John’s Idea

The Cabinet Office publication “Power in Peoples Hands” talks about how online technologies extends the potential of citizens to hold the public sector to account.  It sites examples from around the world that are “breaking down government monoplies in information presentation and use”.  Achieving a new relationship between citizens and services involves public servants:

1. counting what counts: collecting high-quality data in the first place, and combining performance data with information on wider social outcomes so that citizens have reliable and balanced information at their fingertips;

2. opening up information for use: making information (including performance and financial information) available so that citizens can compare services and make informed decisions, drive improvements in services, and hold government to account from the bottom up;

3. opening up information for re-use: making information and data available so that it can be easily re-used by citizens – mobilising a wealth of expertise to facilitate innovative use of data by citizens; and

4. harnessing the power of networks: using interactive technologies, such as web 2.0, to break government monopolies on information creation and open up dialogue between and among citizens and professionals.

David Cameron is making a similar point when he talks about “post bureaucratic government” and perhaps more controversially “google government”.  As he states “technology can be put information that was previously held by a few into the hands of many”.

A great place to see how this might work is the “Help me Investigate” web site.  Essentially you set the community using the site a challenge and you and others collaborate to get the answer.  Its first ”big win” was the identification of the worst place to park in Birmingham.