The Call for Open Government

by Janelle Noble

Open Government is everywhere. Governments at all levels, municipal, city, and federal agencies are taking dramatic steps to open the traditionally closed processes and reform their IT structures to go open source and embrace cloud computing. What is the end goal? Well, there are several. At the highest level one could say it is to use the latest technology and social web tools to provide better services to constituents while opening up channels for communication between government, its employees, and citizens to gather feedback and new ideas on pressing issues such as the budget, safety, and transportation.

In September of 2009, Tim O'Reilly (who coined the term Web 2.0 in 2004) wrote an opinion piece outlining his vision for Government, or Gov. 2.0 and stated it was more about transforming government into a technological platform. In it he references sites like Whitehouse.gov and data.gov, highlighting the difference between governments providing a purely static informational web site or a site that is a kind of 'collaboration platform' and offers web-based services that provide more value to the user.

Open Government has been championed not only by President Obama in his Directive, but also on a city level, with Mayor Newsom's Open Gov Initiative for the City and County of San Francisco which focuses on open data, open participation and open source. With the recently launched ImproveSF.org, the city is furthering its commitment to recognize and tap the valuable ideas from city employees on the city's most pressing issues, starting with the budget. The campaign, open to all city employees, has only been running for a few weeks and since launching in late February, has gathered 300 ideas, 380 comments, and over 2,000 votes.

There are many other forms of open government popping up in lesser known town and city governments across the US. And the trend is not just limited to the United States. Your Country, Your Call is an online competition looking for ideas that will create jobs and prosperity for Ireland. The brainchild of President McAleese's husband, Dr. Martin McAleese, two winners will receive 100,000 Euros each and benefit from a development fund of up to 500,000 Euros per project. The site is definitely garnering local and international attention and is being promoted through traditional mediums such as television ads as well as through social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. Over 35,000 visitors from dozens of countries have checked out the Your Country Your Call site since its launch a few weeks ago, with thousands voting and commenting on the over 2,000 proposals already submitted.




Ireland's Your Country Your Call TV AD

As more and more towns, cities, and federal governments opt to embrace part or all of what Open Government stands for, the platforms that power these initiatives will become more central to their overall success. Brightidea has been offering open-innovation solutions through its WebStorm, Switchboard, and Pipeline offerings for years. These truly enterprise-level platforms incorporate the best of the social web and allow governments to link individual public or private initiatives, create rollup activity reporting across multiple campaigns on a centralized admin dashboard in order to track and monitor activity at all levels. These functions could truly help expand the rollout of Gov. 2.0 as a standard technological platform (as Tim O'Reilly pointed out, one that reaches well beyond IT) which truly transforms the way people interact with government, bettering the lives of citizens all over the world.


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Janelle Noble is the Digital Marketing Manager at Brightidea and frequently contributes for Brightidea's corporate blog, Innovation at Work. Follow her on twitter @janelletnoble.

Innovation Perspectives - 911 Call for Innovation and Revolution

This is the fourth of several 'Innovation Perspectives' articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on 'What product or sector is in desperate need of innovation?'. Here is the next perspective in the series:

by Ric Merrifield

I define innovation as figuring out a way to accomplish the same outcome, the "what" we do, in a way that doesn't resemble "how" we used to do it. Flight check-in over the web doesn't resemble the experience of talking to the airline employee at the counter, but it accomplishes the same three outcomes (confirming a reservation, conducting a survey, and managing logistics when there is luggage). A revolution, by contrast, I would define as an innovation that results in a dramatically different, or richer experience. E-mail and text messaging haven't just replaced prior forms of communication, they have revolutionized the way we communicate in ways we couldn't imagine 20 years ago.

Right now, I see very distinct places where innovation is desperately needed, and at the same time, I see a place where a revolution isn't quite overdue, but it's getting there.

The most urgent innovation needs are in U.S. health care and energy. People in Washington are chipping away at ways to improve the administration of health care and the role of insurers and doctor incentives, and while I will grant that those are all big messes that need cleaning up, that's not where the greatest need is. The greatest need is to stop people from needing to see the doctor in the first place and the way to do that is managing wellness in a structured, disciplined way. People get there insurance through their work in the US, and the companies should mandate regular checkups and the insurers should provide statistics (not at the individual level - for obvious privacy reasons) as to where the risks are and then invest in wellness programs accordingly.

Just at Microsoft alone, if they don't take action on diabetes and obesity alone, in less than six years they will have to spend about $70 million more each year - and most of that will be avoided if the high risk employees lose just six pounds before they turn 46 (source: The American Diabetes Association, and Microsoft Corporation). People ask about the return on investment from wellness programs - there it is. Energy - this one is harder but more obvious. The car replaced the horse, we need something to replace our dependency on petrochemicals. I don't know where it will come from, waves, wind, cold fusion, whatever, but we need it soon.

As for where the revolution is needed, or why, I would say we need it because we are in a new era - the era I will call post-decentralization.

We grew up in a world of a finite number of TV stations, the record labels decided what music we would listen to, and we all got newspapers (all very centralized sources of news, entertainment, music, and information). Now, we are in a very different world that includes social networking, YouTube, blogs, iTunes, and the iPhone. Most of the sources information, music and content have become almost cartoonishly decentralized.

That's great from a control perspective, but except for those who are really on top of it all, it's hard for people to feel comfortable that they are getting connected to the right stuff that's most aligned with their needs and interests. We need innovations to do better match making between consumers and all of these decentralized sources of apps and content. I shouldn't have to find the best news articles, blogs, video clips, and music, they should find me based on who I am and what I am interested in. I happen to have some ideas on how that will happen - but that is going to allow us to really fulfill the potential of the internet, and it will be awesome.


You can check out all of the 'Innovation Perspectives' articles from the different contributing authors on 'What product or sector is in desperate need of innovation?' by clicking the link in this sentence.

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Ric Merrifield is known at the "Business Scientist" at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, WA and is the author of "Rethink". He blogs about ways to rethink through getting out of what he calls "the 'how' trap".

Brand America Is Ba(ra)ck

Susquehanna River, Asylum Township, Bradford County, PA

by Kevin Roberts

I've written in April and June this year on Brand America, which had became deeply unpopular through the decade. I had put my case for new actions and new messaging to The Pentagon through to Paper magazine. I tell people that what made the USA great is still there in abundance - a tremendous human energy, ideals of a better future, and the capacity to be the force for good in the world.

While the reality that President Barack Obama is only human has only recently dawned, and his popularity is now ranked at about 53% approval, his inspirational message already has delivered benefits to the USA as far as the ROW (Rest Of World) is concerned. In the week that Fortune magazine named Steve Jobs as CEO of the Decade, FutureBrand, which ranks country brands, has announced that the United States is back on top as the country that most people want to visit and do business with.* NY, DC and LA are each powerhouse cities (add San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Miami and Cincinnati and many more). The countryside is unbelievably diverse and historic.

This is hope and dreams made real for the Administration. The President has the near-impossible job - everything to deal with - wars, economic crisis, health care, environment, the future of America. He's accountable for it all. So hats off for this achievement - restoring international preference. Millions of people came through Ellis Island to make a better world. America is a vast and beautiful country with idealistic values, beliefs and principles. Barack Obama has the ability to be a focal point for the aspirational dreams of Americans, and to people everywhere - to be the best they can be. The world is noticing. Here's what Paul, who nominated America as his Lovemark, said back in 2004:


"America is the greatest of all my Lovemarks. It stands for freedom, liberty and choice. Whether you agree or disagree with the brand, it gives you the freedom to speak out, to take control, and make it better. If you invest everything you have in America, it is the only brand that will truly reward you."


These are big ideals to live for. A footnote, of the top five countries, I've lived in Canada and Australia, (2nd and 3rd) and presently have homes in the USA, New Zealand, and France (1st, 4th and 5th). The opportunity is clearly there for Great Britain (8th - also home!).

*From Futurebrand: From best overall country brands and top brands within regions, to detailed rankings of the top ten brands across a breadth of categories including Authenticity, History, Art & Culture, Resort & Lodging Options, Ease of Travel, Safety, Rest & Relaxation, Natural Beauty, Beach, Nightlife, Shopping, Fine Dining, Outdoor Activities & Sports, Friendly Locals, Families, Value for Money, Rising Star, Standard of Living, Ideal for Business, Easiest to Do Business In, New Country for Business, Conferences, Extend a Business Trip, Political Freedom, Most Like to Live In, Quality Products, Desire to Visit/Visit Again, Advanced Technology and Environmentalism.

The year's CBI tracks the perceptions of approximately 3,000 international business and leisure travelers from nine countries—the US, the UK, China, Australia, Japan, Brazil, the UAE, Germany and Russia. The insights from an expert panel of 47 tourism, development, policy and academic professionals are also featured. This sample has a margin of error of ±1.8% at the 95% confidence level.


Image Credit: nicholas_t - http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholas_t/

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Kevin Roberts is the CEO worldwide of The Lovemarks Company, Saatchi & Saatchi. For more information on Kevin, please go to www.saatchikevin.com. To see this blog at its original source, please go to www.krconnect.blogspot.com.

Are your innovation efforts working?

by Stephen Shapiro

Sometimes the question you ask is more important than the actions you take.

During President Obama's inauguration speech, he said:


"The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified."


This is brilliant in its simplicity. The same thought applies to innovation.

The question you need to ask is not whether you are developing creative products, processes or business ideas, but whether your innovation efforts work - whether they serve your customers, serve your employees, and ultimately serve your shareholders.

Innovation is not about change for change sake. It is about purposeful change that creates value that reduces costs, increases sales, or improves cash flow.

In these troubling times, asking the right question is more important than ever. Do your innovation efforts work?

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Stephen Shapiro is the author of three books, a popular innovation speaker, and is the Chief Innovation Evangelist for Innocentive, the leader in Open Innovation.

Inspiring Innovation

by Robert F. Brands

From small startups to world leadership organizations, innovation is a must for business to thrive and perpetuate.

How can your organization inspire innovation?

With long-term commitment to progress of the process, leaders must drive the journey from start through finish. Clearly-defined expectations towards the progress, as well as a definitive end-result are imperative elements involved. As a leader, one must inspire and drive the team. Regular meetings and dedication to touching on progress week-by-week are mandatory, and a clearly-outlined definition of the desired culture of the company helps each member of an organization understand innovative patterns, inspiring them to work together towards the success of innovation.

As a perfect and current example, the Fifth Annual Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Meeting attracted top CEOs and world leaders this week in New York; this year's theme heavily focusing on innovation as a top priority and driver towards worldwide economic recovery and growth. Setting the tone, President Barack Obama opened on Tuesday with a speech, mentioning:

"We need new businesses to unleash new innovations. We need new collaborations to advance prosperity."

Those words were spoken just a day following the White House's release of a white paper that outlined a national innovation strategy.

Founded as a nonprofit, nonpartisan sector of the William J. Clinton Foundation, this year's organization event held 960 guests from 84 countries. The key themes included harnessing innovation, strengthening infrastructure, building human capital, and financing an equitable future. Climate change, women's rights, and health care are some of the topics guests were to assess in brainstorming targeted and profitable ways to improve each situation.

A panel on "Approaches to Innovation" was moderated by a BusinessWeek editor, and organized by John Kao, founder of the Institute of Large Scale Innovation at consultancy Deloitte offered an "innovation boot camp" to attendees. Kao stated that Innovation is "not just creativity. It is specifically about creativity that has value."

When Inspiring Innovation, key elements in defining the desired culture within your organization and perpetuating Innovation within your organization include:

Understanding the goal and what it will take to reach it. Whether it's a new product per year or a dollar amount in sales, setting goals and knowing what it will take to reach it helps your company plan out the resources and budgets needed. Identifying key players and leaders within your organization is crucial to building your innovation team, as their roles and attitudes will trickle down and affect their teams as well, and your leaders can make or break the innovation process.

As a leader, you must create motivation and proactively push for a successful Innovation program. Leadership by example creates both material and emotional support for your team to push towards the goal. Stay simple and focused on constant communication in regards to Innovation visions. Allow for open communication to be a two-way street and knock down barriers keeping silos apart by creating teams that are cross functional amongst departments that don't usually interact. In doing so, creativity, cooperation and change will remain at an all-time high.

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Robert F. Brands is President and founder of Brands & Company, LLC. Innovation Coach Robert Brands has launched a new site - www.RobertsRulesOfInnovation.com - to complement his upcoming book.

A Look at Obama's Innovation Strategy

"History should be our guide. The United States led the world's economies in the 20th century because we led the world in innovation. Today, the competition is keener; the challenge is tougher; and that is why innovation is more important than ever. It is the key to good, new jobs for the 21st century. That's how we will ensure a high quality of life for this generation and future generations. With these investments, we're planting the seeds of progress for our country, and good-paying, private-sector jobs for the American people."

-President Barack Obama, August 5, 2009


by Bob Preston

I've never been a big fan of pyramid diagrams, mainly because I think they are trite and overused. Every time I see a PowerPoint presentation using a pyramid to represent 'strategy' I immediately lose attention for the topic, thinking to myself, here we go again. I just returned from the World Business Forum in New York City where I listened to some of the world's most powerful leaders and top thinking business gurus. Over the course of the two day event there were several highly successful presenters who had diagrams to represent their philosophies and strategies. Which shape? That's right, a pyramid.

About two weeks ago (September 2009) I heard that the Obama administration released their Strategy for American Innovation: Driving Towards Sustainable Growth and Quality Jobs. It peaked my interest because I write about collaboration, a fundamental requirement in the process of innovation. So I looked it up online, downloaded the document, and saved it into an electronic file to read sometime on an airplane. While flying back from New York tonight I had a chance to take a look. In a time of deep recession and jobs leaving the US workforce due to unemployment and off-shoring, I'm surprised that more noise has not been made about the plan. Perhaps the reason for lack of attention is that it was released in the midst of the health care debate? Maybe it was overlooked because of the Chicago Olympic bid? Or maybe the shadow cast by the economic recession is so great that the prospect of innovation and recovery seems far fetched?


Obama's Innovation Strategy builds on $100 billion of stimulus funds targeted to support and establish government policies as building blocks of innovation. A diagram accompanies the plan description on the first page to depict the various "building blocks." The form of the diagram? Pyramid. It didn't do a lot to peak my interest but I plowed ahead through the document anyway. Here's what I learned.


The strategy plan has three parts as follows:

1. Invest in the Building Blocks of American Innovation
2. Promote Competitive Markets that Spur Productive Entrepreneurship
3. Catalyze Breakthroughs for National Priorities

The paragraphs dedicated to these three parts read like a 'to do' list, the respective items beginning with every action oriented adjective in the book. Not that I don't appreciate the content and effort to push Americans, but it made me chuckle because of the carefully selected adjectives used to describe how the administration will jump start innovation: restore, educate, build, develop, promote, encourage, support, improve, unleash (you have to love that one), drive, harness. Really, check out 'The Pyramid' and see for yourself.



The Innovation Strategy Plan seems more like a vision for the future as opposed to a true plan. It also comes off as a justification piece for the billions of dollars in funding provided by Recovery Act - how, why, and where economic stimulus investments are being made. I find it to be an interesting topic because it is unclear to me what level of involvement the government should be playing - laissez-faire or stringent oversight. Obama's plan seeks to "strike a balance" by investing in building blocks, primarily through the economic stimulus, that only the government can provide in sectors of national importance. Ultimately the tip of the pyramid is a new level of innovation that will stimulate growth and generate quality jobs. Bring on the innovation, lose the pyramid.

For more on this topic, check out Cynthia Duval's perspective.

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Bob Preston is a blogger and frequent speaker on collaboration within the enterprise for increased productivity and innovation. He is Chief Collaboration Officer at Polycom, Inc., a leading supplier of voice, video, and telepresence collaboration solutions.