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Google has launched a Google Public Service site for Australia showcasing some of the tools they provide and how they can and are being used by government agencies around the world to engage with citizens and empower public servants and politicians.
If it interests you, you may also find Google's public sector blog worth reading.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Google launches site for Australian public sector | Tweet |
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Vic government releases report on Australian Gov 2.0 initiatives and online take-up | Tweet |
Information Victoria, in the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development for the Victorian Government has released a report, Web 2.0: The New Tools for Democratic Conversations – A snapshot of Initiatives in Government.
Available at Victoria's eGovernment Resource Centre (using the link in last paragraph), the report provides an excellent snapshot of many of the different Gov 2.0 initiatives currently in operation across Victoria and Australia, plus a couple of prominent international examples.
The report also provides a great overview on Australian use of online social media - demonstrating how it is permeating our culture.
If you're seeking examples to justify that your proposed Gov 2.0 initiative has local precedents, or that there is a large and growing audience for the online medium, this report is an extremely useful reference.
I was alerted to this report by David, who posted a comment on my post on Tuesday about the New Zealand Draft Open Access and Licensing Framework.
Monday, September 14, 2009
US Army to launch Apps for Army Competition | Tweet |
In the style of the Apps for America competitions, the US Army announced at the Gov 2.0 summit that it would hold a competition for soldiers to develop software to help the army fight wars and carry out its missions.
Reported in Information Week Government, Gov 2.0: Army Announces Apps For Army Competition, the Army views the approach as a way to break down silos and create cheap and effective software, helping reduce the cost of having military-grade applications developed.
All entries will be hosted on the Defense Information Systems agency's open source code repository, Forge.mil.
Given the massive savings reported by Washington DC when it ran a similar district-based competition, it will be interesting to see the level of value that can be achieved within the armed forces.
US launches Gov 2.0 consultation on national broadband network | Tweet |
The US is a little behind Australia in considering a National Broadband Network, however it has taken a very different approach in consulting and engaging citizens, opening up the discussion to the US community in a Gov 2.0 manner.
The US Government's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched Broadband.gov as a web 2.0 enabled site to manage the central conversation around a US National Broadband Plan.
It has also introduced an Ideascale portal for individuals to raise, vote on and discuss ideas and potential challenges at national and local levels and shake out the key issues for the community.
The FCC also has a blog, Facebook site, interactive Twitter feed (where the FCC responds to questions), YouTube channel and RSS feeds. It is also holding face-to-face and webinar workshops to discuss what US citizens want in a broadband network. All of these workshops are recorded and made available online.
What I think is most important is how the FCC is using these channels in a consistent and integrated manner to support public discussion and engagement.
Often organisations don't have a strategy (communications plan) behind their online engagement channels and, as a result, they do not function in a synchronised and mutually reinforcing manner - and in some cases can act against each other, reducing the effectiveness of an online conversation and reducing the online credibility of the organisation.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Melbourne OpenAustralia HackFest coming up on 26 September - sign-up now | Tweet |
OpenAustralia is holding its second HackFest in Melbourne on Saturday 26 September and is inviting programmers, designers and interested people to attend.
Details of the event are over at Anyvite.
If you're interested in going along, RSVP by 23 September as they are limited to 30 spots.
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