Damian Thorman, National Program Director, shares some insights from the KF Tech for Engagement initiative so far, and highlights some of the key focus areas for collaboration in the future.

In the beginning…there was a sense of experimenting – throw anything out there and see what sticks.  I think today we’re facing a different question.  We’ve got a lot of tools…the question today is how do you take these tools and get them adopted, and how do we articulate the value?

About Damian Thorman

Damian Thorman joined Knight Foundation in 2007 as National Program Director. The National Program supports innovative ideas and leadership with the potential to drive transformative change nationally and in Knight’s resident communities. He helps develop new grant opportunities at a national level that target systemic change within the framework of informed, engaged communities.

Thorman most recently served as assistant prosecuting attorney of the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office in Kansas City, Mo. He founded and ran the Thorman Strategy Group, a consulting practice that assisted foundations, nonprofits and for-profit organizations from 2002 to 2005. He served as adjunct political science professor at Avila College in Kansas City, Mo. Thorman was the director of public affairs and policy at the Ewing Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City from 1994 to 2002. In Washington, D.C., he served as assistant director at the American Academy of Pediatrics, professional staff member of the House Education and Labor Committee, and congressional aide to then-U.S. Rep. Bill Richardson. He also served a brief stint as a reporter for the National Catholic Reporter in Los Angeles.

He has a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a MBA from Rockhurst University.

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Episode links and resources

• Knight Foundation
• Tech for Engagement initiative
• Tech for Engagement summit
• Report: Digital Citizenship: Exploring the Field of Tech for Engagement
• Technology for Engagement Manifesto
• Code for America
• Change by us

Accelerating Democracy: Tech for Engagement from Knight Foundation on Vimeo.

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When the Government of British Columbia in Canada released their Government 2.0 Strategy, it built on their social communication experience during two key ‘catalyst events’: the H1N1 virus pandemic and the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Kieran Harrop talks about his time with the Office of the CIO in the BC Government, and how events such as these, together with strong leadership and building a culture of trust among the civil service, creates cut-through and momentum around new ways of communicating.

I was talking to a friend of mine, and he said that Government 2.0 is like water – it will always find a way around obstacles, and no matter how many obstacles you put up, it will find the easiest way around it.

About Kieran Harrop

Kieran Harrop is a Partner and Executive Consultant at CGI and formerly the Director of Business Engagement and Strategic Initiatives at the Office of the CIO, Province of British Columbia. He is interested in how Open Government and Government 2.0 can increase transparency, public engagement and enable better, more efficient service outcomes for citizens, and intrigued by the power of technology to change our lives and create value for organizations.

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Episode links and resources

• Lynchpin by Seth Godin
• Citizens @ the Centre BC Government Transformation and Technology strategy (PDF)
• Kieran’s blog: Silicon Valley North of 49
• Gov 2.0 Strategic Framework

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In this wide-ranging episode, Don challenges many assumptions such as the use of online/social tools; “public” vs “citizen” engagement; and the role of citizens as well as policy-makers in the co-design process.  Don also overviews the “Co-design Community Engagement Prototype” developed this year with Australian Federal and Local Government organisations.

I think there’s a growing awareness, especially among public servants, that the processes we have are not adequate – we need public engagement as a way of dealing with complexity, but it’s still perceived to be a risky business.

About Dr Don Lenihan

Don Lenihan is Vice President, Engagement at the Public Policy Forum in Ottawa, Canada. He is an internationally recognized expert on democracy and public engagement, accountability and service delivery. From 2009 – January 2012, he led the Public Engagement Project (PEP), a research and capacity-building project involving some 500 public servants from nine federal, provincial/territorial and municipal governments, and the Government of Australia.

Don is also the author of “Rescuing Policy: The Case for Public Engagement” , a new book published by Public Policy Forum, which is the result of the Public Engagement Project, a two-year dialogue and capacity-building project on public engagement that involved nine federal, provincial and municipal governments in Canada, the Government of Australia and some 500 public servants. Its premise is that as public policy issues are becoming increasingly complex, the process by which governments make decisions about them has not kept pace.

Don has over 25 years of experience in the field as a project leader, writer, speaker, senior government advisor, trainer and facilitator. Throughout his career, he has developed and led many research and consultation projects involving senior public servants, academics, elected officials, journalists and members of the private and third sectors. He is the author of numerous articles, studies and books, a former columnist with the Hill Times newspaper in Ottawa, and is a regular columnist for iPolitics. He earned his PhD in political theory from the University of Ottawa.

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Episode links and resources

• About Don Lenihan
• Public Policy Forum Canada
• Final report on the Australian Government’s Co-Design Community Engagement Prototype Building a Strategic Design Capacity for Co-Design
• Municipal Association of Victoria on the Co-Design Prototype project
• Don’s latest book “Rescuing Policy: The Case for Public Engagement”
• Interview with Tiago Peixoto on Participatory Budgeting
• Public engagement papers from the Public Policy Forum

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• Tags: #demopart #participation #engagement #codesign

As the use of social and digital tools in the public sector increases, UK digital engagement advisor Steph Gray is helping to answer some of the knotty questions about how to maximise the value of digital engagement efforts and investment.  In March 2012, he launched the Digital Engagement Guide, a collection of ideas and practical help to use digital and social media in the public sector.

Digital engagement is about embracing the fact that these digital channels are interactive – that when you put something out there people reply to you: you need to answer questions, you need to respond to criticism, you need to engage in discussions that are already happening in places that you don’t control.

About Steph Gray

Steph is a digital engagement strategist and practitioner. In plain English: he writes digital strategies, manages projects, builds websites and delivers training and mentoring.

Steph was formerly Head of Digital Communications at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, leading a team managing corporate websites, digital engagement/social media, online public service delivery and internal digital channels. Under his leadership, the team earned a reputation across and beyond Government for practical innovation in support of the Department’s work, including pioneering approaches to online consultation, work with online communities and social media monitoring.

Steph is now a consultant, developer and coach to clients, helping them to use low-cost digital tools and techniques including social media to engage their audiences, work more collaboratively and save money. About half his work is still with UK central government. He also hosts a number of events aimed at digital practitioners, including MailCamp, a seminar on public sector email marketing and UKGovcamp, which brings together over 200 people interested in the public sector’s use of digital.

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Episode links and resources

• Digital Engagement Guide by Helpful Technology
• UK GovCamp as well as MailCamp and GrantsCamp
• Social Simulator
• Martha Lane Fox report Directgov 2010 and Beyond: Revolution Not Evolution
• UK Government G-Cloud service
• UK Government Digital Service

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We talk with Alan Silberberg of Silberberg Innovations about GovCamps and other unconference format events, including the third annual Gov 2.0 LA gathering organised by Alan in association with Pepperdine University in Malibu.  We look at how open-forum unconferences can impact the day-to-day work of participants as well as exploring current trends in gov 2.0 in Los Angeles and across the United States, asking if “citizen 2.0” has yet matured.  Among other topics, Alan comments on the impact of the conventional contracting process on connected and open government.

We’re creating platforms to engage citizens in ways they’ve never been engaged with their governments before. We’re allowing citizens around the world and empowering citizens to take control of their own space and basically become a shareholder of their country again.

About Alan Silberberg

Alan W. Silberberg is founding CEO of Silberberg Innovations, and Gov20LA. He is one of the most sought after international Gov 2.0 Analysts and a frequent blogger and media commentator. He speaks often on Government and Corporate innovations in technology, and private/public partnerships. He is currently advising multinational corporations and national governments on technology, social media and crisis communications. Additionally he is an advises startups and high growth companies.

He has a long background in Politics, Media and Technology. As a young staffer in the Clinton White House, he was a part of the transformational team that brought the White House into the digital age for phones and other communications. His media background crosses live television, radio and a deep understanding of the technology fundamentals and concerns in politics and Government.

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Episode links and resources

• Gov 2.0 L.A. 2012
• Silberberg Innovations website
• NationBuilder
• CitySourced
• International Development Finance

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A successful participatory budgeting program is one that delivers what has been decided… It is very fashionable right now to use technology to engage with citizens, but you’re not able or willing to respond to citizens, then don’t engage with them.

Tiago also emphasises the escalating impact of mobile technologies to enable a more inclusive participatory budgeting program:

One of the things that you see is… the power of using mobile phones for citizen participation…We’ve been in areas where citizens walk further to charge their mobile phones than they walk to get water!

About Tiago Peixoto

Tiago Peixoto is an Open Government specialist in the ICT4Gov program of the World Bank Institute.  Having worked for 10 years as a practitioner and researcher in the field of ICT and participatory governance, Tiago is currently an open government specialist at the ICT4Gov program of WBI’s Open Government cluster. Prior to joining the Bank, Tiago has managed projects and worked as an advisor and consultant for various organizations in the field of participation and technology, such as the European Commission, OECD, the United Nations, and the Brazilian and UK governments. He is also research coordinator of the Electronic Democracy Centre, a joint venture of the European University Institute, the University of Zurich and the Oxford Internet Institute of the University of Oxford.

About the World Bank Institute

The World Bank Institute (WBI) is a global connector of knowledge, learning and innovation for poverty reduction. It is part of the World Bank Group, and connects practitioners, networks and institutions to help them find solutions to their development challenges.

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Episode links and resources

• World Bank Institute
• Project overview of Participatory budgeting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Recent Participatory Budgeting conference in New York
• Participatory Budgeting Facebook Group
• Non-exhaustive map of Participatory Budgeting Cases Around the World. Markers in red indicate cases of e-participatory budgeting (ICT facilitated)
• Article on mobile phones and Participatory Budgeting
• Mobile Participatory Budgeting in South-Kivu
• La Plata Multi-Channel Participatory Budgeting including PDF Case study
• Belo Horizonte’s (Brazil) e-Participatory Budgeting (PDF)
• ICT facilitated Participatory Budgeting in the DR Congo
• Brief report of NYC Participatory Budgeting Process, prepared by the Community Development Project at the Urban Justice Center (PDF)
• World Bank / Open Government Partnership webinar on “ICT for Citizen Engagement”

Videos

Participatory budgeting project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Participatory Budgeting and CrossVoice

Mobile Participatory Budgeting in South Kivu

La Plata (Argentina) Multi-Channel Participatory Budgeting

Belo Horizonte Participatory Budgeting

Recife Participatory Budgeting

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Inspired by International Open Data Day, we talk to Steve Spiker, IT director for the Urban Strategies Council in Oakland, California, to talk about open data’s role in taking on urban poverty.

Steve explains that the cost of government data can be a major factor in how effective non-profit groups can be in taking on pernicious urban issues like foreclosures and crime, and that low-cost data can spur new businesses and community benefits in urban regions such as Oakland and Alameda County. Open data is “far more impacting than we actually thought,” he says.

Steve organized and hosted the Open Data Day Bay Area event, and on Gov20 Radio he shares about a new app developed during the day of hacking that helps find fee-free credit union ATMs in the SF Bay Area, 99atms.com. Steve stresses that there is a need to link existing advocacy communities to the open data and Gov 2.0 movements to increase their impact.

Join a discussion with Tariq Khokar, the World Bank’s Open Data Evangelist.

We chat  about how data is impacting development priorities, and how the World Bank is playing a leading role in providing open data for new applications and services.