[P2P-F] Participatory Government

[Steve Ediger]

Hello,

I've been appointed to serve on my county's Strategic Planning Committee
for Public Infrastructure via my connection to the Civic Tech.  I would
like some feedback on points that I'm (and my civic tech community) making.

We started off by asking the county to implement a public, fiber optic,
Internet backbone with a gateway to the Internet.

That lead to discussions about the public infrastructure, (transportation,
land/buildings, health services, economic development, information
technology, etc.)  In these conversations, I stressed that we need to
redefine government.  Great opening, huh?

I would appreciate your experience and feedback on how the following points
will play, and how to make them play better:

   1. Yes, we need full transparency. Reporting out must be full and
   curated for any specific audience from casual browser to full participant.
   2. Plus, we need feedback mechanisms that actually work.  This means
   collecting feedback at every stage from idea through to evaluation and
   having that feedback inform decisions at every stage and level.
   3. In addition, we need multi-lateral conversations government/citizens
   (I use that word advisedly)/business.  This means that in addition to
   reporting, informing decisions based on feedback, the governement needs to
   facilitate communications about government issues that take place between
   citizens and businesses.
   4. The whole process looks more like a conversation about ideas and
   their implementation than a set of regulations and services.
   5. I've also pushed for and received general agreement that we need to
   accommodate people who don't have access to technology, by creating clear
   multi-lateral communications at government buildings and throughout all
   agencies.

So what are your thoughts?  Is this a good tactic for bringing this to the
county's attention in a manner that might result in some forward movement?

Steve Ediger
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