Government 2.0 is a term describing the policies and procedures required to make Government more "open". Government 2.0 (Gov 2.0) will require tools to assist in its application and currently there is a move afoot to apply the social networking and integration advantages of Web 2.0 tools (wikis, blogs, twitter, rss feeds, etc.) to the practice of government. The term (Gov 2.0) describes the efforts to make government more open, collaborative and cooperative and more supportive of open consultation, open data and knowledge sharing.
There are two key aspects of Government 2.0 (more open government);
1 Community Engagement - this is getting the community involved in the decision making process of government (before the decision is made) and keeping them informed;
2 Open Data and Information - having (non confidential) government data and information in an acceptable format and available to the community (public).
In summary, Government 2.0 (Gov 2.0) is the overriding practices and procedures to drive open goverment, while Web 2.0 is the (relatively) new tools that support the open dialogue required between the Community and Government to support Gov 2.0.
Alternate Definitions
"Government 2.0 is not about social networking or technology based approaches. It is a fundamental shift in the implementation of government - toward an open, collaborative, cooperative arrangement where there is (wherever possible) open consultation, open data, shared knowledge, mutual acknowledgment of expertise, mutual respect for shared values and an understanding of how to agree to disagree. Technology and social tools are merely an enabler in this process." - Gov2.0 Australia.
"Government 2.0 is neologism for attempts to apply the social networking and integration advantages of Web 2.0 to the practice of government. Government 2.0 is an attempt to provide more effective processes for government service delivery to individuals and businesses. Integration of tools such as wikis, development of government-specific social networking sites and the use of blogs, RSS feeds and Google Maps are all helping governments provide information to people in a manner that is more immediately useful to the people concerned." - Wikipedia
"Government 2.0 is about the use of technology to encourage a more open and transparent form of government, where the public has a greater role in forming policy and has improved access to government information." - Australian Department of Finance and Deregulation
"The term Web 2.0 is used to refer to online collaboration and user-generated content and the tools that enable these – such as blogs and wikis. Government 2.0 refers to the application of these tools by government agencies." - Itbusiness.ca article
Related Terms
E-Government is short for Electronic Government. This term refers to the delivery of government services through electronic means without the exchange of paper-based documents. Delivery channels include, but are not limited to the internet – for example, mobile technologies can be used to facilitate the delivery of selected services.
Local E-Government is used to refer to the electronic delivery of services by local government agencies.
Open Government is the governing doctrine which holds that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight.
Related Pages
External Links & References
- Us Now Documentary (Vimeo)
- The AMIGO Government 2.0 Primer
- Victorian Government 2.0 Action Plan
- Council's Facebook page lures road fix supporters (ABC Local Government News)
- Department of Finance and Deregulation
- Towards an Australian Government Information Policy (OAIC)
- LGWebNetwork Magazine Vol 2
- What does Government 2.0 look like?
- Bang the Table Budget Allocator
- Google Search