Update Liveblogging GovCamp NSW (focus on innovation)

I'm in Sydney at GovCamp NSW today, where the program is focusing on developing an innovation program for the state.Update Liveblogging GovCamp NSW (focus on innovation)

There's about 30 people in attendance and the event is being hosted by John Wells and Allison Hornery with support from Martin Stewart-Weeks.

The event is partially open, partially under Chatham House rules, so I'll be selective about posting and quoting.

I will include the hashtag (#GovCampNSW) in the liveblog, so various perspectives are captured.

2013 update Automating online activities without IT intervention - using web tools to make jobs easier

There's often lots of small - and not so small - activities that communications teams want to carry out online that would make their jobs easier, but aren't really tasks to give to IT teams.

For example, you may wish to update your agency's Facebook and Twitter profile pictures when your logo changes, automatically post your blog posts to LinkedIn and Facebook, be sent an email whenever someone tweets at you or receive an alert whenever your Minister is mentioned in a breaking news story.

This is where it is useful to get familiar with services like IFTTT and Yahoo Pipes.

IFTTT, or "IF This Then That" is a simple logic engine that allow you to string together a trigger  and an action to create a 'recipe' using the format IF [trigger] then [action].

For example, below is a recipe used to automatically tweet new posts on this blog:

A recipe in IFTTT

This sounds very simple, but it can be a very powerful labour saving tool. Each trigger and action can be from different online services, or even physical devices.

A recipe in IFTTT (click to enlarge)

Recipes can be more complex, with various parameters and settings you can configure (for example the recipe above has been configured to append #gov2au to the tweets).

For example, at right is the full page for a recipe that archives your Tweets to a text file in your Dropbox.

Besides connecting the trigger (a new tweet from you) with the action (posting your tweet in Dropbox),  you can choose whether to include retweets and @replies.

You can set the file name where your tweets will be stored and the file path in Dropbox, plus you can set the content that is saved and how it will be formated.

In this case the recipe is set to keep the text of the tweet (the 'Text' in a blue box), followed on a new line by the date it was tweeted ('CreatedAt') and then, on another new line, a permanent link to the tweet ('LinkToTweet'), followed by a line break to separate it from following tweets.

You can add additional 'ingredients' such as Tweet name and User Name - essentially whatever information that Twitter shares for each tweet.

Rather than having to invent and test your own recipes, IFTTT allows people to share their recipes with others, meaning you can often find a useful recipe, rather than having to create one from scratch.

In fact I didn't create either of the recipes I've illustrated, they were already listed.

There's currently over 36,000 recipes to choose from, for the 47 services supported - from calendars, to RSS feeds, to email, to social networks, to blogs and video services, from SMS to physical devices.

All the online services that can be 'triggers' for IFTTT

It is even possible to string together recipes in sequence.

For example, if I wanted to update my profile image in Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and LinkedIn, I can set up a series of recipes such as,

• If [My Facebook profile picture updates] Then [Update my Twitter profile picture to match]
• If [My Twitter profile picture updates] Then [Update my Blogger profile picture to match]
• If [My Blogger profile picture updates] Then [Update my LinkedIn profile picture to match]
• If [My LinkedIn profile picture updates] Then [Update my Facebook profile picture to match]

Using these four recipes, whenever I update one profile picture, they will all update.

Also it's easy to turn recipes on and off - meaning that you can stop them working when necessary (such as if you want to use different profile pictures).

However there's limits to an IF THEN system, which is where a tool like Yahoo Pipes gets interesting.

Yahoo Pipes is a service used to take inputs, such as an RSS or data feed, webpage, spreadsheet or data from a database, manipulate, filter and combine them with other data and then provide an output with no programming knowledge.

This sounds a bit vague, so here's a basic example - say you wanted to aggregate all news related to Victoria released by Australian Government agencies in media releases.

To do this in Yahoo Pipes you'd fetch RSS feeds from the agencies you were interested in, 'sploosh' them together as a single file, filter out any releases that don't mention 'Victoria', then output what is left as an RSS feed.

Building a Yahoo Pipe (click to enlarge)

But that's getting ahead of ourselves a little... To the right is an image depicting how I did this with Yahoo Pipes.

Here's how it works...

First you'll need to go to pipes.yahoo.com and log in with a Yahoo account.

First I created a set of tools to fetch RSS from Australian Government agencies. These are the top five blue boxes. To create each I simply dragged the Fetch feed from the 'sources' section of the left-hand menu onto the main part of the screen and then pasted in each RSS feed URL into the text fields provided (drawing from the RSS list in Australia.gov.au).

Next, to combine these feeds, I used one of the 'operator' function from the left menu named Union. What this does is it allows you to combine separate functions into a single output file. To combine the Fetch feed RSS feeds all I needed to do was click on the bottom circle under each (their output circle) and drag the blue line to a top circle on the Union box (the input circle).

Then I created a Filter, also an 'operator' function and defined the three conditions I wanted to include in my final output - news items with 'Victoria', 'Victorian' or 'Melbourne'. All others get filtered out.  I linked the Filter's input circle to the Union's output circle, then linked the output from the Filter to the Pipe Output.

Then I tested the system worked by clicking on the blue header for each box and viewing their output in the Debugger window at bottom.

When satisfied it worked (and I did have to remove the filter condition 'Vic' as it picked up parts of words such as "service"), I saved my pipe using the top right save button, giving it the name 'Victoria RSS', then ran the pipe and published it at http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=0392f5ec8f7450abbf650056c22f1e5d.

You can also see the output RSS feed at: http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.run?_id=0392f5ec8f7450abbf650056c22f1e5d&_render=rss

Note that pipes don't have to be published, you can keep them private. You can also publish their outputs as RSS feeds or as a web service (using JSON) for input into a different system. You can even get the results as a web badge for your site, by email, phone or as PHP for websites.

An IFTTT recipe built from the Yahoo Pipe above
(click to enlarge)

Alternatively you can even combine them with IFTTT - for example creating a recipe that sends you an email every time an Australian Government agency mentions Victoria in an media release.

In fact I created this recipe (in about 30 seconds) to demonstrate how easy it was. You can see it to the right, or go and access it at IFTTT at the recipe link: http://ifttt.com/recipes/43242

So that's how easy it now is to automate actions, or activities, online - with no IT skills, in a short time.

There's lots of simple, and complex, tasks that can be automated easily and quickly with a little creativity and imagination.

You can also go back and modify or turn your recipes and pipes on and off when needed, you can share them with others in your team or across agencies quickly and easily.

Have you a task you'd like to automate? 

• Finding mentions of your Department on Twitter or Facebok
• Tracking mentions of your program in the media releases of other agencies
• Archiving all your Tweets and Facebook statuses
• Receiving an SMS alert when the weather forecast is for rain (so you take your umbrella)
• Posting your Facebook updates, Blog posts and media releases automatically on Twitter spread throughout the day (using Buffer)

The sky's the limit!

Adapting to being adaptable 2013 Popular

We're starting to see government agencies come to terms with modern digital technologies, with more and more people in agency seeking to use them in their activities.

Agencies are beginning to operationalise social media and, while still working through the process, open licenses and data as well.

Some in digital related-roles in government are starting to feel their hard slog is nearly over, that they've won over management and can begin to focus on planning and doing rather than justifying, defending and educating.

Managers are beginning to resolve governance and risk questions and observe more acceptance of the use of digital channels by Ministers and their peers, making them feel more secure.

However there's a broader change taking place that public services and governments should not ignore.

Embedding Gov 2.0 thinking and technologies into an agency isn't simply a modification in how government engages, a reprioritisation of channels or an evolution of existing processes and procedures.

This change isn't like implementing a new structure or system - or introducing a new tool for staff, such as a fax machine or computer.

Governments and agencies don't just have to adapt to the internet and Gov 2.0.

They need to adapt to be more adaptable.


The web is only twenty years old, Web 2.0 and Gov 2.0 less than ten. In both cases we've seen an enormous flowering of ideas, rapid innovation and experimentation - with hundred-year-old industries already under threat.

This is but the opening gasp of what looks to be a continually changing and evolving digital landscape, a landscape which has already begun reshaped our physical world and calling into question many beliefs and traditions around how people behave, how organisations should operate and how governments should govern.

Public servants and politicians not only need to learn how to embed social media into their workplaces and activities, but how to design, manage and operate organisations and governments in fast changing environments and communities.

The change is as profound as moving entire nations from solid land and placing them on the sea, where unpredictable currents and storms continually challenge how structures are build and people organised.

We're entering an era where virtual states may be more relevant to people than physical ones, where the expertise government needs resides not only within their own staff, but outside the walls of their organisation, where programs succeed or fail based on whether communities wish them to - where governments are no longer the controller of states, but the servants of communities.

This era has only just begun, with self-organising groups only beginning to flex their muscles - often in uncoordinated baby-like ways. However as time passed and people learn how to better organise and design better platforms for doing so, we are likely to see radically different organisations appear and challenge incumbents for dominance at both micro and macro levels.

For governments to remain relevant they will need to learn to be adaptable, not simply to adapt to each new development, otherwise they will share the experience of the French in the opening days of World War II - with their plans, experience and processes for holding off Germany at the Maginot line were defeated by Germany going around the wall, failing to play by the rules of earlier engagements.

Governments seeking to control their citizens, or to set boundaries even for their staff, are already finding that many are going around the walls of process, governance and technology they have erected to define the boundaries of acceptable conduct or behaviour.

People are building, organising, sharing in spaces that agencies don't even recognise, let alone understand or engage in. Governance is lagging further and further behind practice and people are not waiting to let decision-makers catch up.

So how do governments learn to be adaptable, to be agile, to be inclusive, flexible and inclusive without giving up too much ground on areas such as privacy, security and governance?

This is an evolving body of work. However there are principles and similarity that adaptable organisations often share:

• Hire adaptable and resilient people
• Trust and empower your staff
• Foster community and collaboration
• Provide guidance rather than rules
• Respect and reward innovation and achievement
• Be transparent. Develop everything - policies, programs, systems, research, documents - to be accessible and shareable
• Never stop listening and learning

Organisations - even governments - who fail to adapt to being adaptable will keep falling further behind. At some point they may become irrelevant, unnecessary, or be forced to change from outside influences.

So while considering how you may use social media or Gov 2.0 tools and techniques today in an activity, think about the bigger picture. Are you and your organisation learning how to become more adaptable?

2013 Scaling Edges - how does it apply to government innovation?

Deloitte recently released a paper entitled ‘Scaling Edges – A pragmatic pathway to board internal change’, which provided strategies on how organisations in the private sector could best achieve innovation at the institutional level.

2013 Big Discount Altec Lansing FX4

The paper promotes the following approach:

• Focus on the edges rather than the core functioning of an organisation
• Identify projects which align with external forces to achieve significant and sustainable change  
• Leverage external resources rather than internal support
• Circumvent organisational scrutiny and resistance that change initiatives commonly face 

A representative from the Victorian Department of Justice is on a three month VPS Innovation Transfer working with Deloittes' Centre for the Edge and is exploring how principles identified in Scaling Edges might apply in a government context.

As part of the research, there's a survey available for public servants to complete to give their views regarding the context.

If you'd like to complete the survey go to: https://www.deloittedtermine.com/SPSSMR/ImageCache/ImageCache.aspx?project=DELAUSCLEDG04L&file=default.htm

For context, the paper can be found here: Scaling Edges

Or watch the three minute summary video below:

Mapping open data site generations

Over the last three years we've seen an increasing level of sophistication and capabilities in successive generations of open data sites.

To aid governments in their open data journey, I've mapped five generations for the progressive development of open data sites, detailed in the document below.

Please feel free to reuse the information within the bounds of the embedded Creative Commons license.

My next task is to release a view of open data sites around the world mapped against these generations to provide a view as to who is leading and who is lagging in the open data stakes.

GovHack attracts 42 teams with projects

There's been a massive response to GovHack, with 42 teams registered to compete and their projects already well underway (note there are 45 groups listed which included a few which are not competing).

If you want to follow the event online, check out the GovHack website, or follow the action on Twitter using the #Govhack hashtag.

Below are a few photos I took this afternoon at the Canberra venue, Inspire at the University of Canberra.

Part of the main GovHack room in Canberra's Inspire centre

Part of the main GovHack room in Canberra's Inspire centre

The second room in the Inspire centre

A custom GovHack t-shirt, made for the day 

The back of the custom t-shirt.

Participate in Melbourne Knowledge Week 2012

The City of Melbourne was recognised in 2012 as ‘Most Admired Knowledge City’ in an award from the World Capital Institute and Teleos, an independent management research firm.

The city is building on this with the annual Melbourne Knowledge Week, designed to engage both the knowledge community and the wider public in a range of events and opportunities that help promote Melbourne's identity as global knowledge city.

I reckon there has to be a place for Gov 2.0 in this mix and wanted to flag to all my Victorian readers that an expression of interest is now open to businesses, organisations, educational institutions, networking groups, community groups and individuals who wish to showcase knowledge-related projects, thinkers and capabilities as part of this year's event.

Melbourne Knowledge Week runs from 26 November to 1 December. More details on the event, and the expression of interest, are at http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/enterprisemelbourne/events/KnowledgeWeek/Pages/KnowledgeWeek.aspx

Share in over $30,000 worth of prizes by participating in GovHack 2012

With a strong focus on government data, GovHack is inviting teams of programmers and designers to invent new and better ways of delivering government data to Australians and will be rewarding the best apps, data mash-ups, and data visualisations with a share of $30,000 in prize money.

The event, being held in Canberra and Sydney from 1st - 3rd June, will challenge teams to answer the question and develop solutions for 'how can government data be better used to benefit Australians?'

The organisers have secured over thirty thousand dollars in prize money through sponsorships, although Pia Waugh, the chief organiser is tight-lipped about the prize categories, "We want people to come with fresh ideas and concepts and to build them at GovHack using publicly released data from government agencies. To keep the playing field level, we won’t tell anyone the prize categories until the event."

In previous years GovHack winners have found ways to compare government lobbying with the results of successful tenders, and designed mobile apps to help people find the nearest public toilet.

"This is a unique opportunity to be a part of generating ideas for how government can better use and re-use the wealth of information hidden away in its databases. By being a part of this event the participants get to, in a small way, directly influence how government data managers will look at and manage their data stores" Pia said.

GovHack is being supported by organisations including Adobe, MailChimp, Palantir and some of the biggest data holders in the Australian Government are providing prize money and data, including the National Archives of Australia, the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO), and the Bureau of Meteorology.

GovHack is an official part of 2012 APS Innovation week, with the support of the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.

You can now register to participate, review the competition rules, or see an outline of the data to be made available on the GovHack site (http://www.govhack.org).

Prize categories will be announced at the event's opening on Friday 1st June.

Patient Opinion launches in Australia

One of the UK's social media success stories, Patient Opinion, has now launched an Australian website at www.patientopinion.org.au.

Patient Opinion, which has been live since 2005, allows patients to rate and comment on their experience with health providers. It has been an amazing (if sometimes painful) success in the UK, leading to a number of care improvements across the health system and at individual providers.

Having worked in the area in government in Australia, I recognise the sensitivities that get raised around the idea of rating health providers, or allowing public comment on individual experiences, particularly from hospitals and health professionals.

However decisions are made every day by people based on their views and experiences - which product to buy or shop to visit. They are even made about health services in private conversations that health providers can neither see or address.

Patient Opinion makes patient views and experiences visible in a central and public way, allowing health providers with the ability to access and review - even respond - to comments. The site also provides a level of governance and safety through monitoring stories and comments to ensure they are not defamatory.

The approach allows health providers to view and address operational concerns and provides valuable insights for policy makers into the Australian health system which, after all, is supposed to maximise the outcomes for patients.

While fears of negativity are common amongst organisations and individuals when social media channels open, the Patient Opinion experience in the UK has been that there is a high level of positive feedback provided - people do have faith in many health providers.

A brief video about the site is below, and you can learn more about Patient Opinion in Australia at www.patientopinion.org.au/info/about

Intranet Innovation Awards 2012 open for entries

Step Two's annual global Intranet Innovation Awards for 2012 are now open for entry until 31 May 2012.

If you've done something extraordinary with your intranet this is a great way to get your organisation recognised for this work and share your idea with others across the intranet space.

The awards aren't just for entire intranets - you can simply enter a particular feature or tool - and you don't need to be a big organisation to necessarily win, many smaller organisations have done well where they've been agile and innovative.

For more information and to enter, visit http://www.steptwo.com.au/columntwo/the-2012-intranet-innovation-awards-are-now-open-for-entries/

Launch of the ACT chapter of the Change Management Institute

Every innovation and productivity improvement, machinery of government change and Gov 2.0 initiative embedded in the business-as-usual operations of an agency is a change, therefore I am pleased that Tim Little, after years running a successful Change Management Group in the ACT, has been able to take the major step of founding the ACT Chapter of the Change Management Institute.

I believe that change management, using a structured, considered and tested process for introducing and bedding down change, is a vital component in all organisational change - and this doesn't simply mean a media release or communications strategy.

The launch event for the new ACT chapter is coming up on 26 April at 5:30pm for a 6:00pm start.

It will be held at Airservices Australia in the Kingsford Smith Room at 26 Constitution Avenue Canberra and is being sponsored by SMS Management and Technology and Airservices Australia.

Speakers at the event will include Caroline Perkins, CMI President and developer of the Organisational Change Management Maturity Model, and will speak about this latest research and development.

Local CMI-accredited OCM practitioner and ACT CMI committee member, Rohan Lane will also provide an informal report on ‘the state of the Territory’ talking about his experience of Organisational Change Management in the ACT.

Some of the benefits of joining the Chapter include:

• Networking with other change practitioners
• Access to latest research, trends, tools and information
• Speakers presenting on a variety of change management topics
• Sharing, connecting and collaborating with others
• Expanding your contacts within the industry
• Professional development through workshops, mentoring and masterminds
• Building your credibility within the industry through being part of a professional body.

So come along and be part of the ACT Chapter. If you are not a member of the Change Management Institute yet you can join by credit card at the event or online at www.change-management-institute.com

Popular 2013 Emergency management with Gov 2.0

The internet has proven itself time and time again to be one of the fastest platforms of disseminating information during emergencies.

The latest example has been in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

One of the largest spills off the US coast in history (though far from being the largest in the world), the spill is now threatening the marine life and economic survival of sea-based industries in four US states.

To inform people about the unfolding emergency and share news as it happens, a group of companies involved with the spill and US government agencies has been operating a website and social media presence.

According to the article Oil Spill Social Media in Read Write Web, the group includes British Petroleum, who own the oil; Transocean, who own the rig; the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The social media presence includes a Facebook page for conversations, Twitter for announcements, Flickr for images and YouTube for videos - all linked off the main site, Deep Water Horizon Response.

This type of presence can be put together very quickly when an emergency occurs. There is no cost to any of the social media tools, and they can be in place within minutes.

The approach works very well at informing the public in a more reliable and factual way than, sometimes, traditional media allows.

Provided organisations are attuned and prepared to provide information rapidly, without onerous approval processes, second guessing or political concerns, social media can be a very powerful emergency management tool in the public sector's arsenal.