Gov 2.0’s Role in Open Government

By Teresa Carlson, Vice President, Microsoft Federal 

This week I’ll be attending the O’Reilly Gov 2.0 Summit, and I’m looking forward to discussing the best ways to leverage Web 2.0 technologies on behalf of government with some of the brightest minds in the business. 

I’ve discussed Gov 2.0 previously in this blog, and I think it’s important to reinforce the promise these new Web technologies hold for making government more responsive, efficient, transparent, and open.  Tools like Wikis, blogs and tweets are fostering increased collaboration among government organizations and citizens, leading to better solutions to complex challenges.  Lawmakers are tweeting from the Senate floor to deliver real-time updates to concerned citizens, and space aficionados are telling NASA where they want the Hubble Space Telescope aimed. 

In the enterprise, it is cloud-based solutions which are changing the way we think about data sharing, with applications like Data.Gov making information available and usable to the public. 

My last post on open government ignited a spirited debate on open source vs. proprietary software, but my argument was focused on the necessity for interoperability and open standards.  There should absolutely be a level playing field for government IT solutions, and open standards ensures choice.  Government agencies need the freedom to choose the solutions that best meet their mission without procurement preferences or policy mandates.  Interoperability allows government personnel to focus on efficiencies and process innovation, rather than struggling through red tape and solutions that don’t talk to each other.

The next generation of government has a unique opportunity to embrace enterprise-ready Gov 2.0 technologies which are already proving their business value in the private sector.  For Gov 2.0 to be practical and realistic, it must also be interoperable and secure.  Are all such technologies ready for prime time?  And what will it take to get there?  I can’t wait to discuss these issues with my colleagues this week, so follow us on Twitter @FutureFed for updates and look for more blog posts during the week!