Quantcast
Channel: Open Gov Underground » government
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 4

On Good Civics

0
0

IMG_5021

Senators and the Chief Information Officer look on as Governor Abercrombie signs HB 632.

This morning, Governor Abercrombie held a signing ceremony for three bills which lay down the foundation for digital government in the 21st century. These bills you might recognize from an earlier post on Hawai’i Open Government: the first, HB 632 relating to Open Data, then HB 635 on broadband development, and finally, SB 1001, which allows the CIO (Sonny Bhagowalia) to conduct audits and enact remedial actions for the state’s cyber security.

Abercrombie, once referred to as a “secretive governor” and criticized by the Sunlight Foundation, redeemed himself this past December when he embarked on a journey to digitize  and transform Hawai’i’s government with Federal Open Government veteran Sonny Bhagowalia by his side as CIO.

Though the transition won’t be smooth sailing, and will take effort from all who work with, in or around government, it’s a move towards transparency that is an important step in redefining American government in the 21st century. Increasing citizen engagement, transparency and collaborative governance are not the only benefits. Thirty plus year old technology and lack of access to data seriously undermines the ability for public officials to do their job to the best of their ability. “We don’t know how much money’s coming in or going out,” says Abercrombie, frightfully.

Perhaps we can recognize here a natural human tendency to not look, and assume problems just go away. (We and the mortgage brokers tell ourselves before falling asleep at night.)

Citizens (particularly journalists) have mastered that outraged tone when it comes to what they see as secretive governmental affairs (the NSA aside, there are a lot of hardworking, well meaning “grunts” who get the rough end of the stick). When a system is set up so that it is difficult and complicated to share information, what incentives do government officials have to communicate with the governed? Especially if the effort takes time away from what they were hired to do.

We know that communicating with stakeholders is the right thing to do. Just like we know we should get good exercise, and floss our teeth every day. Collaborative governance is a process that can be trying, and habits are hard to change. The technology is there to make this work, but it is the users (the human side of the computer) that needs attention. Making updates that the private sector has enjoyed for years, public servants are often defensive because they have been used to doing “x” for years, and doing “y” is new and challenging. However difficult, this cultural shift is a necessity as we attempt to address extremely “chicken and egg” problems like climate change mitigation, education reform, and homelessness.

Affirming that the changes are “beyond ‘hardware or software,'” Abercrombie explains, “these bills are about who we are, what we want to be, and where we’re going. It’s a change in the direction of our lives.”

Thus, Hawai’i has taken the first step in increasing accessibility to information in this data-driven world by signing these bills. But if we open public data online (and make it machine readable), as Abercrombie aptly pointed out, how can we avoid “consciously creating a divided class of citizen?” Referencing the digital divide between citizens who can use and have access to computers, “computer literacy” as Abercrombie mentioned, is key for communities in the 21st century. Digital governance requires a digital education.

There are no precedents for what we are attempting with Open Government, but immensely powerful technological tools aren’t to be ignored. Though isolated geographically, if we remain isolated intellectually not only will we be left behind in the dust, but the result will be a lower quality of life for future generations in Hawai’i. The challenge is present globally, what will our actions be locally?

Undertaking a cultural change of immense proportions, the adventure is just beginning!

IMG_5028

Advancing boldly into the 21st century with Jared Kuroiwa, Burt Lum, Ryan Ozawa, Neil Abercrombie, Jon Fritzler, and, of course, the OGU.

A big mahalo to Burt Lum, Ryan Ozawa, and Jared Kuroiwa of Hawai’i Open Data for championing this bill, as well as all the citizens who participate in the Hackathons, Civic Meets, Hon-Celerator and the annual Geek Meet and Unconferenz event. That’s some “good civics” (as Senetor Wakai recognized).



Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 4

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images