OpenGov 2.0 Initiative 2010

As a complement to the Metadata Australia 2010 Conference we are holding an "unconference" day on Friday 28th May. This event is designed to bring together people who work in policy development, business analysts, advisors and anyone who works in and with government and who seeks to achieve better information through the utilisation of data. We are deliberately taking the concept of "metadata" into the policy and "Gov 2.0" space in order to demonstrate both the challenge and opportunity of its practical application, and seek to generate a day of robust conversations in which many of the topics surrounding "open government" can be addressed through the better use of data.

The event is being organised with the assistance of the Metadata 2010 Committee with funding from Microsoft Australia.

Governments around the world are looking to utilise and exploit emerging Web technologies in order to become more open and transparent. They are aiming to engage in “conversations” with stakeholders, in particular constituents, and to close the “digital divide”. Each jurisdiction  is approaching this challenge  in its own unique way. The power of Web technologies lies in their ability to utilise data and information within a contextual environment and to thereby significantly change how government and citizens interact.

This change in interaction is being accompanied by significant emerging societal trends where ordinary people are both driving and indeed expecting greater access to government data as part of that “openness”.  As they begin to utilise Web 2.0 at home so they expect it to be part of their experience with organisations. The push to “open up” government data does not necessarily mean that information and knowledge are used for more effective decision making.  In fact the sheer volume can often lead to increasing confusion or misinterpretation.

OpenGov Aim

Our aim is to provide you with the opportunity to have different and varied conversations and to cross-fertilise ideas about real world problems in order to  help you solve key challenges. Our intent is to create a “playful” space within which the combination of Web 2.0 concepts and solutions can be combined with enterprise strategies to help make Gov 2.0 a practical reality and something you can both experience and understand.

We are creating a collaborative, transparent and participatory environment where the only requirement is observer participation – everyone is a participant and the multiple and diverse perspectives which exist within the group are themselves an integral part of how the event is shaped.