WRITTEN ON November 14th, 2007 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Uncategorized

I’ve been enjoying the thoughtful voice of Public Strategy , which offers interesting reflections on information, management. Whitehall can be so full of received wisdom that it’s refreshing to bump into the articulate original thinkers, interested in what’s going on outside Whitehall and questioning what goes on within.

Menawhile Cisco has set up a “connected republic” web site. This sounds a radical concept for the UK (the “republic” bit, I mean. Not “connected”, which is familiar here for years). Cisco people “get it” and were very encouraging about IdealGov from day zero, and have taken part to good effect. I feel ambivalent about them feeling the need to set up a different conversation covering the same ground, because I really value the interdisciplinary aspect of IdealGov. If the excellent Cisco correspondents stop taking part here, that’ll be our loss. Maybe I’m just being NIH. Anyway, take a look and do say what you think.

Looking on the bright side, I suppose we’d rather have government supplied by thinking firms who engage in this way. And we needn’t feel their party will detract from our party; we can always cross-post back here if there’s anything particularly interesting.

Microsoft also has a central and regional goverment blog. Unlike the excellent Jerry Fishenden or Kim Cameron Microsoft blogs, this is a dull corporate marketing space about Vista-Schmista or courses where you can find out about Microsoft licencing (doesn’t the very thought make you want to share the love of Feisty Fawn and Thunderbird? Whoever thought of going on a course about the GPL?)

BTW, that lame Civica blog (qv earlier rants) seems to have petered out in March 2007 (when the PR budget ran out I guess). Who are Civica? Beyond a tetchy exchange with their award-winning but dim-witted PR agency I never actually found out.

The whole question of how tech companies participate in and affect the conversation about government computerisation intrigues me. The theory goes that big decisions are made by board-level business people, not technologists, therefore tech companies should play above their league and address the Board.

Their comms seem to be of three sorts. There’s overt sales/marketing speak which is beyond parody. There’s “we’re not a tech company” speak which, to me, is phoney. I mean, people working for tech companies are Real People, but their unique distinction is that they work for tech companies. I have to say I quite like it when technology companies say “Hey, we’re a technology company. We’ve invented something mind-blowing. Check it out. Tell us what you’re up to, and let’s talk about the implications…Wow!”

Tony Blair wanted free software for education, but Microsoft wanted to tell him how to run the NHS. Somehow we ended up with Connecting for Health. Intellect machinated about what the country needed, and somehow we ended up with the ID System.

For me the essential issues fall between two stools. Who tells CIOs and the IT community what they need to know about customer service, co-creation and human rights? Accenture? Liberty? It’s not happening. Many of our CIOs are at best pretty Web 1.0 and at worst (in the words last week of a Whitehall big-hitter) just overpaid project managers with poor track records.

Meanwhile, who is communicating effectively at Board level about the impact and potential of contempory technology? Some clunky old management consultancy whose people are too busy defending the old discredited business model to be worth their £3-5k day rate? I don’t think so. When smart firms like Headshift or ThinkPublic orNGOs like FIPR or Open Rights Group offer their expertise does government listen? Noooo, no, no, cf today the MoJ’s lame, pig-headed and boneheaded response to the Electoral Commission on e-voting.

If you enjoy white papers on this stuff, the best effort to date is probably the Tom Steinberg/Ed Mayo stuff. If you want a sensational Ideal Government experience there’s nothing to touch ThePublicOffice.

Meanwhile, let a thousand blogs bloom. Let us interconnect, speak truth unto power, and try to discern what really matters. And let’s see what happens!