Government 2.0 is here. Are you ready to participate?

When the maverick CTO of the District of Columbia, Vivek Kundra, announced the Apps for Democracy  contest, I was intrigued for 2 relatively disconnected reasons.  Personally, I cared because this was a great example of an innovative government that could truly impact me on a personal level.  Better roads, better transit options, and better social services are all things I would appreciate in the place I have called home for the last 18 years.

But I had a slightly less selfish interest as well.  ‘Open government’ was something that I had spent 2 decades helping nurture and I suddenly saw Mr. Kundra's Contest as part of a broad trend towards 'Government 2.0', where service to the citizen is made better through dynamic, adaptive '2.0' technologies.

This is why I am about to break one of my oldest, most definitive personal rules. The rule? As a long-time DC area resident, I try very, very hard not discuss politics or government (or the Redskins). This is such a politically-charged atmosphere that I always seem to find myself on the wrong end of the conversation.  But I think it’s time to break my rule. Because I think ‘Government 2.0’ is here, in a big-and-nationwide kind of way, and I am eager to see it flourish.

For those who might have missed it, Apps for Democracy was a textbook example of a government entity putting ’2.0’ stuff to work in ways that would benefit the taxpayer.  Using services from the District of Columbia 'Data Catalog', participants were asked to submit web-driven applications that used 'real-time data from multiple agencies to citizens — a catalyst ensuring agencies operate as more responsive, better performing organizations'.  What parts of Web 2.0?  Standards-based information services.  Community-driven application development. Ajax. Mashups. Mobile computing.  Even a diehard skeptic would have to admit that the variety of applications submitted to the contest  (JackBe submitted a 'Carpool Matchmaker Mashup') shows that there is a great deal of potential in the idea of applying 2.0 to government.

And DC is not alone.  Seattle recently launched an interactive ‘2.0’ citizen portal.  There are some cool government-driven mashups  in development for big agencies like Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF).   And there are great regional and local 2.0-style government apps of note like the 'City of San Francisco Bridge Preventative Maintenance Program Web Application', 'City of San Mateo Master Address Database', and the 'City of Boston Redevelopment Authority: Web Based GIS Redevelopment Project Tracking Portal', among others.

Of course, as a mashup vendor JackBe is doing our part as well.  Our work with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) on ‘Overwatch’ is entering it’s third year.  Overwatch is one of the earliest mashups in government and the success of this early mashup project has inspired other mashup efforts such as the NSLDSS project by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) on behalf of the Joint Chief of Staff.  And we’ve got mashup-driven efforts underway with a number of other government entities.

Considering the pressures we face as a nation, these efforts come none too soon.  A recent Wall Street Journal article noted that ‘…an [intelligence] analyst's query might scan only 5% of the total intelligence data in the U.S. government…’.  That’s hardly the broad perspective you’d hope for and I expect the capability is even grimmer in government agencies that don’t have ‘intelligence analysis’ in their mission statement.  It’s time every agency in charge of regulating or analyzing an industry or geopolitical situation make data access, information-driven insight, and true situational analysis a core competency.

Luckily, it appears that this service-through-innovation thing is going to have the support of 'upper management'.  Obama the Candidate made good use of technology in his campaign.  And with no apparent pause at all, the new media team of President Obama outlined three top priorities of the new presidential administration – communication, transparency and participation – on their very first day.  We have a newly-defined ‘National Chief Technology Officer’ (and one of the leading candidates for this position is none other than Vivek Kundra).  It even appears that President Obama is making a individual contribution to the cause by bringing a Blackberry with him into the Oval office.

Is Government 2.0 really here?  Government certainly 2.0 seems to be on the agenda for the next 4 years.  Heck, there's already a 'Government 2.0 Camp' and someone's already designed a Gov 2.0 t-shirt! So perhaps the real question is this: if Government 2.0 is here, how are you going to take part?