Open Government by Lathrop, Daniel, Ruma, Laurel -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Open Government

SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly Foreword Preface

How This Book Is Organized Safari® Books Online How to Contact Us Acknowledgments

1. A Peace Corps for Programmers

Tipping Point: The Extinction of Pencils Competition Is Critical to Any Ecosystem Creating a Developer Corps Conclusion About the Author

2. Government As a Platform

Government As a Platform Lesson 1: Open Standards Spark Innovation and Growth Lesson 2: Build a Simple System and Let It Evolve Lesson 3: Design for Participation A Robustness Principle for Government Lesson 4: Learn from Your “Hackers”

Data Is the “Intel Inside”

Lesson 5: Data Mining Allows You to Harness Implicit Participation Lesson 6: Lower the Barriers to Experimentation Lesson 7: Lead by Example Practical Steps for Government Agencies About the Author

3. By the People

About the Author

4. The Single Point of Failure

The Closed Model of Decision Making New Technologies and Civic Life Participatory Democratic Theory in the Age of Networks

The Failure of Direct Democracy The Timidity of Deliberative Democracy Distinguishing Deliberative and Collaborative Democracy The Argument for an Open and Collaborative Democracy Challenges for Collaborative Democracy

About the Author

5. Engineering Good Government

The Articles of Confederation and the Stovepipe Antipattern

The First Constitution The Stovepipe Antipattern Order from Chaos: The Standards Reference Model The Constitution As a Standards Reference Model

Continued Maintenance: The Blob and Confederacy

The Blob

The blob and government

Conclusion About the Author

6. Enabling Innovation for Civic Engagement

Citizen Initiatives Lead the Way Providing for Reuse and Innovation Data Authenticity Down the Line Why Bother with Bulk? Conclusion About the Authors

7. Online Deliberation and Civic Intelligence

Definitions and Assertions

The Context of Deliberation

Democracy, Deliberation, and the Internet

Online Civic Deliberation Support for Online Civic Deliberation

E-Liberate is created

Findings and Issues

Role of the Chair Distributed Meeting Attendees Social Environment Requirements E-Liberate’s Role

Conclusion About the Author

8. Open Government and Open Society

Transparency’s Moment? The Dark Side of Open Government The Missing Diagnosis Targeted Transparency A Matter of Politics Conclusion About the Authors

9. “You Can Be the Eyes and Ears”: Barack Obama and the Wisdom of Crowds

Change.gov Shows How to Change the Gov “You Can Be the Eyes and Ears” Recovery.gov Site Still Under Construction Online Town Hall or “Participation Theater”? Open Data and Open Government Co-creation, Co-optation, or Collision? About the Author

10. Two-Way Street: Government with the People

Pockets of Excellence: The Goverati

GovLoop and BRIDGE: Networks for Government Employees Reversing the Obscurity of Public Servants Harnessing Social Capital

Conclusion About the Author

11. Citizens’ View of Open Government

The First “We President” The Internet Has Made Us Lazy Toward a Findable Government Advanced Citizenship Conclusion About the Author

12. After the Collapse: Open Government and the Future of Civil Service

The Coasean Collapse The Long Tail of Public Policy Patch Culture The End of Objectivity Two Preconditions to Government As Platform: Capacity for Self-Organization and Collaboration Extend the Network The Next Civil Service Culture: The Gift Economy Conclusion About the Author

13. Democracy, Under Everything

Many Voices, Many Messages, One Government My Idea

Constitutional Guidance: Avoid Secrecy Via Access Meeting Modern-Day Needs

Revealing Obscured Government Data Improving Communication without Being Crushed by Email How to Improve Civic Engagement

Short-Term Solutions for Citizens

Be knowledgeable Focus on quality over quantity Clearly identify your emails Forego the use of form letters

Long-Term Solutions for the Government

Use XML to disseminate data Use open source tools

Conclusion About the Author

14. Emergent Democracy

Democracy As a Scaling Mechanism

Informal Self-Government Increasing Scale, Increasing Formalization

Limiting Factors and the Internet Building an Emergent Democracy

Underlying Principles The Themis Constitution One Click Orgs and Virtual Corporations

The Road to Emergent Democracy About the Author

15. Case Study: Tweet Congress

Tweet Congress: Build an App, Start a Movement

The Idea Building the App

Open source fuels open government Be someone else’s foundation, set your app free

Starting the Movement: We Are All Lobbyists Now

Inflection Point

So, Who Gets It? Impact

The TC Effect A Valuable Resource

Conclusion About the Authors

16. Entrepreneurial Insurgency: Republicans Connect With the American People

Entrepreneurial Insurgency and Congress Congress Tweets, Too I YouTube, You YouTube

Gathering Effective Tools

Social Media and the Fight for Transparency Conclusion About the Author

17. Disrupting Washington’s Golden Rule

The Bad Old Days: When Insiders Ruled This Is the Mashable Now What Comes Next About the Author

18. Case Study: GovTrack.us

Opening Legislative Data Screen Scraping Congress

Congressional Mashups Changing Policy from the Outside

Engaging the GovTrack Community Conclusion About the Author

19. Case Study: FollowTheMoney.org

Accessing Political Donor Data Fraught with Problems The National Institute on Money in State Politics’ Role in the Fight for Greater Transparency Bolstering the Spirit of Public Disclosure Laws State-Level Transparency Faces Serious Challenges In an Ideal World: Recommendations for Open Data Conclusion About the Author

20. Case Study: MAPLight.org

Why We Founded MAPLight.org MAPLight.org’s Unique Contribution Nuts and Bolts: Using MAPLight.org

Votes Timeline Committees How Each Legislator Voted Other Tools

Barriers to Transparency Conclusion About the Author

21. Going 2.0: Why OpenSecrets.org Opted for Full Frontal Data Sharing

The Decision to Let Go of the Data It’s Not Easy Being Open Creating a New Model for Transparency The Future Is Now Conclusion About the Author

22. All Your Data Are Belong to Us: Liberating Government Data

Liberating Government Data: Carl Malamud Versus the Man Disclosing Government Data: Paper Versus the Internet Accessing Government Data: Open Distribution Versus Jealous Control Demanding Government Data: Public Money Versus Private Research RECAP: Freeing PACER Documents for Public Use Conclusion About the Author

23. Case Study: Many Eyes

Policy From Policy to Politicians Visual Literacy Conclusion About the Authors

24. My Data Can’t Tell You That

The How and Why of Data Collection Federal Data: Approximations Galore Good Data Doesn’t Mean Good Results Conclusion About the Author

25. When Is Transparency Useful?

Sharing Documents with the Public Generating Databases for the Public Interpreting Databases for the Public An Alternative About the Author

26. Transparency Inside Out

Complexity Creates Opacity Transparency, Meet Institutional Inertia Kaleidoscope IT: One-Off Apps Obscure Information A Market Focused on Proposals, Not Products Framing the Window

Downsize or Eliminate Organizational IT Development Teams User Analytics IT Transparency IT Products, Not Projects Set the Tone at the Top Bottom-Up Change Through Young Technologists

Conclusion About the Author

27. Bringing the Web 2.0 Revolution to Government

Government Transparency: Three Hurdles

Changing Policies Deploying Twenty-First-Century Technology

Appointing the first federal CIO Encouraging data mashups

Changing the Culture Within Government

Putting It All Together: Disclosure of Federal Spending

Policy Changes to Get Deeper Information on Recipients Using Technology to Make Recovery Act Data Accessible, Understandable, and Usable Changing the Culture to Emphasize Effectiveness, Performance, and Equity

Conclusion About the Authors

28. Toads on the Road to Open Government Data

What Is Government? Data Collection Exposing the Soul of Government

Privacy and Legal Restrictions The Culture of Bureaucracies and Homeland Security Ancient Media Proprietary and Medieval Databases Ethically Questionable Information (Privacy) Ethically Questionable Information (Sharing) Cost

Conclusion About the Author

29. Open Government: The Privacy Imperative

Privacy-Enhancing Practices

Data Minimization Anonymous Access Controlled Backups Data Retention and Decommissioning Minimal Disclosure Data-Sharing Integrity: Data Tethering Accountability Transparent Transparency

Conclusion About the Authors

30. Freedom of Information Acts: Promises and Realities

The Act and Amendments

Open to All Research and Prepare Exemptions, Denials, and Delays FOIA Strategies That Work

Conclusion About the Author

31. Gov→Media→People

Crowdsourcing in Action Conclusion About the Author

32. Open Source Software for Open Government Agencies

Advantages of FLOSS for Government and Public Agencies

Independence from Suppliers Fulfillment of Specific Requirements Adoption of Open Standards Public Scrutiny Long-Term Availability Impact in the Society at Large Impact on Local Industry Staff Empowerment

Best Practices: Management

Consider All the Factors, Both Technical and Contextual Be Sure of Management’s Commitment to the Transition Prepare a Clear View of What’s Expected, Including Measurable Benchmarks Make Sure the Timetable Is Realistic Review the Current Software/IT Procurement and Development Procedure Seek Out Advice or Search for Information on Similar Transitions Avoid “Big Switch” Transition, and Favor Incremental Migrations Promote Collaboration and Pooling of Resources

Best Practices: Technical

Understand the Way FLOSS Is Developed Survey the Agency’s Software, Hardware, and Required Functionality Use the Flexibility of FLOSS to Create Local Adaptations Much More Software Is Available Than What Is Installed by Default Always Favor Stability over Functionality Design the Workflow Support Infrastructure to Reduce “Impedance Mismatches” Introduce a Trouble Ticket System Compile and Update a Detailed Migration Workbook

Best Practices: Social

Provide Training and Communication About the FLOSS Model Don’t Force the Change on Users; Provide Explanations Instead Use the Migration As an Opportunity to Improve Users’ Skills

Make It Easy to Experiment and Learn

Establish Meeting Points and Repositories

Conclusion References About the Authors

33. Why Open Digital Standards Matter in Government

Badly Used Technology Hinders Progress The Digital Age Explained Standards and the Problems with Digital Technology

Why Has Digital Gone Bad So Often?

The Huge Positive Potential of Digital Technologies Free and Open Standards and Software: The Digital Basis of Open Government Conclusion About the Author

34. Case Study: Utah.gov

A Historical Perspective What Today’s Landscape Looks Like Champions Discovered in All Branches of State Government The Dramatic Shift to Web 2.0 Principles and Tools

External Users Dictated Technology Course Web 2.0 Becomes Part of the Technical Architecture Utah’s Multimedia Portal Leverages Web 2.0 Services

Making Data More Accessible

Concerns About Security and Productivity

Conclusion About the Author

A. Memo from President Obama on Transparency and Open Government Index About the Authors Colophon SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly

← Prev
Back
Next →

← Prev
Back
Next →