Leveraging Web 2.0 in GovernmentThis study has four important objectives with regard to understanding how to leverage Web 2.0 for government-citizen and government-employee interactions: 1. Understanding social computing as a phenomenon and the implications for harnessing its potential for government use 2. Developing a framework for harnessing the power of Web 2.0 in government and identifying the critical issues in such uses 3. Understanding the perceptions of citizens in interacting with government for service provision and civic engagement in the Web 2.0 environment 4. Identifying the ways in which social computing engagement and effectiveness can be measured in Web 2.0 initiativesIntroduction - With the increased penetration of the Internet and wireless broadband services, and with the increasing technology readiness of citizens, in the past five years the breadth of activities that an average citizen performs online has been steadily increasing (see Pew Internet and American Life Project at www. pewinternet.org). The types of activities range from sending or reading e-mail (92 percent of Internet users in 2007 engaged in this activity), buying a product (66 percent), downloading games or videos (42 percent), to categorizing or tagging online content (28 percent) and blogging (22 percent). The United States and other developed countries have seen a full integration of technology into citizens’ lives—an integration that goes beyond the Internet, through wireless and mobile connectivity to virtual realms and virtual worlds. Over the past five years alone, the percentage of U.S. citizens involved in social networking and virtual community activities (broadly defined as networking in sites such as MySpace, Friendster, LinkedIn, and other special interest sites; reading/creating blogs; instant messaging; and using Web 2.0 applications) has doubled to over 30 percent in the general population (NTRS 2008). For those in their teens and 20s, this percentage is much higher (64 percent of the online teens create content online in such sites), indicating an ever-increasing trend in the use of the online environment for social networking, exchanging information, creating and building up content, and conducting transactions. Given these trends, it is expected that tomorrow’s adult citizens are going to spend a significant amount of time online for social, commercial, and business activities, displacing many of the activities and the time that is now spent offline. This has tremendous implications for both businesses and governments as they seek out useful interactions with their customers and citizens. Cognizant of these trends, businesses and governments are already taking a very close look at Web 2.0 and online communities in order to leverage them for designing and marketing products and services and for providing customer and citizen service. This is reflected in the astronomical sums paid for, or contemplated for, social network sites such as MySpace and Facebook, highlighting their valuecreation potential for both businesses and customers. A recent McKinsey global survey of business executives (McKinsey 2007) found that more than 75 percent of the executives plan to maintain or increase their investments in Web 2.0 technologies including peer-to-peer networking, social networking, and web services. Many businesses are also using these technologies to communicate externally with customers and business partners, as well as internally to increase collaborative efforts among employees. Similar efforts are already ongoing in many government organizations, highlighting the fact that governments are not far behind in understanding the importance of technology and citizen usage trends. The Web 2.0 initiatives—podcasts and virtual worlds—of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), NASA’s internal social networks and virtual worlds, and the U.S. intelligence community’s Intellipedia are just a few of the recent efforts launched within the federal government. Many examples have already emerged from the United Kingdom and Japan at other levels of the government. While efforts can be viewed as experimental or leveraging the low-hanging fruit, it is very important to identify and understand the nature of Web 2.0 technologies and their suitability for various enterprise-level applications, the ways in which government can leverage these technologies for strengthening the government-citizen relationship and for intra- and inter-government use, and the perceptions that citizens have regarding the use of these technologies for interacting with governments. Without such an understanding, there is the potential danger of ignoring social trends among citizens and thus rendering governments somewhat irrelevant and reducing civic engagement with such citizen groups. This report aims to fill this gap by researching certain specific issues ...University of Maryland University CollegeUMUC_72cb229e-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2aAi-Mei ChangProfessor of Systems ManagementUniversity of MarylandUMD_72cb24e2-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2aP. K. KannanDirector, Center for Excellence in ServiceHarvey SandersAssociate Professor of Marketing, The Robert H. Smith School of BusinessIBM Center for The Business of GovernmentCTBG_72cb262c-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2aAlbert MoralesManaging PartnerMark CleverleyDirector of Strategy, IBM Public Sector Government Transformation_72cb26fe-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2a[To encourage and assist] government agencies ... to invest time and effort right now to understand the environment and gain relevant experience working in it to plan for the interaction media and service delivery channel of the future._72cb27c6-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2aOnline EngagementGovernment needs to meet citizens where they are online. Social computing renders the online environment individual-user-centric. Younger citizens are increasingly engaging each other, interacting with businesses, and building an online cultural and commercial environment, all of which clearly call for government initiatives targeting citizens online. Governments will have to engage citizens at sites where they are rather than expect them to approach government portals. Citizens view this as “keeping up with the times,” indicating the inevitability of such initiatives.Online InteractionCitizens are willing to interact with government agencies online. In general, citizens have positive attitudes toward potential Web 2.0 initiatives. The more relevant the uses are for citizens, the more willing they are to interact with the government on the specific uses. Appropriately designed initiatives to engage citizens in their own settings will also enhance the trust citizens have in their government and help government build citizen loyalty. Such initiatives have the potential to increase the transparency of government agencies, which could lead to greater trust in them. It could also lead to greater citizen influence on government policies and actions.Intermediary ServicesThe role of intermediaries will increase. Many businesses are being aided by third-party firms acting as intermediaries in providing content and service in the Web 2.0 environment. It is inevitable that, in order to engage citizens effectively in their social computing setting, governments will have to employ and leverage intermediaries to increase their coverage and reach to deliver content and “mashable” services. Governments will also be able to provide customized services to citizens at a potentially lower cost with the help of intermediaries. The increased coverage and reach will come at the cost of decreased control, which means governments have to relinquish some control over how the content and service is reconfigured and distributed.Content and Service DesignGovernment will need to rethink content and service design. Web 2.0 applications will necessitate governments rethinking how they design their content and services. Content has to be addressable in a very granular form so that intermediaries can pick the appropriate content and application they need to fulfill their service task. Privacy of citizen content and information has to be defined at a granular level for the same reason. Similarly, security considerations may dictate the design of the content and transportability of content to intermediaries as well as citizens in their online environment.Embedded AuthorityGovernment will have to find ways to embed authority in its web-based services. A survey of government initiatives and pilots in the Web 2.0 environment shows that they mainly span communication- and interaction-focused uses to date. Many citizens have been exposed to the Web 2.0 environment in an entertainment and/or social context. There is a level of informality in such uses that is likely to be associated with the more formal uses that governments may plan. Thus, imparting the appropriate level of authority to government initiatives is critically important to gain citizen trust in such uses.Equal AccessSome citizens are concerned about equal access. The focus group studies indicated that many of the non-users of Web 2.0 technologies were concerned that they might be disenfranchised if similar opportunities were not provided in other more conventional channels. Equally important is the issue of access for those who do not have online access. Thus, there is a danger of some citizens becoming “second-class” citizens based on their abilities and access.TrustCitizens trust the government with personal data but not for service efficiency. Studies revealed that citizens trusted government more than businesses with regard to their personal data and privacy. However, in terms of service efficiency, citizens tended to trust the private sector to do a better job. Given the specific nature of trust, governments can leverage reputed third-party service providers by teaming up with them to provide “mashable” services to citizens. It is imperative that government have appropriate control over private information in such joint ventures to realize the overall benefits.MetricsGovernment will need to measure the effectiveness of its Web 2.0 initiatives. Surveys of current measurement techniques in the Web 2.0 environment in the private sector show that they are focused on two dimensions: • Measurement of the levels of engagement • Measurement of the effectiveness of the application Both dimensions are necessary to calibrate the impact of the initiatives and justify a business case for their use. While measures of levels of engagement are useful for initial evaluation of government initiatives, the ultimate focus should always be on measuring the value generated for citizens.Do ItJust do it. _72cb2898-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2a1Government AgenciesGovernment agencies should embark on pilot projects to understand and experiment with social computing in the Web 2.0 environment. Communication-focused uses are good starting points, ones that will allow agencies to ramp up slowly based on the experience gained. By the same token, internally focused uses are lowhanging fruit. Regardless of the focus, social computing engagements can be time- and effortintensive. Agencies should not embark on these pilots if resources are very limited._72cb29a6-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2aIssues InventoryDevelop a government-wide inventory of common Web 2.0 issues._72cb2abe-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2a2Solution ArchitectsAn inventory of common Web 2.0-related policy issues should be developed, and agencies need to address these issues collectively rather than having each agency individually develop their own solutions. These issues will likely be related to communications focused and interaction-focused uses. This inventory could be done from either inside government— for example, in the Office of Management and Budget’s Administrator for E-Government and Information Technology—or via an external honest broker such as the Collaboration Project, sponsored by the National Academy for Public Administration (www.collaborationproject.org). The issues could range from technology, legacy systems, cultural barriers, employee job description changes, and employee training to security, privacy, and measurement issues. This report has outlined these issues in the preceding sections._72cb2bd6-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2aStrategic RethinkingStrategically rethink how to deliver on your mission. _72cb2d0c-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2a3Agency ManagersProgram ManagersIndividual agencies or major programs should strategically develop service focused uses that may involve using Web 2.0 approaches to reconfigure their business models or services in order to more effectively deliver on their own core missions or outcomes that require collaboration with other agencies. This rethinking should be a part of their required agency-wide strategic planning process and not just within their technology offices. For example the U.S. Army’s recruiting service introduced an online interactive game, “Today’s Army,” as a recruiting device, which has become an effective way to recruit new soldiers (www.todaysmilitary.com). Such a specific effort could be preceded by focused market research to appropriately design any such use for the citizen segment and identify the Web 2.0 environment where citizens could be targeted._72cb2e42-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2aInformation and Service ComponentsReconfigure your Internet information and services to be more component based._72cb2faa-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2a4Website ManagersAs agencies redesign their websites, they need to focus on making their services and information more granular, or component-based, and give users the ability to use government information in “mashups” with other information sources. For example, the National Weather Service allows its weather information to be reconfigured and used by commercial entities (www.nws.noaa.gov). Along with the trend in service-oriented architecture (SOA) and need for reusable service modules in the context of intermediaries extending the reach of government, government agencies need to develop policies to support the handling of such information and service modules. Given the increased role of reputed intermediaries in the Web 2.0 environment, government agencies might well consider leveraging intermediaries for Web 2.0 initiatives._72cb30fe-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2aAuthenticityEnsure authenticity of government information and services. _72cb325c-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2a5NISTAgencies need to develop strategies and policies whereby they (or their customers) can ensure the authenticity of government- generated information and services. This is important as government begins to “meet” citizens where they are online and as intermediaries begin to “mash up” government data and services. Users need to be assured that government-provided information is clearly labeled so they can better judge the authenticity of the information or service they are accessing. Developing such an approach may be a government-wide initiative, possibly led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology._72cb33c4-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2aLearningLearn and keep an open mind._72cb3536-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2a6Government Agency ExecutivesIt is important for government agency executives to recognize that social computing is evolving even as the Web 2.0 platform morphs into Web 3.0 and beyond; it is in a perpetual beta state. This calls for executives to have a learning attitude toward the initiatives they launch in the social computing environment. Government agencies should start measuring the levels of engagement of Web 2.0 uses from day one and measure the effectiveness of uses through direct feedback from citizens on a regular basis. Measures should focus on usefulness, satisfaction, and trust. Refinements should be implemented based on these measures. As the environment evolves, these initiatives will have to change with it. In conclusion, it is fair to say that the time is now for government agencies to start the above learning process. The Web 2.0 environment and its newer, evolving forms are providing opportunities for government agencies to have flexible, collaborative, low-cost operations; provide citizens more personalized service through multiple channels; and make government agencies more transparent and accountable to their citizens. It also has the immense potential to render democratic governments truly participatory. Such initiatives also have the power to attract younger, talented workers to government agencies. It is time for government agencies to rise to the challenge and avail themselves of the opportunities in the Web 2.0 environment._72cb36b2-2d89-11df-af31-14177a64ea2a2010-03-11http://www.businessofgovernment.org/pdfs/ChangReport2.pdfOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net