Is Web 2.0 the
next big thing for government?
This was the question posed by Paul Macmillan, national public sector industry lead for Deloitte and Touche LLP, at a Web 2.0-themed technology forum held in Toronto yesterday, hosted by the Office of the Corporate Chief Technology Officer of Ontario.
"There is a clear business value in Web 2.0," said Macmillan, who added that partnership and networks are the
sources of innovation in the private sector.
For
government to move forward with Web 2.0, however, MacMillan said the public sector needs to establish its core role in the context of Web 2.0 technologies.
He stressed the government needs to veer away from the industrial age concepts of organization and design, and move into the information age. "This is especially critical for the next generation of professionals who will drive the transformation of the information age organization," he said.
Macmillan cited the Web site, earth911.org as an example of a site that demonstrates the promise of Web 2.0.B It's a site that links federal agencies, local governments and community groups into one source.
The builders of the Earth911 site believe that what citizens are interested in is access to information they can rely on, and aren't necessarily concerned with whoever is providing the information, according to Macmillan.
Another forum participant, Mark Relph, director of Microsoft Canada's developer and platform group, said the term Web 2.0 is "massively abused, ill-defined and misleading."
When it comes to the public sector, Relph said, "We shouldn't think in Web 2.0 terms, but in service transformation terms."
He said there are three major trends within the realm of service transformation: service delivery through software-as-a-service model, composition, which involves how the application is built, and service experiences, which is an area where "the Web 2.0 term is valid," said Relph.
He said these three trends lead to an overall transformation in the services industry and have massive implications for internal applications and infrastructure.
He stressed the importance of thinking about the user experience, and to be mindful of the generation that will want to use these services in the future. "The current generation prefers social networking and instant messaging to traditional e-mail and browser-based systems."
Sun Microsystems calls Web 2.0 "The Participation Age," said Frances Newbigin, vice-president of software practices for Sun Microsystems Canada.
She said participation presents new challenges, specifically trust, which involves a secure environment, and speed as it relates to rapid and flexible standards-based developments.
Ultimately, Government 2.0 is about changing the business model and enabling technology to fit within that model, to become more flexible, transparent, networked, and collaborative, Macmillan said.
"Web 2.0 tools have a role to play with how government collaborates with stakeholders and citizens," he said.
The value of Web 2.0 for government as outlined by Macmillan includes: citizen-driven innovation, open source thinking, aggregating and providing information, transparency (outcome reporting), and network facilitation.
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