Beth Noveck: Demand a more open-source government

TL;DR

This content discusses the need for open government and the potential of combining networks and institutions for innovative governance.

Transcript

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast So when the White House was built in the early 19th century, it was an open house. Neighbors came and went. Under President Adams, a local dentist happened by. He wanted to shake the President's hand. The President dismissed the Secretary of State, whom he was conferring with, and asked the dentist if h... Read More

Key Insights

• 👤 The White House was once an open house, but in recent years it became closed-off and lacking transparency.
• 💡 Companies are good at collaboration and making complex products, while government institutions struggle with complexity and collaboration.
• 🔄 Governments need to change their approach to openness and involve public sector employees and citizens in the decision-making process.
• 🏛️ Centralized government institutions restrict the flow of values and expertise, limiting the expression of public values in the digital age.
• 🔀 Our social systems need to be redesigned to create a more effective flow of information and resources between networks and institutions.
• 💻 Social media platforms, like Twitter, can serve as a model for opening up government through APIs and encouraging innovation.
• 🌍 Open government has the potential to deliver better policy and create economic benefits through job creation and innovation.
• 📊 Open government is not just about transparency, but also about participation and collaboration, empowering citizens to make a difference.

Questions & Answers

Q: How was the White House in the early 19th century?

When the White House was built in the early 19th century, it was an open house. Neighbors came and went, and even local dentists were able to interact directly with the President.

Q: What did the speaker aim to do when he joined the White House in 2009?

The speaker joined the White House in 2009 to become the head of Open Government and to instill the values and practices of transparency, participation, and collaboration into the way the government works. The goal was to open up government and work more closely with the public.

Q: Why do companies tend to be better at working together to create complex products than governments?

Companies are often better at working together to create complex products because they have teams and networks in place that are skilled at collaboration. This allows them to efficiently produce goods like cars and computers. On the other hand, governments lack the institutions and methods to effectively bring together the diverse talents of society.

Q: What was the obstacle the speaker faced when trying to create an Open Government policy?

The speaker faced the obstacle of no legal precedent, cultural precedent, or technical way of involving public sector employees and members of the public in creating an Open Government policy. Many people even believed that what they were trying to do was illegal.

Q: What is the crux of the problem with the current centralized model of government?

The crux of the problem with the current centralized model of government is that it limits the flow of values and expertise between the government and citizens. Voting every few years is a limited way of expressing values, especially in the era of social media. Society needs a new way of redesigning the flow of institutions to better incorporate the expertise and intelligence found throughout society.

Q: How can networks like Facebook and Twitter be a potential alternative to government?

While networks like Facebook and Twitter are successful in their own right, they cannot replace government as they are not bottom-up democracies. Friending someone on Facebook is not complex enough to handle the hard work of governance. However, social media platforms do teach the value of opening up their platforms for innovation, which can be applied to government to engage citizens in the practice of governance.

Q: How can open government lead to better policy and economic benefits?

Open government can lead to better policy by involving citizens in the cocreation of governance. Texas, for example, uses online policy wikis to engage citizens in revising regulations and propose more innovative alternatives. Additionally, open government initiatives have the potential to generate economic benefits and job creation through open innovation work and partnerships between the government and innovative companies.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The White House was built as an open house in the early 19th century, but became increasingly closed off over time until the Obama Administration aimed to make it more open and transparent.

• Governments are not well-equipped to handle complexity and collaboration, unlike companies, which can work together effectively to create complex products.

• The open government movement is using technology and new methods of engagement to transform the way governments interact with citizens and make decisions, leading to more innovation and better governance.