Gov2.0, Part 2: Government as a Provider

Updates: oldest first | newest first

• 10:18 a.m. #

  First up: Stephen Schultze (Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard):

  Our project brings the government 2.0 movement to the judiciary. RECAP is a project that crowdsources the distribution of federal court documents. This is a departure from the federal courts' system known as PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records), which is cumbersome and charges fees for access. RECAP helps the public directly share federal court documents, for free

• 10:48 a.m. #

  Sadly, we don't have robots dispensing perfect justice, nor do we have hover cameras. Instead, we get PACER, which is tough to use and not free.

• 10:49 a.m. #

  Congress actually said in 2002 that PACER should move toward a free system. "If we don't have access to the law, we can't say ignorance of the law is no excuse."

• 10:52 a.m. #

  So, here's a solution: https://www.recapthelaw.org

  Install that Firefox plugin, and your browser will download and sort PACER documents and tell you if there's a free version available. If not, it'll make it free for the next person.

• 10:53 a.m. #

  Excited about DataSF: Kelly Pretzer (San Francisco, Office of Economic and Workforce Development)

  In this presentation we will discuss the process, approach and discoveries of San Francisco’s embrace of emerging technology. More specifically, we will look at the DataSF initiative and its quest to make all city data freely, readily and easily accessible via an open source, replicable platform for less than $1,000 capital costs and in six month's time. Read more.

• 10:53 a.m. #

  DataSF just launched. "It's a portal-style clearinghouse" of local data. I like the related datasets and the space for comments. Accuracy and understandability are often big issues with government data.

• 10:55 a.m. #

  CivicDB is a new project that came out of DataSF to help organize all the data behind the site. It came out by accident, after the city posted an ad on craigslist.

• 10:57 a.m. #

  "We are not the source of all good ideas."

• 10:58 a.m. #

  Talking digital augmented reality and government: Rob Rhyne (Digital Arch Design)

  Agencies can enhance their public service through a new class of applications called augmented reality. These applications provide enhanced vision of a particular physical space by overlaying information and graphics upon the user's field of vision. The iPhone has set a new bar for mobile computing and provides the computing power necessary for such applications and services. Read more.

• 10:59 a.m. #

  (after a brief breakdown in the slide show)

  AR isn't about trinkets. Think a pilot's heads-up display, but in your hand, looking through your camera. It's adding useful metadata to enhance a physical presence, not replace it.

• 11:02 a.m. #

  "It used to be fictional technology, goggles or thermal implants. Now, cell phones are so advanced you can really do it."

• 11:02 a.m. #

  "This is a place where government should be...It allows citizens to see what the government sees."

• 11:03 a.m. #

  Couple govAR examples: Find a museum, find a headstone at Arlington Cemetery, report a crime immediately after it happens.

• 11:05 a.m. #

  From EPA, talking about MyEnvironment Kim Balassiano:

  MyEnvironment is a powerful website for citizens to learn about air and water pollution in their neighborhood. By pulling together data from EPA and beyond on subjects such as watershed organizations active in their area, daily UV Index and ozone and particulate matter alerts, cancer risk to air toxics estimates for their county, radon levels, and more, the citizen is saved many clicks.

• 11:06 a.m. #

  Here's the MyEnvironment page for 20009, where I live. Interesting stuff.

• 11:08 a.m. #

  Txt 4 Africa: Merrick Schaefer (UNICEF):

  The most commonly widely available medium for two-way communication in the world right now is the humble text message. Learn how UNICEF and others are using SMS to combat malnutrition, malaria, and poverty in Africa. Read more.

• 11:11 a.m. #

  Fun facts: UNICEF is the world's largest purchaser of vaccines. Also, the largest purchaser of pencils.

• 11:12 a.m. #

  Txt 4 Africa wondered if data collection could be improved with SMS. Before, volunteers were filling out paper forms, then the data sat.

• 11:13 a.m. #

  There are 500 million cell phones in Africa. "The health care workers we were working on all had their own cell phones."

• 11:14 a.m. #

  The major malnutrition indicators--height, age and upper arm circumference--all fit in an SMS message. "We traded paper for cell phones."

• 11:14 a.m. #

  RapidSMS Malawi made health reporting systems real time. Now workers collecting data get a thank you message, and the diagnosis immediately from the system.

• 11:15 a.m. #

  "Throwing software, throwing phones at problems doesn't really solve them. How can we use realtime data?"

• 11:16 a.m. #

  One more bit on Txt 4 Africa: The software is open source (in Python!). Will link to it when I find it.

• 11:17 a.m. #

  Before using phones for data collection, accuracy could be horrible and hard to check. Now, the software can check in real time and ask, "Are you sure this child is 145 feet tall?"

• 11:19 a.m. #

  We're into the panel discussion now, talking about metrics and figuring out what works.

• 11:20 a.m. #

  On GovAR: It depends on high-fidelity data. That's in part why Rob Rhyne is focusing on urban municipal governments, where there's lots available.

• 11:21 a.m. #

  Stephen Schultze (Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard): "Our ultimate measure of success would be for our system to totally obsolete itself" by getting the courts and PACER to change policy.

• 11:22 a.m. #

  Talking DataSF and crime mapping: "At the end of the day, it's all about better service." Looking at ways for people to check data and find errors.

• 11:24 a.m. #

  Rob Rhyne: What if the government made it easy to find out exactly what it knows about you? That might solve a lot of privacy issues and concerns.

• 11:26 a.m. #

  "We're part of a larger change," says Kim Balassiano of EPA.

• 11:27 a.m. #

  EPA handles touchy subjects: What city is cleaner? What problems are localities facing? These questions have consequences, so providing the data helps paint a clearer picture without being subjective.

• 11:28 a.m. #

  Good question: If so many people in Africa have cell phones, do they need regular browsers? No, says Merrick Schaefer of UNICEF. "They've leapfrogged that."

• 11:29 a.m. #

  More on Txt 4 Africa: "People see live maps and charts and say, 'I want that,' but then they have to deal with it." Now that you know where the problem is, what do you do about it?

• 11:31 a.m. #

  On GovAR: Are you giving the government more control? or giving users more access? What does it mean for social interactions?

• 11:33 a.m. #

  On Recap facing resistance: "Our project is all about resistance." That is, it's there to push PACER to open up its documents and its data.

• 11:35 a.m. #

  Question: We have issues with Section 508 compliance, which deals with ADA.

  "Think of these people as users. You're designing for them."

• 11:38 a.m. #

  On surprises: Txt 4 Africa has been working in countries where the government was overthrown while they were there. Also, sending thank yous was a surprise. They have developers in the field. Very agile.

• 11:40 a.m. #

  DataSF was surprised by the types of data people were looking for. "We thought crime would be a good one, but what about tow away zones?" It makes sense when you think about it.

• 11:45 a.m. #

  This might be the best lesson of the day: "Killer apps are the ones that get better the more people use them."

• 11:45 a.m. #

  Ah, good question: How do you ensure longevity of programs--like DataSF--that may have been started to score political points?

  Answer: Make sure it's usable and help it take on a life of its own.