The document outlines a framework for developing and implementing an open government strategy in a structured manner. It recommends that agencies (1) assess technology, policy, and cultural hurdles before planning; (2) involve executives and cross-functional working groups to identify obstacles and solutions; and (3) take a lifecycle approach to planning, implementing, measuring and controlling open government initiatives to increase consistency.
2. How Will Open Gov Happen? A structured Open Government framework will help Agencies implement Open Government “smartly” in order to manage risk.
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6. Contact Information Giovanni Carnaroli Jenn Gustetic Giovanni.Carnaroli@dot.gov [email_address] www.dot.gov http://blog.phaseonecg.com / @jenngustetic
Notas do Editor
Good morning everyone. I’m Giovanni Carnaroli and I’m the assistant CIO for IT Policy Oversight at the Department of Transportation. DOT is new to Gov 2.0 but has some very innovative efforts underway to implement Open Government. We feel that Open Government is ultimately about driving innovation through collaboration. At DOT we are heading towards that goal by getting the right people at the leadership table from the beginning and by following a framework that is focused and comprehensive in an attempt to avoid as many downstream issues as possible. This morning I would like to speak with you about those efforts and the comprehensive framework we are applying to help manage this change, mitigate risk, tap into tacit employee knowledge, and ultimately provide better services to citizens. ( 40 seconds )
The most fundamental question I have asked myself through this process is: How will Open Gov happen? Considering Open Gov is a fundamental shift in how we do business, it won’t happen through technology alone. Standing up a twitter account, a facebook page, and an Agency blog won’t solve all our problems. But how do we figure out what types of open government tools have the potential to make the most impact at our organizations given our limited resources? The solutions lie in understanding the unique technology, policy and cultural environments that our Agencies exist within. At DOT we have incorporated the technology, policy and cultural elements into a framework that will enable us to meet our strategic objectives, mitigate risks, and improve our performance through our Open Government Plan. In these next few slides we will to run you through the framework. We hope the principles and methodology are transferable to other agencies that are developing their Gov 2.0 comprehensive strategy and plan. ( 1 min 35 sec )
Thank you Giovanni. I’m going to introduce you to the open government planning and implementation framework that Giovanni mentioned. This framework should help you to create an open gov plan that meets the requirements of the upcoming open gov directive, manages the risks involved with open gov, and doesn’t become shelf-ware. Ultimately, it sheds some light on the question: “how should I approach open gov”? Bottom line, the Open gov initiative represents a shift in the way we engage with the public and innovate. This is change management…on steroids. And how do you traditionally manage change and business transformation? Through a pretty basic lifecycle management approach. Assess. Plan. Implement. Measure. Improve. But how do you assess? How do you plan? That’s where the “wheel” you see on the graphic comes in. The wheel acknowledges that the technology, policy and culture components at your organization are all critical to understand before moving into planning. Some people see these areas as hurdles they must overcome, and others see them as resources. We see them each as unique and crucial areas for transformation throughout the open gov lifecycle. For technology, we suggest the critical areas include security, infrastructure, tools and current pilots and programs. For policy we suggest the areas are strategic planning, performance, legal and internal directives. And finally for culture we suggest the critical areas are employee readiness, communication channels, agency stakeholders, and those areas where the agency is already participating with the public, albeit not through gov 2.0 tools. If you’re interested in more detail about each of these areas, keep an eye out for a blog series on the Phase One blog soon that will run through them all in detail. ( 3 min )
Now for a second critical question: Who should be involved in open gov strategy and planning at your organization? You may have noticed on the graphic on the previous slide that there is a grey ring around the color wheel that contains various offices within the organization. This ring highlights what office tends to be the subject matter expert in each of these crucial areas. Walking around the circle, this framework shows that the chief information officer, project managers for key mission areas, public affairs, human resources, chief financial officer, general counsel, and policy development offices should all be engaged in the leadership and planning of an open gov effort. If you want more detail about what each of these offices tend to care about in the open gov space, check out the phase one blog for a series on the leadership team. We also suggest that governance structures should be established up front including champions, an executive steering committee, and working groups consisting of SMEs. If you can incorporate those functions into existing governance structures, great, but you may need to stand up some ad hoc bodies in order to meet the timelines required by the directive. Bottom line: It’s important to involve folks from each of these critical areas at the beginning of the effort in order to tap into their tacit knowledge and ensure downstream challenges are mitigated. (4 min 10 seconds ) OPD: Office of Policy Development OCIO: Chief Information Officer OGC: Office of General Counsel OCFO: Chief Financial Officer HR: Human Resources OPA: Office of Public Affairs PMs: Program/Project Managers
This final slide illustrates how each crucial area is involved in the different phases of the open gov lifecycle. The legal component is blown out here. This “cake slice” demonstrates that there are distinct legal activities associated with the assess, plan, implement, measure, and improve phases of the framework that the general counsel’s office should be heavily involved in. These include: ASSESS: understand current statutory and legal constraints and enablers; PLAN: determine the types of policies that must be developed to enable transparency, collaboration and participation within the Agency’s legal framework; IMPLEMENT: write policies, such as employee use, comment and access policies to govern the SOPs for tools and finally; MEAURE AND IMPROVE: gauge performance and make changes based on how well those policies have enabled a more open environment at the organization. This method enables each partner to understand their role in the lifecycle and also have an appreciation for the other factors that must be considered in open gov efforts.
I hope that we’ve been able to communicate three main points to you this morning: That open government planning is about more than tools and technology That developing and using a comprehensive open government framework is possible and it can help you stay on track throughout the program lifecycle That engaging a rockstar leadership and planning team from the beginning is crucial to tap into tacit knowledge and mitigate risks. Thank you for listening! ( 5 min 15 seconds )