web 2'0 beyond the hype

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Meeting of Minds Antwerp 26/27 April 2007
2020 The user is the public service or not?
David Osimo Institute for Prospective
Technological Studies European Commission DG JRC
This presentation reflects the personal views of
the author and not the official position of the
European Commission
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JRC-IPTS
IPTS Part of DG JRC of the EC 7 Research
Institutes across Europe
Mission to provide customer-driven support to
the EU policy-making process by researching
science-based responses to policy challenges that
have both a socio-economic as well as a
scientific/technological dimension
Modus operandi desk research, expert groups,
modelling, centres of expertise
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Table of contents

• The context new e-ruptive trends vs.
  not-so-e-ruptive public services online
• The evidence applications of web 2.0 in public
  services
• The analysis How web 2.0 meets visions of future
  public services
• The scenarios 2 invited guests connect the dots

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Table of contents

• The context new e-ruptive trends vs.
  not-so-e-ruptive public services online
• The evidence applications of web 2.0 in public
  services
• The analysis How web 2.0 meets visions of future
  public services
• The scenarios 2 invited guests connect the dots

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The approach to scenario building
Not to predict the future, but to structure the
thinking
Extrapolating from technology and societal trends
Bright and dark scenarios
We are only at the beginning of a research
process!
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Web 2.0 growth is viral
Content production
Filtering and sharing
Connectingand distributing
See background slides for more details
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Online public services

• Discrepancy between availability and use 6 of
  European citizens submitted forms on line.
• Also in e-participation, e-health, e-learning,
  projects have often not lived up to expectations

Sources IPTS elaboration based on Eurostat
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Table of contents

• The context new e-ruptive trends vs.
  not-so-e-ruptive public services online
• The evidence applications of web 2.0 in public
  services
• The analysis How web 2.0 meets visions of future
  public services
• The scenarios 2 invited guests connect the dots

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Public services (au sense large) using Web 2.0
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Catalonia Web 2.0 in Public Administration
lt 2006
gt 2006
Modelo web tradicional
Modelo web relacional
Generalitat
Generalitat
Departamentos
Departamentos
Espacio web de los departamentos
Ciudadanos
Source http//ecatalunya.gencat.net
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US Crowd-sourcing of patent application

• The Community Patent Project an online system
  for peer review of patents.
• A network of experts advises the US Patent Office
  on prior state of the art as well as to assist
  with patentability determinations, by using
  social software, such as social reputation,
  collaborative filtering and information
  visualization tools (wikipedia apporach)
• the United States Patent Trademark Office
  (USPTO) selected the Community Patent Review
  Project as one of its strategic initiatives that
  will be implemented to improve and streamline the
  patent application review process
• Significant efficiency gains (faster)
• the first social software project to be directly
  connected to the legal public decision-making
  process.
• http//dotank.nyls.edu/communitypatent/docs/openre
  view_sep_02.pdf

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But also..US Gov Podcast
How not to do it
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How end-users apply web 2.0 to enhance public
services
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San Francisco bus passes vendors
Transport authority provides list of vendors by
zip code (not even the street)
Users created a Google map with street and
location
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Japan blog for disaster management

• Niigata earthquake August 2007
• Blog created (at no cost) by an employee of a IT
  company, to collect and convey information, seek
  relief supplies and recruit volunteers.
• ''Information was a lifeline for the victims. We
  had to (take action) if the administrative side
  could not release sufficient information.'
• 20,000 accesses a day including many from people
  outside the prefecture who wanted to know whether
  their relatives or friends were safe.
• Survivers feedback
• ''When I posted (on the network's blog) that I
  had a ''kotatsu'' heater (to give away), I was
  able to have it delivered (to someone).''
• Information technology can pick up residents'
  needs no matter how small they may be. (long
  tail)
• Information on disasters used to be relayed in
  ''a top-down'' manner in which the administrative
  side conveyed it to the affected people. The new
  system was capable of issuing information from
  the victims' perspective and enabling people to
  help one another.

Source http//home.kyodo.co.jp/index.php
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Social networking for inclusion of minorities

• Ethnic minorities www.Maghreb.nl, an online
  platform for young immigrants
• Peripheral local communities Alstor, UK
• People with similar less-known problems/disease
  (orphan disease) on www.usherlife.co.uk people
  with Usher Syndrome can share experiences, learn
  about specific products, for example "Mobile
  Magnifier software for help in reading text
  messages
• Baby-boom generation www.eons.com for 50
  everything
• Un-creditworthy borrowers www.Zopa.com is a form
  of peer-to-peer lending which uses collective
  reputation to assess reputation of borrower, and
  puts lender in direct contact with borrower
  (e-bay of micro-credit).
• ? The long tail of user interests and needs!

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UK Performance report through word of mouth
Patients Opinion
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Last but not least, political communication

• The most visible impact of web 2.0 in the public
  sphere is on political communication, and
  politics is one of the main topics of blogs
• Blogs playing huge role in French Referendum on
  EU Constitution, in US presidential elections (H.
  Dean)
• DavosConversation
• Le Pen, Segolene Royal, Sarkozy opened
  headquarters in Second Life
• Italian Minister Di Pietro videocasting on
  Youtube the results of the Councils of Ministers
• WebCameron

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Table of contents

• The context new e-ruptive trends vs.
  not-so-e-ruptive public services online
• The evidence applications of web 2.0 in public
  services
• The analysis How web 2.0 meets visions of future
  public services
• The scenarios 2 invited guests connect the dots

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Web 2 applications meet visions

• Interestingly, these trends match future changes
  in government as indicated by experts involved
  in (IPTS) studies
• Networked and user-centered government
  personalized public services delivered by a
  network of public, private and civil society and
  users.
• Social inclusion through social networks skills
  acquisition, finding jobs, coping with health
  problems, social mobility, avoiding poverty
• In health from symptom-based to preventive
  healthcare, from hospital-centred to
  person-centered health systems, better informed
  patients, medical acts tend to be consensuated.
• In learning shifting emphasis from teaching to
  learning, collaborative working models in
  learning, sharing and openness of educational
  materials, rise of informal learning, lifelong
  learning and the importance of tacit knowledge

Source IPTS studies on future e-services
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Web 2 applications address the basic foundations
of (modern) public services

• Legitimacy and Authority government is not
  anymore the only/main actor giving credibility to
  people, products, companies, information.
• Market failure due to information asymmetry if
  web 2.0 makes the market more perfect, is there
  less role for government?
• Public value production private companies and
  users provide services of public value out of
  generosity, mutuality or self-promotion
• Regulation enlarging the potential application
  of self-regulation and monitoring users feedback

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Table of contents

• The context new e-ruptive trends vs.
  not-so-e-ruptive public services online
• The evidence applications of web 2.0 in public
  services
• The analysis How web 2.0 meets visions of future
  public services
• The scenarios 2 invited guests connect the dots

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Candide emancipation of civil society

• Networked citizens perform public tasks and
  control government and fellow citizens
• Citizens are actively engaged in political
  discussion, but always maintain a positive,
  constructive, NPOV attitude. Citizens are more
  informed through internet based intelligence
  services, e.g. wider usage of GIS
• Networked users act as bridge to excluded
  segments to ensure inclusion of all
• Public sector information/content is widely
  available and accessible, to enable private usage
  and value added services
• Public services online are easy to access,
  standardised, clearly explained, usable, and
  leverage users experience (including users
  feedback)
• Problems and failures in public service delivery
  are dealt with in a open and constructive way
  between users and public sector
• When services are provided by private sector,
  networked users ensure transparency and no
  information asimmetry (reputation management
  systems)
• Public workers ethics is reinforced by a more
  open attitude, strong internal cohesion and
  higher external respect.
• Public sector is knowledge intensive and
  innovative by enhancing cooperation and exchange
  with users and private sector
• Public workers engage in consultations with
  stakeholders and access niche expertise while
  taking complex decision

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Hobbes homo homini lupus

• Users network in order to organize anti-social
  behaviour
• Transparent information is used for criminal
  activities or for strumental political issues
• Public servants fear the public blame of blogs
  and act in protective and secretive way, alwasy
  respecting the letter of the law and following
  cumbersome procedure
• Internal checks become overwhelming
• Blogs by politicians and public service workers
  become just marketing and pass away as a fad
• Government act with police-spirit to monitor
  citizens
• Increasing distrust between government and
  citizens
• Balkanisation of society. citizens create closed
  homgeneous communities , increasing fear
• Public services based on private providers become
  expensive and inefficient, and google becomes
  unreliable monopolistic platform which holds
  public services in hostage

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And questions

• Do these scenarios capture the main issues?

Thank you David.Osimo_at_ec.europa.eu