The method of selecting representatives for presenting the view of a constituency was deployed at the time when internet and mobile technologies were not available and there was no method of making a collective decision on policies to government the society.

In today’s times , most of the population have mobile phones that can be used by the citizens to communicate their opinion on important policy issues. Should not we therefore relook at the ways of people representation and amend the democratic processes accordingly?

m-GovWorld is an Indian initiative to create an observatory for mobile government developments and developing a community of stakeholders with the aim to enable acceleration of adoption of mobile technologies by government agencies.

The comments from readers are welcome to suggest innovative ways of making democracy more vibrant using mobile technologies where citizens can be continuously involved in policy decisions rather than voting once in five years.

(via MobileActive.org)

In their most recent book, Don Tapscott and David Ticoll introduce us to the “age of transparency” [book site | blog | amazon page]. They argue that corporations and governments face unrelenting pressures for greater openness that will only increase - and that the costs of resistance far outweigh those of more proactive forms of disclosure. Of course, for many organizations this latter path points to an adaptive challenge of immense proportions.

There are also indications that governments are not only unprepared to adapt, but intent on resisting more openness. Such a claim may at first glance appear out of step with reality; during the first week of July alone, the [US] federal government’s main portal provided more than 200 What’s New announcements. Agencies now routinely publish annual reports detailing their activities and performance, and e-government continues to facilitate online access to more sources of information and programs.

Yet all these examples are elements of a government’s communication apparatus, controlled by central agencies and filtered by political operatives to ensure as much good news as possible. While there is nothing inherently wrong with those in power wanting to be seen to be using it wisely (with an eye to retaining it), troubles mount when other sources of information - multiplying through a ubiquitous media and communications infrastructure - take issue with the government’s message.

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From climate change to social care, innovation will be critical to meeting the public service challenges of the future. But traditional approaches to generating new ideas will not be enough. Rather than focusing on processes and pipelines, policymakers and service deliverers needs to harness the potential of citizens to be innovators in their own right.

Unlocking Innovation: Why citizens hold the key to public service reform is a publication by the UK think tank Demos that collects essays and analysis from a wide range of public sector experts and practitioners. The pamphlet’s chapters offer lessons on how public services can better engage their users based on examples of best practice in the public and private sectors.

It argues that the public sector must embrace new forms of ‘user-driven innovation’ that use the needs and potential of service users as the spur to radical service redesign.

The publication also presents a series of case studies that showcase citizen-focused innovation in action, including:

• ‘In Control’, a social enterprise that provides social care users with easy and flexible access to individual budgets, making it simple for them to choose their own package of services.
• Hammersmith and Fulham council using detailed survey data to redesign their customer contact centre to better serve local people.
• Public private partnerships for tenant management organisations using deep dialogue with local residents to improve levels of service in social housing.
• ‘Innovative ecosystems’ that have allowed educationalists, academics and artists to come together to build ‘mediascapes’ that allow pupils to enter a virtual world of sights and sounds in order to learn in an interactive and cooperative way.

Download report (pdf, 525 kb, 186 pages)