Open Government
Daniel Lathrop
Open Government
Free
Description
Contents
Reviews
Language
English
ISBN
978-0-596-80435-0
Cover
Copyright
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
How This Book Is Organized
Safari® Books Online
How to Contact Us
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. A Peace Corps for Programmers
Tipping Point: The Extinction of Pencils
Competition Is Critical to Any Ecosystem
Creating a Developer Corps
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 2. Government As a Platform
Government As a Platform
Lesson 1: Open Standards Spark Innovation and Growth
Lesson 2: Build a Simple System and Let It Evolve
Lesson 3: Design for Participation
A Robustness Principle for Government
Lesson 4: Learn from Your “Hackers”
Data Is the “Intel Inside”
Lesson 5: Data Mining Allows You to Harness Implicit Participation
Lesson 6: Lower the Barriers to Experimentation
Lesson 7: Lead by Example
Practical Steps for Government Agencies
About the Author
Chapter 3. By the People
About the Author
Chapter 4. The Single Point of Failure
The Closed Model of Decision Making
New Technologies and Civic Life
Participatory Democratic Theory in the Age of Networks
The Failure of Direct Democracy
The Timidity of Deliberative Democracy
Distinguishing Deliberative and Collaborative Democracy
The Argument for an Open and Collaborative Democracy
Challenges for Collaborative Democracy
About the Author
Chapter 5. Engineering Good Government
The Articles of Confederation and the Stovepipe Antipattern
The First Constitution
The Stovepipe Antipattern
Order from Chaos: The Standards Reference Model
The Constitution As a Standards Reference Model
Continued Maintenance: The Blob and Confederacy
The Blob
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 6. Enabling Innovation for Civic Engagement
Citizen Initiatives Lead the Way
Providing for Reuse and Innovation
Data Authenticity Down the Line
Why Bother with Bulk?
Conclusion
About the Authors
Chapter 7. Online Deliberation and Civic Intelligence
Definitions and Assertions
The Context of Deliberation
Democracy, Deliberation, and the Internet
Online Civic Deliberation
Support for Online Civic Deliberation
Findings and Issues
Role of the Chair
Distributed Meeting Attendees
Social Environment Requirements
E-Liberate’s Role
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 8. Open Government and Open Society
Transparency’s Moment?
The Dark Side of Open Government
The Missing Diagnosis
Targeted Transparency
A Matter of Politics
Conclusion
About the Authors
Chapter 9. “You Can Be the Eyes and Ears”: Barack Obama and the Wisdom of Crowds
Change.gov Shows How to Change the Gov
“You Can Be the Eyes and Ears”
Recovery.gov Site Still Under Construction
Online Town Hall or “Participation Theater”?
Open Data and Open Government
Co-creation, Co-optation, or Collision?
About the Author
Chapter 10. Two-Way Street: Government with the People
Pockets of Excellence: The Goverati
GovLoop and BRIDGE: Networks for Government Employees
Reversing the Obscurity of Public Servants
Harnessing Social Capital
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 11. Citizens’ View of Open Government
The First “We President”
The Internet Has Made Us Lazy
Toward a Findable Government
Advanced Citizenship
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 12. After the Collapse: Open Government and the Future of Civil Service
The Coasean Collapse
The Long Tail of Public Policy
Patch Culture
The End of Objectivity
Two Preconditions to Government As Platform: Capacity for Self-Organization and Collaboration
Extend the Network
The Next Civil Service Culture: The Gift Economy
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 13. Democracy, Under Everything
Many Voices, Many Messages, One Government
My Idea
Constitutional Guidance: Avoid Secrecy Via Access
Meeting Modern-Day Needs
Revealing Obscured Government Data
Improving Communication without Being Crushed by Email
How to Improve Civic Engagement
Short-Term Solutions for Citizens
Long-Term Solutions for the Government
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 14. Emergent Democracy
Democracy As a Scaling Mechanism
Informal Self-Government
Increasing Scale, Increasing Formalization
Limiting Factors and the Internet
Building an Emergent Democracy
Underlying Principles
The Themis Constitution
One Click Orgs and Virtual Corporations
The Road to Emergent Democracy
About the Author
Chapter 15. Case Study: Tweet Congress
Tweet Congress: Build an App, Start a Movement
The Idea
Building the App
Starting the Movement: We Are All Lobbyists Now
Inflection Point
So, Who Gets It?
Impact
The TC Effect
A Valuable Resource
Conclusion
About the Authors
Chapter 16. Entrepreneurial Insurgency: Republicans Connect With the American People
Entrepreneurial Insurgency and Congress
Congress Tweets, Too
I YouTube, You YouTube
Gathering Effective Tools
Social Media and the Fight for Transparency
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 17. Disrupting Washington’s Golden Rule
The Bad Old Days: When Insiders Ruled
This Is the Mashable Now
What Comes Next
About the Author
Chapter 18. Case Study: GovTrack.us
Opening Legislative Data
Screen Scraping Congress
Congressional Mashups
Changing Policy from the Outside
Engaging the GovTrack Community
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 19. Case Study: FollowTheMoney.org
Accessing Political Donor Data Fraught with Problems
The National Institute on Money in State Politics’ Role in the Fight for Greater Transparency
Bolstering the Spirit of Public Disclosure Laws
State-Level Transparency Faces Serious Challenges
In an Ideal World: Recommendations for Open Data
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 20. Case Study: MAPLight.org
Why We Founded MAPLight.org
MAPLight.org’s Unique Contribution
Nuts and Bolts: Using MAPLight.org
Votes
Timeline
Committees
How Each Legislator Voted
Other Tools
Barriers to Transparency
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 21. Going 2.0: Why OpenSecrets.org Opted for Full Frontal Data Sharing
The Decision to Let Go of the Data
It’s Not Easy Being Open
Creating a New Model for Transparency
The Future Is Now
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 22. All Your Data Are Belong to Us: Liberating Government Data
Liberating Government Data: Carl Malamud Versus the Man
Disclosing Government Data: Paper Versus the Internet
Accessing Government Data: Open Distribution Versus Jealous Control
Demanding Government Data: Public Money Versus Private Research
RECAP: Freeing PACER Documents for Public Use
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 23. Case Study: Many Eyes
Policy
From Policy to Politicians
Visual Literacy
Conclusion
About the Authors
Chapter 24. My Data Can’t Tell You That
The How and Why of Data Collection
Federal Data: Approximations Galore
Good Data Doesn’t Mean Good Results
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 25. When Is Transparency Useful?
Sharing Documents with the Public
Generating Databases for the Public
Interpreting Databases for the Public
An Alternative
About the Author
Chapter 26. Transparency Inside Out
Complexity Creates Opacity
Transparency, Meet Institutional Inertia
Kaleidoscope IT: One-Off Apps Obscure Information
A Market Focused on Proposals, Not Products
Framing the Window
Downsize or Eliminate Organizational IT Development Teams
User Analytics
IT Transparency
IT Products, Not Projects
Set the Tone at the Top
Bottom-Up Change Through Young Technologists
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 27. Bringing the Web 2.0 Revolution to Government
Government Transparency: Three Hurdles
Changing Policies
Deploying Twenty-First-Century Technology
Changing the Culture Within Government
Putting It All Together: Disclosure of Federal Spending
Policy Changes to Get Deeper Information on Recipients
Using Technology to Make Recovery Act Data Accessible, Understandable, and Usable
Changing the Culture to Emphasize Effectiveness, Performance, and Equity
Conclusion
About the Authors
Chapter 28. Toads on the Road to Open Government Data
What Is Government?
Data Collection
Exposing the Soul of Government
Privacy and Legal Restrictions
The Culture of Bureaucracies and Homeland Security
Ancient Media
Proprietary and Medieval Databases
Ethically Questionable Information (Privacy)
Ethically Questionable Information (Sharing)
Cost
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 29. Open Government: The Privacy Imperative
Privacy-Enhancing Practices
Data Minimization
Anonymous Access
Controlled Backups
Data Retention and Decommissioning
Minimal Disclosure
Data-Sharing Integrity: Data Tethering
Accountability
Transparent Transparency
Conclusion
About the Authors
Chapter 30. Freedom of Information Acts: Promises and Realities
The Act and Amendments
Open to All
Research and Prepare
Exemptions, Denials, and Delays
FOIA Strategies That Work
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 31. Gov→Media→People
Crowdsourcing in Action
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 32. Open Source Software for Open Government Agencies
Advantages of FLOSS for Government and Public Agencies
Independence from Suppliers
Fulfillment of Specific Requirements
Adoption of Open Standards
Public Scrutiny
Long-Term Availability
Impact in the Society at Large
Impact on Local Industry
Staff Empowerment
Best Practices: Management
Consider All the Factors, Both Technical and Contextual
Be Sure of Management’s Commitment to the Transition
Prepare a Clear View of What’s Expected, Including Measurable Benchmarks
Make Sure the Timetable Is Realistic
Review the Current Software/IT Procurement and Development Procedure
Seek Out Advice or Search for Information on Similar Transitions
Avoid “Big Switch” Transition, and Favor Incremental Migrations
Promote Collaboration and Pooling of Resources
Best Practices: Technical
Understand the Way FLOSS Is Developed
Survey the Agency’s Software, Hardware, and Required Functionality
Use the Flexibility of FLOSS to Create Local Adaptations
Much More Software Is Available Than What Is Installed by Default
Always Favor Stability over Functionality
Design the Workflow Support Infrastructure to Reduce “Impedance Mismatches”
Introduce a Trouble Ticket System
Compile and Update a Detailed Migration Workbook
Best Practices: Social
Provide Training and Communication About the FLOSS Model
Don’t Force the Change on Users; Provide Explanations Instead
Use the Migration As an Opportunity to Improve Users’ Skills
Make It Easy to Experiment and Learn
Establish Meeting Points and Repositories
Conclusion
References
About the Authors
Chapter 33. Why Open Digital Standards Matter in Government
Badly Used Technology Hinders Progress
The Digital Age Explained
Standards and the Problems with Digital Technology
Why Has Digital Gone Bad So Often?
The Huge Positive Potential of Digital Technologies
Free and Open Standards and Software: The Digital Basis of Open Government
Conclusion
About the Author
Chapter 34. Case Study: Utah.gov
A Historical Perspective
What Today’s Landscape Looks Like
Champions Discovered in All Branches of State Government
The Dramatic Shift to Web 2.0 Principles and Tools
External Users Dictated Technology Course
Web 2.0 Becomes Part of the Technical Architecture
Utah’s Multimedia Portal Leverages Web 2.0 Services
Making Data More Accessible
Concerns About Security and Productivity
Conclusion
About the Author
Appendix A. Memo from President Obama on Transparency and Open Government
About the Authors
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