Friday, April 24, 2015

What is Open Government? (part 3)

This is the third post in a series on Open Data and Open Government. I'm assuming the audience is not technical, but has heard these terms used in the media. See the first post for more about me and my motivation.

Disclaimer: I've monitored the Open Data space for some time, and I'm a software professional, but I'm not an expert (yet).  I am passionate however, attending the 3rd IODC in Ottawa in May as vacation. I'm also non-partisan. Though I hope to participate in a dialogue at the municipal and provincial level, I'm not endorsing any party or platform.

Prelude

As I've blogged these posts and talked to people about them, I've realized that my intended audience include my friends and family: i.e. thoughtful Islanders who may not be familiar with these ideas. Because this series is intended to be conversational, rather than academic, it grants me some leeway in terms of definitions and historical record.

That's good, because Open Government is slippy.

Open Government 1.0

According to the dreary Wikipedia page, the basic principle of Open Government (Open Gov) is that citizens must have access to documents, proceedings, and other workings of government. The language conjures up images of Freedom of Information laws, Sunshine legislation, Open Meeting protocols, and so on.

These ideas are certainly important, but they've been around for a long time. e.g. Canada passed the Access to Information Act in 1983. Yet now, provinces such as Newfoundland are promoting Open Government Initiatives, and terms such as accountability, transparency, collaboration, and civic engagement are all the rage.

How did we get here? Why all the fuss?

Open Government: The Next Generation

There has been a second wave of Open Gov. This wave was initially called, in some circles, "Gov 2.0", but appears to have settled on the term "Open Government". That's confusing, because this is not our parents' Open Government! It's modern, energized, and inextricably linked to the Open Data movement and Open Source culture described in previous posts.

Here's a timeline of landmark events (at least in my journey... there's that leeway again) of the second wave:

In 2012, Canada joined the Open Government Partnership, which specifically mentions transparency and civic participation. Today, there's many Open Provinces and Municipalities in Canada. 

By 2014, these ideas have become a full-fledged movement, as demonstrated by Richard Pietro's Open Government Tour (and subsequent podcast). During Open Gov 1.0, did anyone ride across Canada on a motorcycle, to talk about civic policy?

Generation O

Here are some characteristics of the new Open Gov, that unites ideas from Open Data and Open Source:

Freedom-of-Information requests are great, but it's better to publish info proactively (within privacy constraints). Open Data is more efficient, and clearly heightens accountability and transparency. e.g. Imagine a world where federal Senators' expense reports are published online, in a standardized format.

Government should borrow tools from Open Source in the tech world. There is a virtuous circle where, first, government opens data, enabling software developers to create apps or visualizations. These apps attract the interest of citizens, and shine light on phenomena that impact their lives. (Alternatively, artifacts could be published to sites like GitHub and encourage an open, 2-way dialogue.)

Either way, the citizens are informed, provide feedback to government, and the circle is complete. This is truly civic engagement and collaboration. Critics might claim that no one really cares about the Paris budget, but as with most things, it is simply a matter of finding an issue that resonates (techies call this "scratching an itch"). You may not care about financials. Fine. Perhaps you'd like to avoid getting sick at a sketchy restaurant?

The Answer is in the Question

When someone in government -- be it municipal, provincial, or federal -- mentions "Open Government", our first question should be (replete with air quotes):
Do you mean "open government" (1.0) or "Open Government" (2nd wave)?




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