Local OpenGov Innovation Summits


Note: This was an experiment in 2011 that found an amazing group of 40+ local organizers in 11 countries.  The minimum number of organizers needed was 100, so the events did not happen.

 

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"We are the ones who've been waiting for us." ~Tom Atlee

 

Welcome Note

 

The Open Government Partnership launched in September 2011 with 40+ member countries working toward national open government action plans.  The Local OpenGov Innovation Summits will be ambitious experiments to assess the level of interest in opengov (transparency, public participation, and collaboaration) at the local level worldwide.

 

We're currently in the middle of planning the framework for this event, and soon we'll be looking for 100 individuals who are capable of organizing an open, 2-hour meeting with local government in their part of the world.  Because these are only 2-hour meetings, we will need to have a large number of them to have a substantial effect.  With 100 cities involved, it will be much easier for each organizer to get the support they need from their local government.

 

As the organizer, you will design the type of meeting that is right for your community.  The goal is to simply organize the opengov community around a collective action.  All 100 of these meetings will take place in a one-week time period to have maxiumum impact.

 

This plan will continue to evolve as we build momentum.  Please add your questions and suggestions in this open Google Group or email Lucas Cioffi at lucas@barkbest.com to take a more active role in the Central Planning Team.

 

 

Bottom Line Up Front

As a community, we will lead by example and collaborate across organizations in the same manner that we expect from government.  A key outcome of these summits will be the inclusion of new voices and expertise from the local level in the broader opengov community.  

 

As a local organizer, you will design the event that is right for your city, whether it's two hours or two days.  If you are planning an event that lasts longer than two hours, you'll want help.  This page is designed to give you suggestions on planning your event.  Please feel free to edit this page to improve the plan and help other local organizers.

 

Table of Contents 

Overview

Planning Guidelines

Planning Resources

 

 

Vision:

Create a future where local government officials embrace transparency, participation, and collaboration as essential guiding principles for successful and innovative programs.

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Mission:

A network of volunteers will self-mobilize and host 100+ local summits between March 1- March 7, 2012 in order to accomplish the following objectives:

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Method:

Opportunity for Large-Scale Collaboration among Participants prior to the Summits

Event Design

 

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Background:

In 2010, there were eight experimental yet successful OpenGov Community Summits in Washington, DC to support the Open Government Directive at the federal level (co-hosted by the US Department of Transportation, NASA, USDA, GSA, EPA, and Treasury).  There were 750 participants from over 90 federal agencies and bureaus and from the private sector.  The goal of these summits is to "open source" these lessons learned and empower local organizers.

 

In 2011, 40+ local organizers signed up to host local opengov summits in their city, however the event was postponed because we didn't reach the minimum of 100 cities.  Click on this map to see where local organizers signed up last time:

Planned Locations

 

In September 2011, the Open Government Partnership launched with eight countries as founding members, showing that there is significant momentum internationally.  We expect that local organizers will be from many more countries this time.

In 2012, the frontiers are international collaboration and local governments.  The key will be creating a vibrant network of local organizers to share knowledge and support each other every step of the way.  Local leaders will name, run, and take credit for their events.  The Central Planning Team will create space for local organizing teams to share solutions in directly in a peer-to-peer fashion.

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Outcomes:

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Timeline:

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Keys to Success:

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Structure of the Central Planning Team:

Key Tasks

Central Planning Team Structure

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Structure of the Local Summit Organizing Teams:

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Lines of Communication:

The central planning team will use Google Groups (for local facilitationtechnologylogisticssponsorship, and team leaders) to ensure that local organizing teams can connect with each other to share solutions and that no local organizing teem has to reinvent the wheel.

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Locations:

This list will be completed toward the end of March after we get 100 organizers to sign up here.

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Sample Local Event Templates:

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Technology Infrastructure:

In general, we recommend using free, reliable, and open source tools when they are available.  The role of the Chief Technology Officer for the Central Planning Team is to provide several options for local teams to choose from.

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Tips to Organizers for a Collaborative Summit Experience:

PLANNING THE EVENT

DURING THE EVENT

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Frequently Asked Questions:

(Note: please add your questions here, and feel free to improve upon the answers)

 

Q: Who is responsible for organizing all these summits?

A: No single organization is responsible for organizing this series of events.  The team of central planners consists of individual collaborators and is still forming.  If you have not done so already, you are welcome to join this Google Group for local organizers and advisers to the Central Planning Team.

 

Q: Can my organization organize a local summit?

A: Absolutely!  Local summits may be organized by any individuals or existing organizations.  The main guideline is that they are held in partnership with a local government agency in a government building.

 

Q: Why must each summit occur in a government building?

The eight OpenGov Community Summits at the federal level in the United States throughout 2010 used this technique and demonstrated the following advantages:

  1. Organizers will know that their local government is receptive to opengov and willing to collaborate.
  2. This will keep costs low for participants and remove a possible barrier to participation.
  3. The host agency will be more likely to add resources to the mix, especially outreach to other government officials which is essential to a successful summit.
  4. Holding the event at a government facility makes it more likely that other government officials will attend.

 

Q: Are all the locations for these events already chosen?

A: Local teams can be formed in any city.  Local teams will choose their own sites, but these sites must be government facilities, as mentioned in the previous question.

 

Q: How long should a summit be?

A: It's your choice!  2-hours, 4-hours, full day, or two days, depending on the decision of the local team leader.  If you're the only person on your organizing team, then we suggest holding a 2-hour meeting.

 

Q: How much is the price of admission?

A: Local teams will determine the price of their event, collect the money, and distribute the money to pay for their own expenses.  Ticket prices should be low enough so that cost is not a problem for participants.

 

Q: How many people are expected?

A: Larger cities holding regional events may expect 100-200 participants.  Smaller cities may have 25-100 participants.  Local teams will decide their own target numbers.

 

Q: What are the objectives of the Central Planning Team?

A: The Central Planning Team's objective is simply to empower local organizing teams. Local organizing teams will choose their own objectives and outcomes.  Local opengov communities that are already well-established have different goals and needs than opengov communities that are just now beginning forming.  Local teams will have the responsibility of customizing their events to meet their communities' needs.

 

Q: What happens before the event?

A: The months between now and the March 2012 summits offer a tremendous opportunity for the opengov community to self-organize our networks and our ideas.  An open working group will form in March to plan the pre-summit collaboration opportunities for participants.  

 

Q: What happens after the event?

A: Local teams will be able to determine next steps (if any) in the weeks/months after their event.  At a minimum, these summits will create an opportunity for other leaders to step up and continue building a local community of practice that is excited about transparency, public participation, and collaboration.  Having many capable organizers makes a community resilient.

 

Q: What is the budget for each local event?

Local team leaders will manage their own budget which will depend on 1) any local sponsorship raised by the team, 2) ticket prices, and 3) sponsorship raised by a national sponsorship coordinator when possible.  We advise local teams to rely on local sponsorship, because that is the revenue stream that they will be able to forecast most accurately.

 

Q: How will national/central sponsorship be allocated to local teams?

A: Countries with many local organizing teams may decide to create a national sponsorship team.  National sponsorship will be divided on a per-participant basis so larger events will receive a proportionately larger amount of money; this provides the incentive for local team leaders to attract more participants.  National sponsorship teams will coordinate with local organizing teams in a transparent fashion.

 

Q: What will sponsors get?

A: Events will be supported by the efforts of the national sponsorship team, the local sponsorship team, and affordable ticket prices.  Sponsors may display signage and set up information tables at the events, but in order to offer participants the maximum ability to learn and collaborate and to maintain a non-commercial feel, sponsors will not be permitted to speak at these events.  Sponsors will be thanked at the beginning of each summit, will be listed in the invitation, and will have a logo displayed on the final reports which are generated from the notes of each summit.

 

FAQ Summary

This event will give our community an opportunity to improve how we work together.  The planners of this event acknowledge that we do not have all the answers, however we will learn from all participants as we move forward.  Let's make it happen!

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