ACMA employs senior Gov 2.0 manager

Other than at AGIMO, I'm unaware of any other senior public sector managers directly responsible and tasked with driving Gov 2.0 and new media initiatives.

That changes next Monday when Tom Burton, formerly General Manager and Managing Editor of smh.com.au, arrives at the Australian Communications and Media Authority to drive their Gov2.0 and engagement strategy.

From the ACMA media release, Tom said,

Rapid changes in media and communications markets are fundamentally changing communication and media industry and consumer behaviour. New web tools are now available to engage and dialogue with a broad range of users and stakeholders. These give users quick and easy access to Government and in turn help inform and drive better decision-making for Government and its agencies.

I look forward to helping lift the ACMA's communications and media engagement, but also building a strategy to open up as many channels to the ACMA for genuine dialogue.

Read full post...

View summary...

Get your entry ready for the Australian Excellence in e-Government Awards (from AGIMO)

AGIMO's Excellence in e-Government Awards are on again for 2010, with nominations opening on 1 February (and closing 1 March).

This year the categories have been revised. There are now five project specific Awards plus a team or individual Award for outstanding achievement in an Information Technology area within the Australian Federal Public Service.

Details of the e-Awards are available at AGIMO's section in the Department of Finance's website.

While nomination forms are not yet available, if you're considering entering the awards you may wish to get a head start in understand the project specific criteria.

Read full post...

View summary...

Guide to creating your own 'Apps for Democracy' contest

The organisers of the US-based 'Apps for Democracy' competition have released a guide for other governments and organisations on how to run their own similar contests.

The Guide to Creating Your Own Apps for Democracy contains many useful tips based on how to setup a content and what worked and didn't work in the contests run in the United States.

There's also a related presentation available from the link above.

Separately, there's also a document available with a summary of insights from the contest in Washington.

Read full post...

View summary...

Documentary: the US Open Government initiative - one year on

January 21 was the one year anniversary of the US Government's open government initiative, measured from when President Obama released his first memorandum in office, committing the US government to an approach involving openness, transparency and collaboration.

In recognition of this anniversary, Delib, a UK Open Government consultancy, has released a short documentary about the progress of the initiative.

Speaking with public servants and independent commentators, including Beth Noveck (White House Head of Open Gov), Tim O'Reilly (O'Reilly Media) and Jeffrey Levy (EPA), the documentary provides an insight into the level of leadership and the depth of commitment from the top of the US government, and how the initiative has take shape.

Delib's website contains more information on the video.

"Open Gov the Movie" - from Delib from Delib on Vimeo.

Read full post...

View summary...

A majority of US government agencies now using social media

A recent report from talent management companies Human Capital Institute and Saba indicates that a majority of US government agencies are using social media.

The report estimates that 66% of US government agencies use social media tools, with 65% using more than one tool.

A graph from the  report (see below) indicates that the US government still trails US corporate use of social media - which provides some indication of the direction for the future.

I wonder how we're tracking in Australia - anyone seen research on the topic?

Read full post...

View summary...