(These are notes from the OpenGov Community Summit, hosted by the US Department of the Treasury on May 24, 2010.)
What is the best case scenario for how will the OpenGov community evolve throughout 2010? (Add your notes below in bullet-point form.)
- Open government policy development remains open to any and all who wish to contribute through some continued form of public-private collaboration.
- Continued public-private collaboration fosters both professional community and problem-solving networks, using both informal and formal schedules and teams.
- Numbers of interested civil servants and members of the public increasingly join online communities (meetup.com, PBworks, GovLoop, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) to educate one another on the concepts and details of every-day implementation and workforce culture change.
- Like the Bush administration's Faith Based Initiative, open government ideas attain enough legitimacy across the political spectrum that no future administration would jettison them openly.
- The Open Government Initiative allocates agency funding for specific programs voted or approved by consensus of various relevant constituencies and the general public.
- Sufficient momentum is built across the government and the public to sustain open government efforts well into the future, so this will become and remain the accepted way of doing business.
- 'Low-hanging fruit' workplace initiatives, such as brown-bag seminars, are instituted to educate colleagues about the merits and specific actionable steps in agency change management and organizational development.
- After work 'open government discourse' informal lectures or discussions take place monthly to feature case studies in lessons learned from other agencies or internal bureaus of a single agency.
- Continuous communication and interaction between the public and the agencies so that all can see the value of maintaining open government.
- Webinars with the public, including hundreds of U.S. university campuses, state and local governments.
- Annual open government Fairs (showcase successful agency work as part of career fairs) and annual in-person roundtable deliberative polling and public consultation with agency bureaus.
- Succession planning for future administrations and employee turnover so the open government momentum continues.
- Open government manuals, literature and regular communication that celebrates successes and champions of open government for future administrations.
- Open policies are institutionalized to the point that Federal employees think proactively about how to engage stakeholders whenever they create a program/event or tackle an issue/problem.
- Ownership of OpenGov moves from the White House/Administration to the public. Once the public "owns" OpenGov and defines it's success, it will become sustainable and lasting.
- U.S. President capitalizes on both the public's demand for government efficiency/effectiveness and--in an effort to better leverage open government initiatives that further public policy goals (cut national deficit and create jobs)--incorporates open government ethos/resources/expertise into public policy or administration conversations, debates, strategy sessions, etc. to model workforce cultural change for open government.
- Open Government successes featured in the President's State of the Union.
- The public uses web 2.0, news media channels and WH Office of Public Engagement town meetings to communicate public priorities for open government.
- U.S. President calls upon the American public and to serve their communities and their country by helping governments with transparency, collaboration and public participation initiatives, especially those that aid to cut the national deficit and create jobs over time.