CivicAccess

(Disclaimer:  I have previously stated that I work for the Ontario Government, and I would like to point out, once again, that the opinions that I express here are my own and do not by any means reflect the position or views of my employer.)

I found CivicAssess.ca via boingboingthis morning.  It looks like a very cool initiative.  They are encouraging municipal, provincial and federal governments to make information about operations open, public, and easy to get. 

Here's how they describe themselves:

"Citizens for Open Access to Civic Information and Data (CivicAccess)is a group of citizens which believes all levels of government should make civic information and data accessible at no cost in open formats to their citizens. We believe this is necessary to allow citizens to fully participate in the democratic process of an "information society." "

I really like the idea of making government information available to citizens, and I totally agree that the availability of this information is vital to maintaining a healthy democracy.  However, I'm not sure how well they have thought this through. 

The amount of information that governments collect is so vast that we have a challenging time organizing that information internally, let alone organizing that information for public consumption.  Our intranets are a mess of inter-related documents that are unlinked and are very difficult to search.  The OPS are making huge strides in sharing information across ministries and external organizations, but we have a long way to go.  Knowledge management is definitely something we need to manage better internally. 

In the Ontario government is making a very strong effort to provide as much information and as many services as they can through it's amalgamated portal.  This type of IT initiative is in line with Civic Access goals.  (Although it may be a little simplistic comparing it to the objectives of the organizations.)  I also see various municipalities with varrying degress of engagement with there publics via their websites.  There is no doubt about it, we are way better served by our governments today than we were 10 years ago.

Command and Control

In public service we are dealing constantly with "stakeholders".  Ministries have an operational knowledge of how to do things and people on staff who are professionals researching and implementing government initiatives and projects.  We obviously consult with stakeholders as projects are being designed and implemented, and I honestly believe that those consultations are sincere and adequately thorough.

That said, there are times when a particular stakeholder's concerns hold up a project that would have great benefit for the rest of the stakeholders involved.  This is where the command and control culture of government is used for utilitarian good.  On the surface this may seem anti-democratic, but it is really a way of dealing with disparate groups with disparate interests that are not moving toward a resolution.

On Citizen Driven Projects

If you watch municipal governments in action (i.e. you actually watch city hall meetings on channel 13 or whatever) you will know that debate is often long, divergent and impassioned.  But I would hardly describe it as productive.

I personally love the idea of having citizens  work with each other on projects that have a direct impact on their community.  Using the energy and ideas of the citizens to get things done should be encouraged by all levels of government and government should do it's best to provide tools to help self organizing groups.

That said, I am really sceptical of the amount of work that would be accomplished by these initiatives.  When people are working on local projects the personalities involved eventually become the barrier to plans being finalized and descisions being made.  Politiks at the local level burn really hot, and this is bound to be a hurddle to overcome. 

Conclusions:

While I think that CivicAccess has a great message, I wonder what will come of it.  Will they work with the various levels of government to help identify information that should be made public?  I'll be watching the wiki to see how the tone of things develops, as I hope that it encourages an attitude of cooperation and open communication with governments instead of mistrust and scare mongering that people on the left tend to use when discribing our governments.