Calling All Hackers

Open Government is not only progressing in the United States, but also in the UK. The United Kingdom recently invited 30 developers, or hackers if you will, to test their digital platforms and services including GOV.UK Pay, UK Notify, and Government PaaS. The developers were given a Hack Day to build their own mock services to integrate with the current online government products. The UK government application program interfaces (API’s) were tested to see if any glitches could be found.

This is great news for the UK because they see the value in transparency and allowing private sector web developers to sharpen their government tools. The Hackers were given the freedom to experiment and challenge the government services. Allowing web developers to play in its government “code” is a prime example of using government as a platform, where “government is a convener and an enabler rather than the first mover of civic action”. – Tim O’Reilly. The government platform allows for increased innovation, is only strengthened by citizen engagement and participation.

The good news is – these outside developers identified areas of improvement. Weaknesses were exposed, explored and ultimately strengthened. If only more agencies would open their doors and their code to the expertise of the citizens and allow them to play with these government systems, the social media and e-government tools will be strengthened. How much better would your government agency fare by using hackers to sharpen its online products? I realize government culture is slow to shift, but thankfully the change is happening. To encourage platform thinking, governments need to build simple systems and allow the users and network of application developers to help the system evolve.

https://www.publictechnology.net/articles/news/government-digital-service-calls-hackers-test-its-platform

Tia

No Trust!

No Trust!

A recent Newsmax article reads: AP Poll: Public Doubts Government’s Problem-Solving Ability! The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted a survey last month that determines over 60% of respondents have little-to-no confidence that the federal government can correct the problems facing our nation. Is this a surprise to anyone? Our communities and our country are inundated by crisis.  Just look at the news: Budget Deficit, Healthcare, Foreign Policy, Unemployment, Immigration, Gun Violence, Climate Change, National Security, Education, and Poverty – the list goes on and on. Our governing body is failing us and because of this, people have no trust in government.  

Or is the problem that citizens have too much trust in their elected officials?  Elected officials are chosen based on the vote of their constituents, and sent off to Capitol Hill to save the world. But then what? These officials are thrust into an environment of big business, big money, lobbyist, and the underlying pressure to be reelected. They have to walk a fine line of representing their voters and fitting in. The peer-pressure on Capitol Hill is often too much for representatives to withstand and they end up “Drinking the Kool- Aid”*. Citizens often do not request anything further from those elected, and implicitly trust that they will do right by their communities. This is a dangerous misconception.

Carl Malamud proposed in his chapter entitled “By the People” in Open Government that a democratic society should be open, transparent and available to the public. Many legislative bodies have closed sessions and citizens should demand access to the law-making process. Until we take the initiative and interest in what is happening in OUR government and stop being merely spectators, we will continue to feel hopeless in addressing the many crisis’s that our nation is facing. This is our challenge.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/poll-public-doubts-government/2016/01/25/id/710699/

*"Drinking the Kool-Aid" is a figure of speech commonly used in North America that refers to a person or group holding an unquestioned belief, argument, or philosophy without critical examination. It could also refer to knowingly going along with a doomed or dangerous idea because of peer pressure. The phrase often times carries a negative connotation when applied to an individual or group. It can also be used ironically or humorously to refer to accepting an idea or changing a preference due to popularity, peer pressure, or persuasion - Wikipedia