ICGFM Promotes Knowledge Transfer Among Public Financial Management Experts

Working globally with governments, organizations, and individuals, the International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management is dedicated to improving financial management by providing opportunities for professional development and information exchange.

Showing posts with label social networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social networking. Show all posts

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Government Performance Management Needs Government 2.0

Government Performance Management requires Citizen Feedback

Government 2.0 and government transformation is inevitable, according to Doug Hadden, VP of Products at FreeBalance, and VP Communications for ICGFM. Government, society and technology trends are creating an environment for transformation. Citizens demand improved performance. Techniques used for Corporate Performance Management (CPM) are not effective in government.

Mr. Hadden introduced Web 2.0 and Government 2.0 applications. ICGFM has been leveraging social networking or Web 2.0:

The differences between E-Government and Government 2.0 were presented. The impact of cloud computing, semantic web and mobile computing was put into perspective. Mr. Hadden questioned the categories of unstructured and structured data used in the software industry. He predicts that the next generation of government applications will integrate transactions, documents and collaboration.

Corporate Performance Management techniques operate well in business because there is a bottom line - profit. There can be numerous unintended consequences of government programs. These impacts may not be measured giving and incorrect view of success. Government Performance Management focuses on structural concerns, according to Mr. Hadden. Internal and external social networks are required to provide a 360 degree view of government performance. Examples of the use of Government 2.0 to enhance government performance was presented.





Security is a concern for Government 2.0 adoption. Yet, the fastest adopters for this technology are in the Defence and Homeland Security departments in the United States. The US Government Intellipedia application has become the "meme" case study for Government 2.0 adoption, according to Mr. Hadden.

Inevitable Government Transformation

Mr, Hadden placed Government Performance Management in context to social change and social pressures. Globalization creates competitive pressures among countries. The desire for improved governance and transparency from citizens is creating more open governments. And, citizens and businesses have expectations set through the use of e-commerce and Web 2.0 tools.

This move to Government 2.0 and Government Performance Management is part of long-term trends. Mr. Hadden introduced theories presented by Marshall McLuhan. He suggests that government transformation is inevitable - that Government 2.0 is a technology enabler. The organizational and societal changes that make this inevitable are:
  • Flattening of organizations
  • Move from vertical to virtual integration
  • Project and program focus in government
  • Top-down to bottom-up organizations
  • Role changes and the move to generalization
There will remain cultural barriers to adoption of Government Performance Management 2.0. Mr. Hadden described a number of government initiatives world-wide that demonstrate movement to this new model of social networking and performance. A scenario for the future was presented - showing the necessity of linking transactions, documents and collaboration in order to have a full picture of government performance.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

From Bees to G-Men (and Government 2.0)

Mark Drapeau has had, to say the least, a varied and interesting career. A biological scientist by training, Dr. Drapeau has brought his knowledge of the social behavior of fruit flies and bees to the potentials of social networking within government agencies. Formerly an Associate Research Fellow at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy at the National Defense University, Dr. Drapeau is now an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs and a recognized thought leader in innovation and technology in government.

In anticipation of an upcoming panel discussion on Government 2.0 hosted by the International Consortium on Government Financial Management, we asked Dr. Drapeau ten questions:

Do academics approach social networking in a different way than typical users?
That could be answered a number of ways. Academics often only like to socially network with other academics, so their average social networks are probably more narrowly focused than a typical person's. They also probably approach the study of social networks in a more abstract manner than a typical person, who probably wants practical uses out of their network – how do I use my network to get stuff done that's important to me?

How can social networking improve social capital?
Social networking is to some degree linked to "new marketing" in which proactively putting out positive content like helpful blog posts helps drive eyeballs and customers and fans to brands, businesses, and so forth. Contributing to a community of interest and being generous with your ideas grows your social capital within social networks. This has always been true but social networking tools help you spread your word much further than ever before.

Was musician Joe Walsh right: "What were vices are now habits"?

Sure, it used to be that only the hard-core addicts used things like WordPress and Twitter. Now everybody wants some - everyone has the vice. And people who had the vice a year or two ago have now made blogging and tweeting and other things habits. And we are searching for new vices. Mine is Posterous.com.

What from insect social networks applies to human social networks?
Virtually everything.

How do these virtual social networks merge into the physical world?
It's easy to forget that social networking is not only about a digital existence. We all exist in real life and like to interact with people in real life to some degree or another. Few people can completely exist online - maybe game designers, freelance writers, a few other things. Most people need to get business or other work or play done in real life. So, virtual social networks help you accentuate your real life networks. For example, you meet someone at a conference and you don't see them for 9 months – things like Twitter help you ephemerally stay in touch with them just enough such that when you see them again, it's like it's only been 9 days, not 9 months. I've experienced this a lot.

What lessons can we learn from terrorism networks?
Terrorists and similar groups are agile, and seem pretty good at taking advantage of new technologies to spread information internally and externally for PR. This is a boon to small companies, small groups like NGOs, and to government units that need to be more agile or need better “marketing” to the people about what they're up to.

Do we need to inject a “social gene” into government?
Government employees could be more social. Even if they really don't have time (which I often find to be an excuse) social tools are increasingly mobile and people can "socialize" and let people in on their lives from their cars (safely!), homes, vacations and so forth. Just a little sharing means a lot!

Governments strive for standardization - doesn't social networking provide better service to a select group of citizens?
The digital divide is a complex topic but generally the Web is becoming more accessible to more people every day. True that not everyone has an iPhone or a MacBook, but lots of people have cell phones and access to a computer at least some of the day.

What is the implication of mobile technology on Government 2.0?
Potentially huge and definitely to be determined.

Do different generations interact differently in the Web 2.0 world?
Every generation is capable of using Web 2.0 technologies, but different backgrounds yield different expectations and applications. Lots of people are looking at this issue right now, because it has all kinds of implications; for example, government workforce retention.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Mark Drapeau, Government 2.0 Thought Leader joins ICGFM DC Panel


Dr. Mark Drapeau, adjunct faculty member in the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University has agreed to join the Government 2.0 panel discussion at the November 4 DC Forum. Dr. Drapeau is well known as a visionary in the use of social networking in Government.
Mark Drapeau has a unique perspective on the use of social networking from his scientific expertise on social interaction and life sciences combined with government service.

The Government 2.0 panel disccusion is expected to focus on how governments and governmental financial management may transform through the use of social media tools. The DC Forum will discuss internal organizational transformation and the effects of citizen collaboration. The discussion will provide a global perspective on social networking.

Mark Drapeau’s writing has appeared in publications ranging from popular blogs like PBS MediaShift, TechPresident and Mashable, to prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journals like Nature, Genetics, and Genome Research, influential military publications such as Defense and Technology Papers and Defense Horizons, and internationally-read newspapers such as the Washington Times and the New York Times. He is currently a regular columnist for O’Reilly Radar (social software and society), Federal Computer Week (emerging technology and government) and Examiner.com and True/Slant (social technology and politics).

The November DC Forum will to chaired by Doug Hadden, the ICGFM Vice President of Communications. You can register at this link.


Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Government 2.0 – The Next Wave of Open Government?

DC Forum
November 4, 2009

Can collaborative tools available to Internet users like blogs, wikis and social networks transform government? Will Government 2.0 fulfill the promise of e-government? Can governments leverage the “wisdom of crowds” for internal government or external citizen collaboration? Should governments publish more and more data? How will this affect traditional back-office systems? What culture changes will be needed for governments to harness Government 2.0?

Join a panel of experts in social networking and governments moderated by Doug Hadden, ICGFM Vice President of Communications. There have been many lessons learned through the ICGFM social networking presence on Blogger, Flickr, Pageflakes, Scribd, Slideshare, Twitter and YouTube.

You can register at this link.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036






sponsored by FreeBalance

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Informing Citizens to Make Governments Accountable

Ernesto Saboia, President, State of Accounts in Northern Brazil spoke about leveraging civil society to improve auditing and reducing corruption.













Why does Brazil have a poor rating from Transparency International? Denmark has 100 auditors for each group of 100,000 people. Brazil has 8. This means that Brazil is not well-audited. Hiring auditors is unrealistic given the financial crisis. Therefore, the Government tried to be creative by training journalists and engaging civil society. This distance learning course is being taken by 35,000 people.

The transparency portal that was created reports on all budget expenditures of the state and municipalities. These portals need to be simple so that citizens can understand what governments are doing. Mr. Saboia, also pointed out the power of social networking tools. The government wishes to harness this power.