia Day Honours for 2008.

Martin Stewart-Weeks

Martin Stewart-Weeks is a director in the global public sector practice of  the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG)., He has more than  20 years of experience in organizational management and consulting in  the corporate and public sectors, and with a wide range of not-for-profit  organizations. In his work with the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), Martin’s focus is primarily on the public sector. He works at the senior-executive and political levels to help shape Internet business solutions and online strategies.

A consistent theme of Martin’s professional experience has been public policy and management.  He has held senior policy, management, and advisory positions for ministers and government agencies at the federal and state government level in Australia. In the early 1980s, he held the position of Senior Private Secretary to a Federal Minister, and in the early ‘90s he was a consultant in the Office of Strategic Planning in  The Cabinet Office in New South Wales.

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Episode links and resources

• Where Government 2.0 meets Society 2.0 – Zach Tumin
• Countdown to OGP and NASA’s global Space Apps Challenge – Chris Vein
• Social media, record-keeping and open government – David Ferriero
• Launching the Open Data Institute: bottom-up, middle-out, top-down – Nigel Shadbolt
• OECD e-Leaders 2012: From e-Gov to OpenGov – David Eaves
• The ongoing eGovernment evolution – Barbara Ubaldi

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Open access to Government information is a key element of the open government discussion, both in policy and practice terms.

Baden Appleyard shares his experience in developing and applying the Australian Government’s Open Access and Licensing Framework, and highlights the opportunities and challenges faced in opening up information from Governments as well as public research bodies through licensing options such as Creative Commons.

The thought of applying a logo to a document and a link to a plain English deed is a really big shift… it’s going to take some time… it’s a bit of a slow burn.

About Baden Appleyard

Baden is the National Programme Director of AusGOAL, the Australian Government’s Open Access and Licensing Framework, which provides support and guidance to all levels of government, government agencies and the research sector to facilitate open access to publicly funded information.

He holds degrees in law and commerce, in addition to tertiary qualifications in management, and is a Barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland and of the High Court of Australia.

Baden was a Principal Research Fellow with the Faculty of Law at the Queensland University of Technology from 2007–2008. During this time, he managed Project 3.05, part of an Australia-wide initiative co-sponsored by the CRC for Spatial Information which provided assistance to underpin the legal and policy framework development of a Queensland Government Information Licensing Framework (GILF), the predecessor of AusGOAL. He currently has responsibility for the development and implementation of AusGOAL and related copyright, contractual and administrative law issues (e.g. FOI and Privacy).

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Episode links and resources

• AusGOAL website and blog
• AusGOAL open qualities of data
• Presentation: Implementing the Australian Government’s Open Access and Licensing Framework (PDF)
• Sister frameworks: NZGOAL and the UK Government Licensing Framework
• Australian National Data Service Costs and Benefits of Data Provision study

Baden’s ‘Cheat Sheet’

…of commonly-heard justifications / excuses to refuse to release or restrictively licence (environmental) data:

The following are numbered but are in no particular order.

1. I have a research paper that I am yet to write and publish, so I’m not releasing my data until then.

2. I have to collect more data before I can release the data

3. We are concerned about data quality

4. We don’t want a consultant (we have engaged) to take this data for free and use it for their other clients

5. We have legislative restrictions on the release of this data

6. This data carries privacy restrictions that mean we cannot release it (where it is more than arguable that no privacy restriction exists, or where they have failed to consider anonymising the data, which may still provide an important resource for some).

7. Its ours and nobody else’s

8. Our funding agreements prohibit release of the data

9. The IP is owned by someone else

10. It was not collected with distribution outside the department in mind.

11. We would release it but it has to go through our departmental process first (only to discover that there is no departmental process)

12. We cannot apply an open licence because open licences are not permitted in our government policy (where in that case the Auditor-General lamented that there was in fact no government policy on licensing and information management. That was put to the agency whom responded by saying that it still meant that an open licence wasn’t permitted)

13. We don’t want people to commercialise this data or re-distribute it because we are the point of truth.

14. We don’t want to release this data under an open licence (that permits commercial reuse) because we don’t want commercial operators to sell it, where we provide it for free.

15. We don’t want to release this data under an open licence because we might want charge for it. (despite the fact that the department was externally funded to collect it and the costs already recovered)

16. We don’t know whom owns the copyright

17. We don’t know what licence to choose / don’t want to apply a copyright licence because we don’t think copyright subsists in the data

18. We don’t want to release the data because we are building a new portal for this and related datasets (restrictively licensed) and we want people to be able to download it from our new portal (where the portal wasn’t launched for 12 months)

19. If we release the data it will embarrass our minister / director general / chief executive / secretary (under most amended FOI law in Australia, embarrassment to government is not a valid reason to refuse release)

20. The community wouldn’t understand the data/interpret it correctly if we released it, therefore we will only licence it restrictively to hydrologist/surveyor/scientist (insert profession)

21. We won’t release it because we don’t have a longer term budget to maintain updates to the data.

22. We won’t release it because it’s out of date

23. We won’t release it because the metadata is inaccurate

24. We won’t release it / only restrictively licence (to government, in the case of an NRM) because we have agreements with farmers that we won’t identify them. (where the data was collected with funding from government)

25. We can’t openly licence because we are restricted by nested IP belonging to the CSIRO

26. We don’t want to release because the data may be used to ground a patent application

27. You can have the data but you will have to make an FOI application. (subsequently, the applicant received the data under FOI but it was released without a licence, and accordingly defaulted to all rights reserved Crown copyright)

28. Before we release it / license it to you, we want to know what you want the data for.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

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The Black Saturday fires devastated Australia and shocked the world. Now, the Country Fire Authority of Victoria has become a leading example of the use of social media for emergency management, winning this year’s Australian eGovernment award.

Martin Anderson, CFA’s Digital Media Manager and Australian Government 2.0 Innovator of the Year for 2012, explains how the experience of the February 2009 fires highlighted the importance of social communication tools in emergency situations, and that even within a command-and-control environment, agencies need to look outside the box, be flexible and improvise.

What I’m trying to do is explore and learn more myself, and also expose the principles of crowdsourcing and the benefits it can bring to the emergency services.

About Martin Anderson

Martin Anderson is the Digital Media Manager for the Country Fire Aurhority of Victoria, with a background in communications and journalism. During that time he has helped position the organisation as a recognised leader in the digital / social media field. His goal is to continue to use his diverse communication skills to help inform and engage people in ways that enhance their personal and working lives and encourage the development of strong, resilient communities both on and offline.

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Episode links and resources

• CFA Facebook – warnings, incident updates, community safety, general news
• CFA Twitter for warnings, incident updates, media releases
• CFA Twitter for general CFA news
• CFA connect website
• CFA YourTube channel
• CFA wins e-Government awards
• Social media in emergency management presentation http://youtu.be/_EPnCdTPwgM
• CFA / DSE warnings / incidents page – http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-and-incidents/index.htm
• Social media updates on website: http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-and-incidents/social-media-updates.htm
• FireReady mobile apps – http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-and-incidents/cfa-on-your-mobile.htm
• Article containing info on One Source, One Message http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/407737/country_fire_authority_preps_bushfires_hp/

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• Tags: #smem #gov2au #em2au